想更夸姣吗？活在当下
TED简介：什么时分人类最夸姣？为了收集相关的数据，马特 科林斯沃斯规划了一款运用，追寻你的夸姣指数，倾听志愿者的实在感触。成果令人惊奇：当咱们聚精会神的时分最夸姣。与此相反：越是分心，越是觉得不夸姣。
演讲者：Matt Killingsworth马特·科林斯沃斯
片长：10：14
中英对照翻译
So, people want a lot of things out of life, but I think, more than anything else, they want happiness.Aristotle called happiness "the chief good," the end towards which all other things aim. According to this view, the reason we want a big house or a nice car or a good job isn't that these things are intrinsically valuable. It's that we expect them to bring us happiness.
众所周知，人类为了林林总总的抱负而斗争，可是我以为，归根究底，他们要的是夸姣。亚里士多德把称夸姣为“登峰造极的精力享用，” 一切斗争和寻求的终极目标。依据这个观念，咱们之所以巴望一间大房子或许一辆豪车或许一个好作业。本质上来说，并不是由于这些东西对咱们特别有价值，而是由于咱们等待这些财富能给咱们带来夸姣。
Now in the last 50 years, we Americans have gotten a lot of the things that we want. We're richer. We live longer. We have access to technology that would have seemed like science fiction just a few years ago. The paradox of happiness is that even though the objective conditions of our lives have improved dramatically, we haven't actually gotten any happier.
在曩昔的50年里，咱们美国人的物质日子达到了史无前例的高度。咱们更赋有了，平均寿命更长了。廉价而又有用的科技产品使咱们的日子看起来犹如科幻小说一般，仅仅是几年的功夫。可是令人费解的是，尽管客观上咱们的物质日子水平有了极大的进步，咱们的夸姣感却一点也没添加。
Maybe because these conventional notions of progress haven't delivered big benefits in terms of happiness, there's been an increased interest in recent years in happiness itself. People have been debating the causes of happiness for a really long time, in fact for thousands of years, but it seems like many of those debates remain unresolved.
或许是由于这些传统意义上能添加夸姣感的办法，其实对夸姣感并没有什么大的影响，近些年来越来越多的人对夸姣自身发生了稠密的爱好。很长一段时刻，咱们都在争辩究竟是什么带给人类夸姣感，现实上这场争辩现已继续了数千年之久，可是看起来这些争辩都没有令人信服的成果。
Well, as with many other domains in life, I think the scientific method has the potential to answer this question. In fact, in the last few years, there's been an explosion in research on happiness. For example, we've learned a lot about its demographics, how things like income and education, gender and marriage relate to it.
恩，如同日子中许多范畴相同，我以为科学研讨是能够来答复这个问题的。其实，在曩昔的数年里，关于夸姣的研讨有了一些突破性的发展。比方，咱们经过对人口统计学的研讨了解到，外界要素比如收入 和教育，性别与婚姻状况对夸姣感有必定的影响。
But one of the puzzles this has revealed is that factors like these don't seem to have a particularly strong effect. Yes, it's better to make more money rather than less, or to graduate from college instead of dropping out, but the differences in happiness tend to be small.
可是令人觉得对立的是 上面提过的这些都不是决定性的要素。 确实，多挣些钱是件功德， 大学毕业必定比中途辍学好许多， 可是这些对夸姣感的影响都微乎其微。
Which leaves the question, what are the big causes of happiness? I think that's a question we haven't really answered yet, but I think something that has the potential to be an answer is that maybe happiness has an awful lot to do with the contents of our moment-to-moment experiences. It certainly seems that we're going about our lives, that what we're doing, who we're with, what we're thinking about, have a big influence on our happiness, and yet these are the very factors that have been very difficult, in fact almost impossible, for scientists to study.
这不由让咱们堕入考虑中，什么才是夸姣感的决定性要素呢？我觉得这个问题咱们还没有百分之百必定的答案， 可是我以为咱们现已找到一种很或许是答案的观念 便是 或许夸姣感是取决于 日子中林林总总的瞬间感触。 这就如同咱们正面临的日常日子中，咱们正在做的作业，咱们和谁在一起，咱们正在考虑什么，对咱们的夸姣指数有很大的影响，不仅如此还有许多要素他们很难， 现实上几乎是不或许，作为研讨的材料。
A few years ago, I came up with a way to study people's happiness moment to moment as they're going about their daily lives on a massive scale all over the world, something we'd never been able to do before. Called trackyourhappiness.org, it uses the iPhone to monitor people's happiness in real time.
几年前，我找到一种研讨夸姣感的办法，随时随地进行研讨在人们日常日子中，并在全国际范围内展开，这些咱们从前想都不敢想的事。咱们把它命名为 trackyourhappiness.org(网址） 它能经过Iphone实时监测咱们的夸姣指数。
How does this work? Basically, I send people signals at random points throughout the day, and then I ask them a bunch of questions about their moment-to-moment experience at the instant just before the signal. The idea is that, if we can watch how people's happiness goes up and down over the course of the day, minute to minute in some cases, and try to understand how what people are doing, who they're with, what they're thinking about, and all the other factors that describe our day, how those might relate to those changes in happiness, we might be able to discover some of the things that really have a big influence on happiness.
它的作业原理是什么呢？基本上，我会联络他们在一个随机的时刻，随后我会问他们一些问题关于他们的即时感触在我联络他们之前的那一瞬间。这么做的原因是，假如咱们能够调查到他们的夸姣指数上升或许下降伴跟着这一天的进行，有些事例是每分钟联络一次，而且尽量找出咱们在做什么、他们和谁在一起、他们在想什么，和其它一切能描绘咱们日子的要素，这些要素是怎样跟夸姣指数联络在一起的，咱们或许能经过它去发现那些真实能对夸姣感发生严重影响的东西。
We've been fortunate with this project to collect quite a lot of data, a lot more data of this kind than I think has ever been collected before, over 650,000 real-time reportsfrom over 15,000 people. And it's not just a lot of people, it's a really diverse group, people from a wide range of ages, from 18 to late 80s, a wide range of incomes, education levels, people who are married, divorced, widowed, etc. They collectively represent every one of 86 occupational categories and hail from over 80 countries.
咱们很走运的经过这个途径 收集到了许多的材料，比我预期的还要多的材料 史无前例的多，超越65万的即时信息 来自超越1万5千名志愿者。不光人数许多，而且散布广泛，志愿者散布在不同的年龄层，从18岁到80岁，不同的收入阶级，教育层次，已婚的，离婚的，丧偶的，等等。这些志愿者出在 86个不同职业而且来自超越80个国家。
What I'd like to do with the rest of my time with you today is talk a little bit about one of the areas that we've been investigating, and that's mind-wandering. As human beings, we have this unique ability to have our minds stray away from the present.
在今天剩余的时刻里我要做的是和咱们讨论一下其间一部分咱们现已研讨了一段时刻的东西，那便是分心。作为人类，咱们有这种绝无仅有的才干把咱们的注意力从眼前的事物转移到别处。
This guy is sitting here working on his computer, and yet he could be thinking about the vacation he had last month, wondering what he's going to have for dinner. Maybe he's worried that he's going bald. (Laughter) This ability to focus our attention on something other than the present is really amazing. It allows us to learn and plan and reason in ways that no other species of animal can.
这个人正坐在电脑前作业， 可是他或许正在回味上个月的游览，考虑一会去哪儿吃晚饭。或许他正在担忧自己快要秃了。（笑声） 这个才干使咱们能让咱们把更多注意力转移到其它当地而不是当下正在做的事这实在是太惊人了。这个才干让人类以自己独有的办法学习，规划和了解。
And yet it's not clear what the relationship is between our use of this ability and our happiness. You've probably heard people suggest that you should stay focused on the present. "Be here now," you've probably heard a hundred times. Maybe, to really be happy, we need to stay completely immersed and focused on our experience in the moment. Maybe these people are right. Maybe mind-wandering is a bad thing.
至今咱们仍是不能确认运用这种才干和咱们的夸姣感有什么关系。你必定从前听到他人主张你做作业要聚精会神。“不要分心，” 你必定听得耳朵都长茧了。或许，想要夸姣，咱们应该沉溺而且专心在咱们从前阅历过的夸姣瞬间。或许这些人是对的。或许分心不是件功德。
On the other hand, when our minds wander, they're unconstrained. We can't change the physical reality in front of us, but we can go anywhere in our minds. Since we know people want to be happy, maybe when our minds wander, they're going to someplace happier than the place that they're leaving. It would make a lot of sense. In other words, maybe the pleasures of the mind allow us to increase our happiness with mind-wandering.
但另一方面，分心能够让咱们的思维自由自在。咱们不能改变在咱们面前的实际国际，可是咱们的思维却能够飞到任何当地。咱们知道人类巴望得到夸姣，或许当咱们分心时，思维正飞往比眼前更夸姣的当地。这样就说得通了。换句话说，或许思维中的愉悦 经过分心进步了咱们的夸姣感。
Well, since I'm a scientist, I'd like to try to resolve this debate with some data, and in particular I'd like to present some data to you from three questions that I ask with Track Your Happiness. Remember, this is from sort of moment-to-moment experience in people's real lives.
好吧，作为一个科学作业者，我期望尽量用数据来处理这个争辩，所以我会特别想展现一些数据给咱们。这些数据来自与三个我在追寻夸姣指数中问到过的问题。请记住，这些都来自人们日常日子中的瞬间感触。
There are three questions. The first one is a happiness question: How do you feel, on a scale ranging from very bad to very good? Second, an activity question: What are you doing, on a list of 22 different activities including things like eating and working and watching TV? And finally a mind-wandering question: Are you thinking about something other than what you're currently doing? People could say no — in other words, I'm focused only on my task — or yes — I am thinking about something else — and the topic of those thoughts are pleasant, neutral or unpleasant. Any of those yes responses are what we called mind-wandering.
这儿有三个问题。第一个问题关于高兴： 你心境怎样样，衡量标准从十分差 到十分好？第二个问题，关于行为： 你在干嘛，咱们的清单上记录了22中不同的活动，包含吃饭、作业和看电视？ 和一个关于分心的问题： 你在想些其他事吗 而不是专心在眼下正在做的这件？ 有人会答复没有—或许换个说法，我正专心在我的作业上—有人会说，是的—我正在想些其他事— 这些事或许是高兴的，平铺直叙的或许不高兴的。这些事便是咱们所谓的分心了。
So what did we find? This graph shows happiness on the vertical axis, and you can see that bar there representing how happy people are when they're focused on the present, when they're not mind-wandering.
所以咱们发现什么了什么？ 这些柱状图为咱们描绘了各种状态下的夸姣指数，咱们能够看到眼前这个柱状图代表了人们会集精力在当下时的夸姣指数，当他们没有分心的时分。
As it turns out, people are substantially less happy when their minds are wandering than when they're not. Now you might look at this result and say, okay, sure, on average people are less happy when they're mind-wandering, but surely when their minds are straying away from something that wasn't very enjoyable to begin with, at least then mind-wandering should be doing something good for us. Nope.
现实证明，人们的夸姣指数显着下降了，当他们分心的时分相关于没分心时。现在看着眼前的成果咱们或许会说，好吧，必定是这样，遍及状况下人们在分心的状态下会觉得不夸姣，可是很有或许当人们的注意力从 一些令人不爽的作业上转移到其它当地时，至少这个时分分心能让咱们觉得高兴一点。不是的。
As it turns out, people are less happy when they're mind-wandering no matter what they're doing. For example, people don't really like commuting to work very much. It's one of their least enjoyable activities, and yet they are substantially happier when they're focused only on their commute than when their mind is going off to something else. It's amazing.
现实证明， 人们并不会由于分心而变得更夸姣，不管他们正在干嘛。例如，一切人都很不喜欢每日通勤这档子事。它是公认的最令人不愉快的活动，即便如此，当人们只把注意力放在赶路上的时分，仍然会感觉比分心到其它作业上更高兴一点。太让人吃惊了。
So how could this be happening? I think part of the reason, a big part of the reason, is that when our minds wander, we often think about unpleasant things, and they are enormously less happy when they do that, our worries, our anxieties, our regrets, and yet even when people are thinking about somethingneutral, they're still considerably less happy than when they're not mind-wandering at all.
是什么导致了这样的成果呢？我以为部分原因是，很大程度上吧，是由于当咱们分心的时分， 咱们常常会想起一些不太愉快的作业，这些作业比 眼下正在做的作业凄惨多了， 咱们的担忧，担忧，心中的懊悔， 即便是当人们正在想一些平铺直叙的作业，人们的夸姣指数仍然低于会集精力的时分。
Even when they're thinking about something they would describe as pleasant, they're actually just slightly less happy than when they aren't mind-wandering. If mind-wandering were a slot machine, it would be likehaving the chance to lose 50 dollars, 20 dollars or one dollar. Right? You'd never want to play. (Laughter)
甚至当人们想着那些令人愉悦的作业时， 人们的夸姣指数仍然略低于 不分心的时分。 假如把分心当作一台老虎机，跟它赌只要三种成果 输50块，输20块 或许输一块钱。对吧？你必定不想玩它。（笑声）
So I've been talking about this, suggesting, perhaps, that mind-wandering causes unhappiness, but allI've really shown you is that these two things are correlated. It's possible that's the case, but it might also be the case that when people are unhappy, then they mind-wander.
索然我现已说了许多关于夸姣感的，主张，假定， 分心或许会下降咱们的夸姣感，可是我真实想为咱们展现的是 “分心”和“夸姣感”两者是有相关的。或许分心会下降夸姣感，可是也有或许是另一种状况人们由于觉得不夸姣才分心。
Maybe that's what's really going on. How could we ever disentangle these two possibilites? Well, one fact that we can take advantage of, I think a fact you'll all agree is true, is that time goes forward, not backward. Right? The cause has to come before the effect. We're lucky in this data we have many responses from each person, and so we can look and see, does mind-wandering tend to precede unhappiness, or does unhappiness tend to precede mind-wandering, to get some insight into the causal direction.
或许这才是本相。咱们怎样才干 从这两种或许性中摆脱出来？ 好吧，咱们能够使用一个现实，我以为这个现实 咱们都赞同它的存在，这便是时刻总是向前的，而不是 后退的。对吧？原因必定呈现在成果之前。 咱们很走运的从咱们那里收集到这些数据， 据此咱们能够调查而且找出，是分心在苦楚之前呈现，仍是苦楚在分心之前呈现，经过这种以因果为导向的办法。
As it turns out, there is a strong relationship between mind-wandering now and being unhappy a short time later,consistent with the idea that mind-wandering is causing people to be unhappy. In contrast, there's no relationship between being unhappy now and mind-wandering a short time later. In other words, mind-wandering very likely seems to be an actual cause, and not merely a consequence, of unhappiness.
现实证明，许多时分人们会觉得不高兴当他们刚刚分心了今后，这很契合咱们关于分心会下降夸姣指数的估测. 相比之下，没有依据标明分心发生在 人们觉得不高兴之后。 换句话说，分心看起来很像是 是导致不夸姣的真实原因，而不是成果，不夸姣的结果。
A few minutes ago, I likened mind-wandering to a slot machine you'd never want to play. Well, how often do people's minds wander? Turns out, they wander a lot. In fact, really a lot. Forty-seven percent of the time, people are thinking about something other than what they're currently doing.
就在方才，我把分心比方成 一台无人问津的老虎机。恩，人们分心的频率有多高呢？ 数据证明，分心的现象十分遍及。现实上，简直是无时无刻。47%的时刻里，人们都在考虑其他作业而不是眼下正在做的。
How does that depend on what people are doing? This shows the rate of mind-wandering across 22 activities ranging from a high of 65 percent — (Laughter) — when people are taking a shower, brushing their teeth, to 50 percent when they're working, to 40 percent when they're exercising, all the way down to this one short bar on the right that I think some of you are probably laughing at. Ten percent of the time people's minds are wandering when they're having sex. (Laughter)
分心与否跟正在做的作业有什么关系呢？ 这儿咱们能够看到22种活动的分心比重 有的活动分心时刻长达65%——（笑声）—— 当人们洗澡，或许刷牙的时分， 当人们在作业的时分50%的时刻出在分心中， 当人们在运动的时分40%的时刻出在分心中， 顺次往下直到最短的这个柱状图 我信任许多人都会笑出来的。10%的时刻在分心 当他们在做爱的时分。（笑声）
But there's something I think that's quite interesting in this graph, and that is, basically with one exception, no matter what people are doing, they're mind-wandering at least 30 percent of the time, which suggests, I think, that mind-wandering isn't just frequent, it's ubiquitous. It pervades basically everything that we do.
可是我以为这张图告知了咱们定见很有意思的作业， 这便是，基本上没有破例， 不管人们在做什么，他们都会分心 至少在30%的时刻里分心，这告知咱们，我以为， 分心不仅仅频频的呈现，分心无处不在。 分心遍及在一切的人类活动中。
In my talk today, I've told you a little bit about mind-wandering, a variable that I think turns out to be fairly important in the equation for happiness. My hope is that over time, by tracking people's moment-to-moment happiness and their experiences in daily life, we'll be able to uncover a lot of important causes of happiness, and then in the end, a scientific understanding of happiness will help us create a future that's not only richer and healthier, but happier as well. Thank you. (Applause) (Applause)
咱们聊了这么多，我现已给咱们讲了一些关于分心的观念，一个已被清晰证实得 存在于夸姣方程式中的变量。我期望跟着时刻的曩昔，经过追寻人们的 即时夸姣指数和他们的阅历 在日常日子中，咱们能够找出那些真实影响咱们夸姣感的要素， 最终，我信任科学而且体系的了解夸姣 将会为咱们发明一个更夸姣的未来 不仅仅是更赋有 更健康，也愈加夸姣。 谢谢你们。（喝彩） （喝彩）
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