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When enough is enough 知足常乐 1 Recently, I rushed into a Gap store to buy a pair of jeans. A salesperson asked if she could help. "I want a pair of jeans — 32-28," I said in haste. 不久前，我冲进一家Gap店去买一条牛仔裤。店员问我是否要她帮忙。“我想要一条牛仔裤，32-28码的，”我匆匆地说。 2 "Do you want slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit, baggy, or extra baggy?" she ventured. "Do you want stone-washed, acid-washed, button-fly or regular-fly, faded or regular?" “您想要紧身的，合身的，休闲的，宽松的，还是特大宽松的？”她试探地问道。“您想要石磨的还是漂染的？纽扣门襟还是拉链门襟？褪色的还是普通的？” 3 I stopped. I didn't have a hint, not the remotest idea of what she had asked, so I said, "I just want regular jeans. You know – the kind that used to be the only kind." 我停了下来。我在她所问的问题中没得到任何暗示，也对这些问题毫无所知，所以我说：“我只想买一条普通的牛仔裤。你知道的，曾经是唯一的那种。” 4 She pointed in the right direction. The trouble was, with all those options distributed in front of me, I wasn't sure what I wanted. So, I tried on pair after pair of jeans for almost two hours — trying to decide. It wasn't a big decision, little depended on my choice, but I was convinced that one pair had to be just right for me. 她指了指右边。麻烦的是，看着所有摆在我面前的牛仔裤，我不知该选哪一条。于是，为了作出选择，我就一条一条地试穿，足足试了将近两个小时。这并不是一项重大的决定，因这不取决于我的选择，但我确信，有一条牛仔裤必定适合我。 5 The jeans I chose were fine, but this simple transaction provoked a strong reaction in me. Buying a new pair of pants shouldn't render someone a wreck! Purchasing jeans was once an easy choice; now it's become a complex decision. 我选择的牛仔裤还不错，但这桩简单的买卖却引起了我强烈的反应。买一条新裤子不应该让人感到疲惫不堪的！购买牛仔裤曾经是一件很容易的事，现在它却变成了一个复杂的决策过程。 6 Choices in modern life have increased tremendously. A typical store in 1900 had only a few dozen categories with one or two options per category. Modern supermarkets have 50,000 to 60,000 items in thousands of categories. Looking for hair-care products? There are more than 350 types of shampoo and conditioners. Need a painkiller? There are almost 100 options. Toothpaste, anyone? You have 40+ types to choose from! 现代生活中的选择已大幅增加。1900年的时候，一个商店一般只有几十种类别，每种类别只有一到两种选择。现代的超市在几千种类别里，有50,000至60,000件物品。寻找护发产品吗？有超过350种的洗发水和护发素。需要止痛药吗？有近100个选项。有人要牙膏吗？你有40 多种可选择！ 7 It's true that enforced restrictions with very limited or no choices make life unbearable, and having options does increase our sense of liberation and control. However, my jeans purchase highlights a different problem. As options increase out of control, people often begin to feel their life is crashing down on them. They are overloaded, overwhelmed and feel their life growing vacant without meaning. 确实，在强行限制的生活中，非常有限的选择或毫无选择让人难以忍受，而有选择无疑可增加我们的自由感和控制感。然而，我购买牛仔裤的经历却突显了一个不同的问题。随着选择失控般地增加，人们常常开始感到他们的生活正在崩溃。他们不堪重负，不知所措，觉得他们的生活在变得空虚而没有意义。 8 We all rely on common sense to guide us, and the implication is that increasing choice should always increase happiness. Surprisingly, the opposite is true. Scientists verify that an overabundance of choice tends to bring a subtraction in well-being and happiness. 我们都靠常识来指导我们，常识告诉我们越来越多的选择应不断增加幸福感。令人惊讶的是，事实正好相反。科学家证实，过多的选择往往会削弱我们的健康和快乐。 9 The measure of happiness in the US has been going downhill. The proportion of the population describing itself as "very happy" has declined by five percent, approximately 14 million Americans. 在美国, 人们的幸福感已经下滑。认为自己“非常高兴”的人口比例已下降5％，将近一千四百万人。 10 Of course, no one believes that a single factor explains this, but accumulating evidence from psychological research indicates that the explosion of choice and tremendous increases in material possessions play a primary role. 当然，没人相信这可以用单一因素来解释。不过，日益增多的心理学研究证据表明，选择的爆炸性增长和物质财富的大量增加是主要的原因。 11 Increasing expectations seem to be part of the problem. The penetrating message of modern times seems to be: "The more we control our own fate, the more we expect to control it. The more we have, the more we want to have!" We expect to be able to have a life that is fulfilling, exciting and sometimes even selfish! We transfer our high expectations to our property, our residences, and our families – expecting them to be outstanding and beautiful. 不断增加的期望值似乎也是问题的一部分。现代社会的精辟言论似乎是：“我们越控制我们自己的命运，我们就越希望控制它。我们拥有的越多，我们想要的就更多！”我们期望我们的生活充实、令人兴奋，有时甚至是自私的！我们把高度期望转移到了我们的财产，我们的住房和我们的家庭——希望他们都出色、漂亮。 12 Some people believe they should never have to settle for things that are just "good enough". Their trademark is that they expect and accept only the best. Researchers call this group "maximizers". Their thoughts are dominated by an ever-increasing desire for more and a focus on the highest quality. Studies show that maximizers are less optimistic, more dissatisfied with, and more depressed about their lives than others who are willing to settle for slightly less. 有些人认为，他们决不应该接受只是“足够好”。他们的特征是只要和只接受最好的。研究人员称这一组人为“最大化追求者”。他们的思想被日益膨胀的意愿所支配：希望得到更多和注重最高质量。研究表明，与那些愿意接受少一点的人相比，最大化追求者对他们的生活不那么乐观，也有更多的不满和更多的压抑。 13 I have a friend who makes going out to dinner a nightmare. He struggles to select a dish, going in a circular motion between one option and another, trying to find the best option. Some students behave the same way looking for jobs as they worry excessively concerning which job option to choose lest they overlook the "perfect" job! 我有一个朋友把出去吃晚餐变成了一场噩梦。他会为了决定挑选哪一道菜而冥思苦想，在选项之间不断绕圈子，想找到最佳选择。有些学生在寻找工作时也是一样，因为他们过分地担心该选择哪一份工作，唯恐忽视了那份“完美”的工作！ 14 We are told we're in the "driver's seat", when it comes to organizing and planning our lives. If we fail, it's our own fault and can only accuse ourselves. It is unhealthy to combine overwhelming expectations and options, plus a tendency to blame ourselves for failures. 说到组织和规划我们的生活，我们被告知我们是坐在“驾驶座”上。如果我们失败了，这是我们自己的过错，只能指责自己。过多的期望和过多的选择，加上总是把失败归咎于自己，对我们是有害不利的。 15 The success of 21st-century life turns out to be a bitter-sweet controversy and paradox. People have what they say they want. They're floating in a vast ocean of choices and material goods but finding they're still unfulfilled. Enough is never enough. 二十一世纪生活的成功变成了一个苦乐参半的争议和悖论。人们有了他们自己说想要的东西。他们正漂浮在一个充满选择和物质产品的汪洋大海里，但他们仍不满足。够了永远都不够。 16 Let's pause and angle a bright light from the past into our modern times. Over 2,000 years ago, the famous Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, prescribed: "Be content with whatsoever you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." And he added this precaution: He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. 让我们稍作停顿，把过去的一盏明灯转照到我们现代。两千年前，中国著名的哲学家老子指出：“知足不辱，知止不殆，可以长久。”他补充了这个警示：知足者常乐。 17 Use your college years to stir your heart and renew your life. Withstand the pressure of too many choices to acquire more than you need. Specify what truly matters to you and what does not. Learn when enough is enough, and you will trace a path of contentment throughout your life. 用你的大学四年激活你的心扉，更新你的生活。不要为了追求自己不需要的而去做过多的选择。明确自己真正在意和不在意的是什么。学会知足常乐，这样你的一生都会常乐久安。 |
