英語資源頻道為大家整理的china daily 雙語新聞:Are happy people egoistic?供大家學(xué)習(xí)參考。
What kind of life do you want? Is pursuing happiness the goal of your life? Or would you rather lead a meaningful life? Wait, you say, but aren’t happiness and meaning linked with each other? Surely someone who leads a meaningful life is happy? And we find meaning in the pursuit of happiness?
你想要哪種生活?你生活的目標(biāo)是追求幸福嗎?抑或是想活得更充實(shí)?等一下,你是說,幸福與充實(shí)之間并無關(guān)聯(lián)嗎?充實(shí)的人生不都該是幸福的嗎?我們不都是在追求幸福的過程中才找到人生意義的嗎?
According to a new study, a happy life and a meaningful life are not the same thing. In fact, the single-minded pursuit of happiness can leave people less happy.
一項(xiàng)最新研究顯示,幸福的人生和有意義的人生完全不是一回事。事實(shí)上,一味追求幸福只會(huì)讓人們的幸福感降低。
The study will be published this year in the Journal of Positive Psychology. A recent article in The Atlantic provided a summary of the results.
這項(xiàng)研究成果今年將刊登在《積極心理學(xué)學(xué)刊》上。近期發(fā)表在《大西洋月刊》上的一篇文章也概述了該研究成果。
Scientists asked nearly 400 US citizens aged 18 to 78 whether they thought their lives were meaningful and happy. These people were asked about their attitudes toward meaning, happiness and many other aspects in life, like stress levels, spending patterns, and family life. The researchers found that a meaningful life and a happy life overlap in certain ways, but are essentially different.
科學(xué)家就是否覺得生活幸福而充實(shí)這一問題采訪了接近400名18-78歲間的美國人。受訪者被問及幸福、充實(shí),以及壓力水平、消費(fèi)模式和家庭生活等生活方方面面的問題。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),盡管充實(shí)生活與幸福生活在某些方面重合,但本質(zhì)不同。
Leading a happy life, the researchers found, is associated with being a “taker”, while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a “giver”.
研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),生活幸福的人往往是“索取者”,而生活有意義的人則屬于“給予者”。
Happiness, the researchers found, is about feeling good and getting what we want. People who are happy tend to think that life is easy. They are in good physical health and able to buy the things that they need and want.
研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),幸福就是感覺良好并如愿以償。幸福的人往往認(rèn)為生活簡單安逸。他們身體健康,而且買得起自己需要和想要的東西。
Happiness is about satisfying our needs and desires. The pursuit of happiness is often associated with selfish behavior. Animals have needs and desires and they can feel happy too. What sets human beings apart from animals is not the pursuit of happiness, the researchers said, but the pursuit of meaning, which is unique to humans.
幸福便是滿足私欲。追求幸福往往伴隨著一些自私行徑。動(dòng)物都有需求和欲望,亦能感受到幸福。研究人員表示,真正將人類與動(dòng)物區(qū)分開來的,并非對(duì)于幸福的追求,而是對(duì)于人生意義的追求,這是人類的專屬。
We can often find meaning in helping others or making a sacrifice for a “greater good”. Meaning often comes at the expense of happiness. That’s because people who have invested themselves in something bigger than themselves worry more and have higher levels of stress and anxiety in their lives than happy people. Volunteering in rural schools, for example, is meaningful but also entails hardship.
我們往往在幫助他人,或者“犧牲小我完成大我”的過程中找到人生意義。獲得人生意義總是要以幸福為代價(jià)。這是因?yàn)楫?dāng)人們投身比自身更重要的事業(yè)中時(shí),總是要比幸福的人承受更多的壓力和焦慮。比如去山區(qū)支教是件有意義的事,但也相當(dāng)艱苦。
The study also found that meaning is not only about transcending the self, but also about transcending the present moment.
這項(xiàng)研究還發(fā)現(xiàn),人生的意義不僅僅是超越自我,更是超越當(dāng)下。
Happiness, like any emotion, is felt in the here and now - it ultimately fades away. Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future. “Thinking beyond the present moment, into the past or future, was a sign of the relatively meaningful but unhappy life,” according to the researchers. “Happiness is not generally found in contemplating the past or future.”
正如其他情感一樣,幸福是一種此時(shí)此刻的感受,它終將隨著時(shí)間的消逝而消散。而人生意義卻是恒久的。它連接過去、現(xiàn)在和未來?!耙猿撚诋?dāng)下、放眼過去或未來的方式思考,意味著你的生活有意義卻并不幸福?!毖芯咳藛T說,“深思你的過去或未來,通常是找不到幸福感的?!?BR> Experiencing negative events, the study found, decreases your happiness but increases the feelings of meaningfulness in your life. No one knows this better than Viktor Frankl, writer of the best-selling book Man’s Search for Meaning. “If there is meaning in life at all,” he wrote, “then there must be meaning in suffering.”
研究發(fā)現(xiàn),一些負(fù)面的經(jīng)歷會(huì)降低你的幸福感,但同時(shí)會(huì)提升生活的充實(shí)感。想必沒人能比暢銷書《活出生命的意義》的作者維克多•弗蘭克爾更理解這一點(diǎn)了。他在書中寫道:“若人生確有意義,那它必隱于苦難磨礪之中?!?BR> Frankl wrote the book after having lived through the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. In the book, he claims that one key thing separated those who perished and those who found a way to survive: a sense of meaning.
弗蘭克爾曾在納粹集中營中經(jīng)歷了煉獄般的生活。在書中,他表示區(qū)分一個(gè)人是心如死灰、坐以待斃還是絕境中求生存的關(guān)鍵一點(diǎn),就在于對(duì)生命意義的感知。
What kind of life do you want? Is pursuing happiness the goal of your life? Or would you rather lead a meaningful life? Wait, you say, but aren’t happiness and meaning linked with each other? Surely someone who leads a meaningful life is happy? And we find meaning in the pursuit of happiness?
你想要哪種生活?你生活的目標(biāo)是追求幸福嗎?抑或是想活得更充實(shí)?等一下,你是說,幸福與充實(shí)之間并無關(guān)聯(lián)嗎?充實(shí)的人生不都該是幸福的嗎?我們不都是在追求幸福的過程中才找到人生意義的嗎?
According to a new study, a happy life and a meaningful life are not the same thing. In fact, the single-minded pursuit of happiness can leave people less happy.
一項(xiàng)最新研究顯示,幸福的人生和有意義的人生完全不是一回事。事實(shí)上,一味追求幸福只會(huì)讓人們的幸福感降低。
The study will be published this year in the Journal of Positive Psychology. A recent article in The Atlantic provided a summary of the results.
這項(xiàng)研究成果今年將刊登在《積極心理學(xué)學(xué)刊》上。近期發(fā)表在《大西洋月刊》上的一篇文章也概述了該研究成果。
Scientists asked nearly 400 US citizens aged 18 to 78 whether they thought their lives were meaningful and happy. These people were asked about their attitudes toward meaning, happiness and many other aspects in life, like stress levels, spending patterns, and family life. The researchers found that a meaningful life and a happy life overlap in certain ways, but are essentially different.
科學(xué)家就是否覺得生活幸福而充實(shí)這一問題采訪了接近400名18-78歲間的美國人。受訪者被問及幸福、充實(shí),以及壓力水平、消費(fèi)模式和家庭生活等生活方方面面的問題。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),盡管充實(shí)生活與幸福生活在某些方面重合,但本質(zhì)不同。
Leading a happy life, the researchers found, is associated with being a “taker”, while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a “giver”.
研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),生活幸福的人往往是“索取者”,而生活有意義的人則屬于“給予者”。
Happiness, the researchers found, is about feeling good and getting what we want. People who are happy tend to think that life is easy. They are in good physical health and able to buy the things that they need and want.
研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),幸福就是感覺良好并如愿以償。幸福的人往往認(rèn)為生活簡單安逸。他們身體健康,而且買得起自己需要和想要的東西。
Happiness is about satisfying our needs and desires. The pursuit of happiness is often associated with selfish behavior. Animals have needs and desires and they can feel happy too. What sets human beings apart from animals is not the pursuit of happiness, the researchers said, but the pursuit of meaning, which is unique to humans.
幸福便是滿足私欲。追求幸福往往伴隨著一些自私行徑。動(dòng)物都有需求和欲望,亦能感受到幸福。研究人員表示,真正將人類與動(dòng)物區(qū)分開來的,并非對(duì)于幸福的追求,而是對(duì)于人生意義的追求,這是人類的專屬。
We can often find meaning in helping others or making a sacrifice for a “greater good”. Meaning often comes at the expense of happiness. That’s because people who have invested themselves in something bigger than themselves worry more and have higher levels of stress and anxiety in their lives than happy people. Volunteering in rural schools, for example, is meaningful but also entails hardship.
我們往往在幫助他人,或者“犧牲小我完成大我”的過程中找到人生意義。獲得人生意義總是要以幸福為代價(jià)。這是因?yàn)楫?dāng)人們投身比自身更重要的事業(yè)中時(shí),總是要比幸福的人承受更多的壓力和焦慮。比如去山區(qū)支教是件有意義的事,但也相當(dāng)艱苦。
The study also found that meaning is not only about transcending the self, but also about transcending the present moment.
這項(xiàng)研究還發(fā)現(xiàn),人生的意義不僅僅是超越自我,更是超越當(dāng)下。
Happiness, like any emotion, is felt in the here and now - it ultimately fades away. Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future. “Thinking beyond the present moment, into the past or future, was a sign of the relatively meaningful but unhappy life,” according to the researchers. “Happiness is not generally found in contemplating the past or future.”
正如其他情感一樣,幸福是一種此時(shí)此刻的感受,它終將隨著時(shí)間的消逝而消散。而人生意義卻是恒久的。它連接過去、現(xiàn)在和未來?!耙猿撚诋?dāng)下、放眼過去或未來的方式思考,意味著你的生活有意義卻并不幸福?!毖芯咳藛T說,“深思你的過去或未來,通常是找不到幸福感的?!?BR> Experiencing negative events, the study found, decreases your happiness but increases the feelings of meaningfulness in your life. No one knows this better than Viktor Frankl, writer of the best-selling book Man’s Search for Meaning. “If there is meaning in life at all,” he wrote, “then there must be meaning in suffering.”
研究發(fā)現(xiàn),一些負(fù)面的經(jīng)歷會(huì)降低你的幸福感,但同時(shí)會(huì)提升生活的充實(shí)感。想必沒人能比暢銷書《活出生命的意義》的作者維克多•弗蘭克爾更理解這一點(diǎn)了。他在書中寫道:“若人生確有意義,那它必隱于苦難磨礪之中?!?BR> Frankl wrote the book after having lived through the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. In the book, he claims that one key thing separated those who perished and those who found a way to survive: a sense of meaning.
弗蘭克爾曾在納粹集中營中經(jīng)歷了煉獄般的生活。在書中,他表示區(qū)分一個(gè)人是心如死灰、坐以待斃還是絕境中求生存的關(guān)鍵一點(diǎn),就在于對(duì)生命意義的感知。