第3章 幸福的钥匙由你掌握 (2)

Group of alumni， highly established in their careers， got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and in life. Offering his guests coffee， the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain， plastic， glass， crystal， some plain looking， some expensive， some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand， the professor said，“If you noticed， all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up， leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves， that is the source of your problems and stress.

What all of you really wanted was coffee， not the cup， but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this： Life is the coffee and the jobs， money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life， and do not change the quality of Life. Sometimes， by concentrating only on the cup， we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided. So， don’t let the cups drive you ... enjoy the coffee instead.”

一群毕业生，各自的事业都已有所建树，相约一起去看望他们的大学教授。谈话一会儿就变成了各自对工作生活压力的抱怨。教授去厨房端来一大壶咖啡招待这些客人，拿出各式各样的咖啡杯——陶瓷的、塑料的、玻璃的、水晶的，有普通的、有价值不菲的、有做工精致的——让他们自己挑。

当所有学生手中都拿了咖啡杯之后，教授发话了：“如果你们注意一下，就可以发现所有好看的贵的杯子都给挑走了，剩下的只是那些普通的和便宜的。当然，每个人都想给自己挑到那个最好的，这很正常，但这也正是你们的问题和压力根源之所在。

其实你们真正想要的是咖啡，而不是杯子，但你们却又都下意识去挑选最好的杯子，并观察别人拿到的杯子。

试想：如果生活是杯中的咖啡，工作、财富和社会地位就是那些杯子。它们只是维持生活的工具而已，并不改变生活质量。有时候，我们在过于关注杯子的同时却忘了去品味上帝赐予的咖啡。所以，不要成为杯子的奴隶……好好地享受品味杯中的咖啡。”

Happiness Is a Journey幸福是一段旅程

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin real life.

But， there was always some obstacle in the way， something to be gotten through first， some unfinished business， time still to be served or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin.

At last it dawned on me that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you share it with someone special， someone special enough to spend your time with.

Make the most of your time. Don’t waste too much of your time studying， working， or stressing about something that seems important.

Do what you want to do to be happy but also do what you can to make the people you care about happy. Remember that time waits for no one.

So stop waiting until you take your last test， until you finish school， until you go back to school， until you have the perfect body， the perfect car， or whatever other perfect thing you desire.

Stop waiting until the weekend， when you can party or let loose， until summer， spring， fall or winter， until you find the right person and get married， until you die， until your born again， to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey， not a destination.

So love like you have never been hurt， work like you don’t need the money， and dance like no one’s watching.

很长一段时间我总觉得生命慎始。

但是得时无待，时不再来。生命无关途中际遇，兀自向前。

到底明白，幸福不在终点，幸福就是此生此路。

珍视每一寸光阴，珍视每一个共同度过的人。相信同伴就是一种珍贵。

惜时如金，莫要浪费挥霍。

时不我待，请怀着幸福感认真地为人处事。

完成人生必经的学业、事业的历程，所有欲求，都在实践。

明白幸福不在眼前，幸福就在脚下。何必等待“更好”的下一次，一切幸福都“正好”在此时。

幸福不在彼岸，幸福就是一种度过。

去爱吧，就像从没有受伤过。起舞吧，从心所愿。

Happiness Indicators in Various Stages of Life人生各年龄层幸福感指标

The ups and downs of life may seem to have no predictable plan. But scientists now know there are very definite patterns that almost all people share. Even if you’ve passed some of your “prime”， you still have other prime years to experience in the future. Certain important primes seem to peak later in life.

When are you smartest？ From 18—25， according to I.Q.scores； but you’re wiser and more experienced with increasing age.

You’re sharpest in your 20’s； around 30， memory begins to decline， particularly your ability to perform mathematical computations. But your I.Q.for other tasks climbs. Your vocabulary at age 45， for example is three times as great as when you graduated from college. At 60， your brain possesses almost four times as much information as it did at age 21. This trade-off between sharpness and wisdom has led psychologists to suggest that “maturity quotients” (M.Q.) be adopted for adults.

When are you happiest？ You have the best physical sense of yourself from 15to 24； the best professional sense from 40 to 49.

Before age 24， we believe that our happiest years are yet to come； over30， we believe that they’re behind us.A National Health Survey agrees： After age 30， we “become more realistic and do not view happiness as a goal in itself. If we maintain our health， achieve professional and emotional goals， and then happiness， we feel， will follow”.

When are you most creative？ Generally between 30and 39， but the peak varies with different professions.

Mozart wrote a symphony and four sonatas by age eight， and Mendelssohn composed his best known work A Midsummer Night’s Dream， at 17， but most of the great music was written by men between 33and 39. Though the peak in most fields comes early—most Nobel Prize winners did their top research in their late 20’s and 30’s—creative people continue to produce quality work throughout their lives. For the “well-conditioned mind”， there is no upper limit.

人生的起伏似乎没有可预知的模式，但是科学家现在发现有一些模式相当明确，绝大多数人都有不例外。即使你度过了一些最佳时期，你仍然会在将来经历另外几个最佳时期。某些最佳期时期似乎在生命的后半段才会到来。

什么时候你最聪明？根据智商得分，你从15岁至25岁最聪明。然而，随着年龄增长，你更加具有智慧和经验。

20多岁的时候你的思维最敏捷；30岁左右，记忆力开始衰退，尤其是你的数学计算能力。然而，你做其他事情的智商提高了。例如45岁时你的词汇量是你刚从大学毕业时的3倍。60岁时你大脑中储存的信息几乎是你21岁时的4倍。敏锐和智慧之间的协调，心理学家们就此提出了在成年人中采用“成熟商”这一概念。

什么时候你的感觉最好？15岁至24岁之间你的身体感觉最好；40岁至49岁之间你对自己的职业感觉最佳。