Smile Even When You Don’t Feel Like It.

不开心的时候，也要微笑！

        生活习惯能够影响我们的幸福。以下有十件事情，它们都被证实能使人快乐。

1.  品味生活瞬间

         停下来闻闻玫瑰的花香或者看着孩子玩耍。像那些花时间品味匆匆过去日常生活的人学习，或者想想过去快乐的日子，就像心理学家Sonja Lyubomirsky所说：“增加快乐，减少烦恼”。

1. Savor Everyday Moments

        Pause now and then to smell a rose or watch children at play. Study participants who took time to “savor” ordinary events that they normally hurried through, or to think back on pleasant moments from their day, “showed significant increases in happiness and reductions in depression,” says psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky.

2.  少攀比

       向邻居看齐是美国文化的一部分，然而与他人攀比会损害我们的快乐和自尊。根据Lyubomirsky所说，代替与他人攀比，关注我们个人的成就，会产生更大的满足感。

2. Avoid Comparisons

        While keeping up with the Joneses is part of American culture, comparing ourselves with others can be damaging to happiness and self-esteem. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, focusing on our own personal achievement leads to greater satisfaction, according to Lyubomirsky.

3. 不要把钱看的太重

        根据Tim Kasser 和 Richard Ryan的研究，把钱看得很重的人更容易产生郁闷，焦虑，自卑的感觉。这种发现适用于各种国家和文明。Ryan说：“我们越是追求物质上的满足，我们就越不容易找到他们，满足是有半衰期的，幸福非常短暂。”金钱追逐者在生命活力和自我实现方面也不会有很好的结果。

3. Put Money Low on the List

       People who put money high on their priority list are more at risk for depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, according to researchers Tim Kasser and Richard Ryan. Their findings hold true across nations and cultures. “The more we seek satisfactions in material goods, the less we find them there,” Ryan says. “The satisfaction has a short half-life -- it’s very fleeting.” Money-seekers also score lower on tests of vitality and self-actualization.

4. 有一个长远的目标

       Ed Diener 和 Robert Biswas-Diener说：“有奋斗目标的人，无论是学习新的知识或是抚养孩子，都比那些没有没梦想和目标的人更快乐。”“作为一个人，我们需要奋斗目标”哈佛大学教授Tal Ben-Shahar同意这个观点，他说：“幸福就在快乐和意义的交汇处，工作还是在家，目的取决于个人意义和喜爱。”

4. Have Meaningful Goals

     “People who strive for something significant, whether it’s learning a new craft or raising moral children, are far happier than those who don’t have strong dreams or aspirations,” say Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener. “As humans, we actually require a sense of meaning to thrive.” Harvard’s resident happiness professor, Tal Ben-Shahar, agrees, “Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable.”

5. 主动工作

      工作上多么快乐，部分取决于你有多主动。研究人员Amy Wrzesniewski 说当我们表现出创造力，帮助他人，改进建议或者工作上做些额外的工作，使我们的工作更有价值并且感到更易于掌控。

5. Take Initiative at Work

How happy you are at work depends in part on how much initiative you take. Researcher Amy Wrzesniewski says that when we express creativity, help others, suggest improvements, or do additional tasks on the job, we make our work more rewarding and feel more in control.

6. 交朋友，珍惜家人

Diener和Biswas-Diener说快乐的人有幸福的家庭，朋友，并且巩固的人际关系。但是如果你和身边的人交往很少的话，你也不会快乐。我们不仅需要人际关系，我们还需要亲密的充满关怀和谅解的人际关系。

6. Make Friends, Treasure Family

Happier people tend to have good families, friends, and supportive relationships, say Diener and Biswas-Diener. But it’s not enough to be the life of the party if you’re surrounded by shallow acquaintances. “We don’t just need relationships, we need close ones” that involve understanding and caring.

7. 即使不开心也要微笑

        听起来简单，但是却是很有成效的。Diener 和Biswas-Diener说：“快乐的人看到可能，机会和成功。当他们思考未来的时候，他们是乐观的，并且当他们回望过去，他们看到了辉煌，”甚至当你看到半杯水的时候，你会想，通过努力，会得到满杯水，积极的想法会变成习惯。

7. Smile Even When You Don’t Feel Like It

It sounds simple, but it works. “Happy people…see possibilities, opportunities, and success. When they think of the future, they are optimistic, and when they review the past, they tend to savor the high points,” say Diener and Biswas-Diener. Even if you weren’t born looking at the glass as half-full, with practice, a positive outlook can become a habit.

8. 真诚的说声谢谢

根据Robert Emmons的说法，每周怀着感恩的心写感谢信会使你更健康，更乐观，更容易达成个人的目标。积极心理学创始人Martin Seligman透露，给那些使他们生活变得不同的人写感谢信，使得人们更快乐，少忧伤，而且这种影响能持续一周。

8. Say Thank You Like You Mean It

People who keep gratitude journals on a weekly basis are healthier, more optimistic, and more likely to make progress toward achieving personal goals, according to author Robert Emmons. Research by Martin Seligman, founder of positive psychology, revealed that people who write “gratitude letters” to someone who made a difference in their lives score higher on happiness, and lower on depression -- and the effect lasts for weeks.

9. 出去锻炼

杜克大学研究表明，运动在对付郁闷方面就像毒品一样有效，同时没有副作用也不用花钱。其他研究表明适当运动有利于健康，使人有成就感，还能增加人与社会的互动，释放使人快乐的因子，增加自我满足感。

9. Get Out and Exercise

        A Duke University study shows that exercise may be just as effective as drugs in treating depression, without all the side effects and expense. Other research shows that in addition to health benefits, regular exercise offers a sense of accomplishment and opportunity for social interaction, releases feel-good endorphins, and boosts self-esteem.

10. 奉献，现在就做

       为他人着想，付出你生命的一部分，有目标的去做。研究人员Stephen Post说帮助邻居，志愿奉献，捐款捐物，志愿服务，这些都能有一种帮助的快乐，并且比运动和戒烟都能获得更多的好处。他还说倾听朋友的心声，教授你的技能，庆祝他人的成功，原谅他人的错误都能带来幸福。研究人员Elizabeth Dunn发现花钱帮助别人比给自己花钱更快乐。

10. Give It Away, Give It Away Now!

       Make altruism and giving part of your life, and be purposeful about it. Researcher Stephen Post says helping a neighbor, volunteering, or donating goods and services results in a “helper’s high,” and you get more health benefits than you would from exercise or quitting smoking. Listening to a friend, passing on your skills, celebrating others’ successes, and forgiveness also contribute to happiness, he says. Researcher Elizabeth Dunn found that those who spend money on others reported much greater happiness than those who spend it on themselves.

      亲爱的博友们，祝愿大家2009年更快乐！