心灵鸡汤: 生命里比金钱更重要的10样东西

A recent Gallup poll, quoted in The Atlantic, found that well-being rises with income at all levels of income, across countries. In other words, as the articles title states, the poll proves that Yes, Money Does Buy Happiness. 《亚特兰大报》刊登了一项最近的盖洛普民意测验，结果显示在各个国家，不论收入水平，人们的幸福感都随着收入的提高而上升。换句话说，就像那篇文章的标题所说的，这项调查证明了是的，金钱可以买来幸福。

Except that it doesnt prove that at all. What the study actually discovered was a strong correlation between each nations real GDP per capita and the sense of well-being among those nations citizens. 而事实上这项调查根本不能证明这一点。这项研究发现的其实是根据调查那些国家的公民，每个国家真实的人均GDP和幸福感之间存在强烈的相关性。

Correlation isnt causation. The data could just as easily be interpreted the other way around: that happiness creates wealth. Whats most likely, though, is that happiness and wealth are part of a cycle, each one creating more of the other. 相关性并不是因果关系。这些数据也可以很容易地被解读成另一种意思：幸福创造了财富。而最有可能的是，幸福和财富是一个循环，二者可以相互创造。改变思维现状，从学会思维导图开始

And thats the reason for this post. Assuming you want to create both wealth and happiness for yourself and those around you, you have two approaches: wait until youre wealthy to be happy, or become more happy now and thereby create more wealth. 这就是为什么我要写这篇文章。假设你想为你自己和身边的人创造财富和幸福，你有两种途径：等到你变得富有，然后就会幸福了。或者现在让自己更幸福，然后就能创造更多财富。

I maintain that, in todays economy, its easier to start with the happiness, because unlike wealth (which takes time to accumulate), you can increase the amount of happiness in your life within minutes, simply by taking more notice of things that make you happy. 我坚持认为，在今天的经济环境下，从创造幸福开始会更容易一些，因为和财富不同(财富需要时间积累)，你在几分钟之内就可以提高自己的幸福感，你只需要留意那些让你可以快乐的东西。

With that in mind, here are ten things that can make you happy immediately, regardless of where you are in the cycle. 知道了这一点，我们来看看10样可以马上让你快乐起来的东西。不管你是想先要幸福还是先要财富。

1. Life 1.活着

Its easy to forget that the mere fact of conscious existence--that you are alive--is itself a miracle. As the old saying goes every day above ground is a good day. 我们很容易忘记，单纯的意识到自己的存在，也就是你还活着，这本身就是一个奇迹。就好像那句老话说的真实存在的每一天都是美好的。

2. Health 2.健康

Rather than thinking of illness as something bad that happens to you, start thinking of health as something good thats happening to you. 不要去想疾病这种可能会降临的坏事情，开始想想健康这种好东西。

3. Purpose 3.目标

There is nothing more conducive to long-term happiness than knowing that your actions are making the world a better place. 知道你的行为正在让世界变得更美好，没有什么比这个更有益于长期的快乐了。

4. Friendship 4.友谊

Almost everyone has friends, although its easy to lose track of them in the rush of events. Take a few minutes--today--to reconnect with some of them. 几乎每个人都有朋友，虽然在匆匆忙忙中我们很容易和他们失去联系。花几分钟，就从今天开始，重新和他们建立联系吧。

5. Family 5.家庭

If youve got a good relationship with your family, rejoice! Youre experiencing one of the deepest sources of happiness on the planet. 如果你和家人的关系不错，好好享受吧!你正在拥有这个地球上最深层的幸福资源。

6. Self-reliance 6.自力更生

Feeling secure that you can count on yourself to accomplish what you set out to accomplish creates a quiet but potent happiness. 你十分确定你可以完全依赖自己去完成那些你想要完成的事情，这会给你带来无言但强大的幸福感。

7. Community 7.社区

Having the support of a wider group makes you more aware that youre part of something greater than yourself. 有一个更广泛的团队的支持会让你更加感觉到你不是一个人在战斗。

8. Gratitude 8.感恩

Rather than focusing on what you dont have or whats out of reach, be thankful for the wonderful things already in your life. 不要专注于那些你没能拥有或是无法触及的事物，而要感谢那些已经出现在你生命中的美好。

9. Laughter 9.欢笑

It is impossible to laugh and be miserable at the same time. Regular doses of laughter are more than medicine... its the flavor of life. 不可能在同一时刻又欢笑又悲伤。经常笑一笑胜过良药。这就是生活的滋味。

10. Love 10.爱

Nuff said. 这个就不用多说了。 Create these ten things in your life and I guarantee that youll either become more wealthy or, if not, you wont really care anyway because youll already have whats important. 在你的生活中创造这10样东西，我保证你会变得更加富有，如果没有的话，你也不会在意了，因为你已经拥有了重要的东西。