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原文刊载于TIME杂志2015年10月12日
原文标题：Why chasing happiness might be making you miserable
原文作者：Mandy Oaklander
AMERICANS NOW SPEND $9.6 Billion on self-help products every year, including scores of books whose titles all sound something like A Do-It-Yourself Prescription for Happiness or How to Be Happy, Dammit. But new research suggests that the more you go looking for happiness, the less likely you are to find it.
每一年，美国民众在心灵自助产品上的花费高达96亿美元，其中包括很多书籍，这些书籍充斥着心灵鸡汤，大部分都取名为“让自己获得幸福的方法”或者“到底怎样才能快乐”等等。但是，最新研究表明，过于刻意追寻幸福，反倒更难获得。
The latest indication comes from a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.It measured how motivated college students were to find happiness vs. their actual levels of well-being (as assessed by commonly used measures). Common sense dictates that those most gung-ho about finding happiness would also be the ones with higher levels of well-being—and that’s indeed what researchers found for students in Russia and East Asia. But for Americans,“desperately wanting to be happy is linked with lower psychological health,”says study author Brett Ford, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
这个最新的研究结论发表于《实验心理学》杂志。该研究针对大学生及其同龄人，使用心理学的常用实验方法，将个体对幸福的渴求程度及其实际生活的幸福感量化，并进行比对。我们通常会认为，一个人对幸福的追求越强烈，那么他对自身的要求也相应较高。这个说法被研究人员证实是正确的，但仅针对俄罗斯及东亚地区的学生。来自加州大学伯克利分校的心理学博士研究生，也是该文章的作者，布拉德福特说，就美国学生而言，对幸福的强烈渴求与他们的心理亚健康状态有关。
The discrepancy seems to stem from the way different cultures view happiness. In collectivist societies like Japan, for example, happiness is seen as a social endeavor: spending time with friends, caring for parents, etc. This kind of social connection is integral to well-being, Ford says.
不同文化对于幸福的理解有偏差，这造成了今天的分化。例如，日本是一个集体主义社会，他们对于幸福的理解就更偏社会化，与朋友促膝长谈，照顾父母等等都被他们视为幸福的事。福特说，这种融入集体的举动确实会有助于完善自我。
But in the U.S., happiness is often seen as an individual pursuit: chasing the best career, buying stuff and expecting all of that to lead to happiness. That sets up Americans for a lifetime of letdowns. “Most people live in a pretty neutral state,” Ford says. “A happy life doesn’t consist of happy moments every moment of the day.”
但是在美国，幸福经常被视为是个人追求的成功，例如职业发展如日中天，买东西不看标签，期待着所有事情都很开心，这些目标太容易使人挫败，以至于很多美国人总感觉在失望。“大部分普通人的生活都是平淡的”，福特说，“幸福生活并不意味着每一天的每一刻都是开心的。”
The latest science has, however, turned up some new ways to help you feel better—and none of them involve chasing down happiness. Here, a sampling of the most effective tips.
不过，最新的科学研究也给了一些新办法，虽然它们都不是让你直接找到幸福，但至少能给你一些安慰，以下，就是几个最有效的小技巧：
5 WAYS TO FEEL HAPPIER, BACKED BY SCIENCE
SCHEDULE FUN ACTIVITIES
In a study last year, people who intentionally created conditions in their daythat were likely to bring about positive emotions—like gardening or seeing afriend—had more happy feelings and fewersymptoms of depression than those whodidn’t.
给自己设立娱乐活动日程表
去年的一项研究表明，园艺或者与朋友聚会等能给人带来积极的情绪，如果你在自己的日程表中刻意添加这些活动，你将会比那些没有活动安排的人们，感到更加快乐，抑郁情绪也会更少。
SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE
When people are primed to think of their time as limited, they want to feelserenehappiness more than excited happiness. Past research suggests that whenpeople value calm more, they seekout more relaxing activities.
转换你的视角
一旦意识到时间是有限的，相比激动人心的时刻，人们将会更愿意享受平静的时光。过去的研究表明，珍视平淡，你的心情会更放松。
STAY PRESENT
In one study that had people listen to classical music, those who were told totry to feel as happy as possible ended up in worse moods than those who simplylistened.
享受当下
曾经有一项关于听音乐的研究，部分人被提前告知要在听的过程中尽量保持愉快。结果发现，这些人反倒还不如那些只是单纯听音乐的人开心。
LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Expecting big fun often leads to the opposite, and that’s what researchersfound when they polled people before and after New Year’s Eve. People who hadelaborate plans thought they’d enjoy their night the most, but they were themost disappointed afterward.
降低你的预期
研究者们让人们在新年夜前后投票，结果发现，希望越大，失望越大。那些对新年夜提前进行周密计划的人，到头来却是最失望的人。
SAVOR GREAT MOMENTS
Appreciate and relive wonderful moments even after they’re over, says Fred Bryant, a psychology professor at Loyola University Chicago. His research shows that absorbing yourself in a positive experience—what he calls “savoring”—strongly predicts higher levels of happiness.
回味美好时刻
芝加哥洛约拉大学教授弗莱德说，当激动人心的时刻结束，反复持续地细细品味也是一个好办法。他的研究表明，对美好事物的回味（按他的说法叫品尝快乐），也能极大地提高幸福感。
