经典哲理小美文至善者.doc

经典哲理小美文至善者，善之敌I was inspired by an observation by Voltaire to make my resolution, Dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good. In other words, instead of pushing yourself to an impossible perfect, and therefore getting nowhere, accept good. Many things worth doing areworth doing badly.在做出一项决意时,我谨记伏尔泰的箴言:至善者,善之敌.换言之,不要逼迫自己实现不可能的完美,而是去接受好.许多事情值得去做,但不需要事事完美.I have a friend who never exercises unless shes training for a marathon; as a consequence, she almost never exercises. I never push myself when I exercise, and although I suspect she scoffs at my wimpy(= wimpish:懦弱的,无用的)work-outs, Ive managed to get myself to exercise several times a week for years. If Id tried to have a more ambitious work-out, Im sure I wouldnt have exercised at all.我有一个朋友从来不锻炼,除非去练马拉松.结果,她几乎一直都没有锻炼.而我锻炼的时候,从来不会勉强自己.虽然我怀疑她看不起我的低锻炼强度,可是数年来我能坚持每周锻炼几次.如果我设定一个更高的锻炼目标,我肯定根本不会去锻炼.Along the same lines, I told a friend that one of my happiness-project resolutions was to Remember birthdays, and so I was sending out happy-birthday emails. He said, Oh, you shouldnt email! You should call or write a hand-written note, thats much nicer. True but I wont. And its better to get something done imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly.同理,我曾告诉一位朋友,在我的快乐计划中,有一条是记住生日,因此我会发送生日祝福电子邮件.他说:哦,你不该发电子邮件!应该打电话、写留言,这让人感觉更好. 是啊-但是我不会去做.不完美地做了某件事总比追求完美而一事无成的好.The perfect can also become the enemy of the good in the quest for perfect information. There are two ways to approach decision-making: as a satisficer (yes, that is a word) or as a maximizer.在获得详尽信息上,完美也会成为好的敌人.有两种决策者:满足者(这个词是有的)和最大化者.Satisficers are those who make a decision or take action once their criteria are met. That doesnt mean theyll settle for mediocrity; their criteria can be very high, but as soon as they find the pasta sauce or the business card that has the qualities they want, theyre satisfied.满足者是指那些一旦满足了标准后即做出决定或采取行动的人.这不表示他们甘愿接受平庸:他们的标准可能很高,但是一旦找到了希望中的东西,比如意粉酱或名片,他们就满足了.Maximizers want to make the optimal decision. Even if they see a bicycle or a backpack that meets their requirements, they cant make a decision until after theyve examined every option, to make the best possible choice. Studies suggest that satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers; maximizers spend a lot more time and energy to reach a decision, and theyre often anxious about whether they did, in fact, make the best choice. (For a fascinating discussion, read Barry Schwartzs The Paradox of Choice.)最大化者希望做出最优化的决定.即便找到了满足需求的东西,例如自行车或背包,为了做出最佳选择,他们要检查每一个候选后才能做出决定.研究表明满足者往往比最大化者更快乐;最大化者为了做出一个决定要花更多的精力和时间,而且经常会为自己是不是真的做出最佳选择而烦恼.(对此的精彩讨论,请参阅选择的矛盾一书,作者Barry Schwartz)In almost every category, Im a satisficer, and in fact, I often felt guilty about not doing more research before making decisions. But its one of my Secrets of Adulthood: Most decisions dont require extensive research. In picking a girls summer camp, a friend got information from twenty-five camps and visited five in person. We got information from five camps and picked the one that a friends daughter loved. I used to think that my lack of diligence was a sign of laziness, and my resolution Dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good has made me feel a lot better.基本上我是一位满足者,实际上,我经常会因为没有做更多调查就做了决定而愧疚.但是,我的一条成年人秘密是:多数决定不需要详尽调查.为了选择一个女孩夏令营,我的一位朋友调查了25个夏令营,亲自去了5个.而我们调查了5个,选择了一位朋友女儿喜欢的那个.我曾以为不勤奋是懒惰的标志,然而至善者,善之敌这想法让我心情大大地好了起来.In some situations, the happier course is to know when good enough is good enough, and not to worry about perfection or making the perfect choice.某些时候,要学会知足,而别去担心是否完美或是否做了完美决定.你今天应该微笑的10个理由1. Watching cream go into coffee1. 看着奶油溶进咖啡里2. Letting the waves bury your feet at the beach2. 在沙滩上，让海浪淹没你的双脚3. Learning a new keyboard shortcut3. 学会用新的键盘快捷键4. Looking at the clock and seeing that its 12:344. 盯着时钟，看它刚好走到12：345. Figuring out the plot twist just before they reveal it5. 在故事结局揭晓前，先理清错综复杂的故事情节6. Tossing garbage in the trash can from far away6. 从远处往垃圾桶里扔垃圾7. Sitting on your freshly made bed and admiring your work after cleaning your room7. 坐在刚铺好的床上，欣赏自己整理房间后的成果8. When your windshield wipers match the beat of the song youre listening to8. 挡风玻璃上雨刷的摆动节奏和你正在听的音乐相搭9. When a cop finally passes you after driving behind you for a while9. 当警察在你后边开有一段时间，最后终于超越你时10. Setting the new high score on a video game10. 玩电子游戏，创下新的记录快乐快乐的日子使人睿智。这也就是为什么说愤怒的时候不能做决定的原因，因为只有当你快乐的时候才能做出正确的判断。快乐让你的眼界变得更为宽广，而这就是睿智的起始。 “The days that make us happy make us wise.”-John Masefield “快乐的日子使人睿智。”- 约翰 梅斯菲尔德 when I first read this line by Englands Poet Laureate, it startled me. What did Masefield mean? Without thinking about it much, I had always assumed that the opposite was true. But his sober assurance was arresting. I could not forget it. 第一次读到英国桂冠诗人梅斯菲尔德的这行诗时，我感到十分震惊。他想表达什么意思？我以前从未对此仔细考虑，总是认定这行诗反过来才正确。但他冷静而又胸有成竹的表达引起了我的注意，令我无法忘怀。 Finally, I seemed to grasp his meaning and realized that here was a profound observation. The wisdom that happiness makes possible lies in clear perception, not fogged by anxiety nor dimmed by despair and boredom, and without the blind spots caused by fear. 终于，我似乎领会了他的意思，并意识到这行诗意义深远。快乐带来的睿智存在于敏锐的洞察力之间，不会因忧虑而含混迷惑，也不会因绝望和厌倦而黯然模糊，更不会因恐惧而造成盲点。Active happiness-not mere satisfaction or contentment -often comes suddenly, like an April shower or the unfolding of a bud. Then you discover what kind of wisdom has accompanied it. The grass is greener; bird songs are sweeter; the shortcomings of your friends are more understandable and more forgivable. Happiness is like a pair of eyeglasses correcting your spiritual vision. 积极的快乐 - 并非单纯的满意或知足 - 通常不期而至，就像四月里突然下起的春雨，或是花蕾的突然绽放。然后，你就会发觉与快乐结伴而来的究竟是何种智慧。草地更为青翠，鸟吟更为甜美，朋友的缺点也变得更能让人理解，宽容