英語(yǔ)閱讀:5種方式打造精彩生活

1. Live Below Your Means

量力消費(fèi)

There will always be temptation to forsake the future for immediate gratification. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can’t afford. It might feel great at the time but rash spending hurts a lot later on.

總是存在一些誘惑，讓你想為了眼前的滿足而放棄未來(lái)。我們都想買新科技產(chǎn)品，去吃一頓昂貴的晚餐犒勞自己，或者貸款買那輛我們本來(lái)買不起的耀眼豪車。當(dāng)時(shí)可能感覺(jué)很棒，但輕率的消費(fèi)會(huì)讓你之后很受傷。

Enjoy life’s simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.

享受生活中簡(jiǎn)單的樂(lè)趣，盡可能地節(jié)省。昂貴的東西并不會(huì)帶來(lái)長(zhǎng)久的幸福和安全感。從長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)來(lái)說(shuō)，慎重消費(fèi)才會(huì)帶給你更大的輕松和愉快。

2. Put Your Money to Work

讓你的錢運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)

Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40′s or in your 60′s.

存錢是好的，但是想要大程度利用你的錢，你需要讓它們運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)。好的投資可以決定你的退休時(shí)間是40多歲還是60多歲。

If a person in their early 20′s invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40′s. They could retire without a drop in income! Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on.

如果一個(gè)人在20歲出頭的時(shí)候把他工資的20%用于投資購(gòu)買標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾指數(shù)基金，那么當(dāng)他40歲出頭時(shí)，他獲得的利息會(huì)和他當(dāng)前的工資持平。他們就可以在不減少收入的情況下退休了！明智的投資是經(jīng)濟(jì)獨(dú)立可靠的道路，而且每個(gè)人都可以做到。

3. Educate Yourself

自我教育

To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life long education. This doesn’t mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives.

為了能夠幸福，我們需要持續(xù)的成長(zhǎng)。成長(zhǎng)好的方法就是終身教育。這并不意味著你要去攻讀博士學(xué)位或者每天讀書兩小時(shí)。自我教育可以是任何讓你走出自己舒適區(qū)域的東西。重要的是保持開放的心態(tài)，尋求新鮮的觀點(diǎn)和看法。

Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.

教育會(huì)讓時(shí)間充實(shí)。也許你會(huì)覺(jué)得你獲得的點(diǎn)滴智慧并沒(méi)有多重要，但經(jīng)過(guò)多年積累，它們會(huì)讓你成為一個(gè)更睿智、更仁慈、更有趣的人。

4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships

建立長(zhǎng)期的人際關(guān)系

Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don’t forget about them.

假設(shè)你擁有了你想要的一切。如果沒(méi)有人和你分享，你還會(huì)快樂(lè)嗎？我們和朋友家人之間建立起來(lái)的人際關(guān)系是我們生命中快樂(lè)的大來(lái)源。不要忘記這一點(diǎn)。

Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to longterm happiness. Without the people you care about you’ll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.

花時(shí)間打造并享受人際關(guān)系對(duì)于長(zhǎng)久的幸福來(lái)說(shuō)是必不可少的。沒(méi)有那些你在乎的人，不管你有多成功，你都可能會(huì)活得很痛苦。

5. Work Towards a Dream You’re Passionate About

朝一個(gè)你懷有激情的夢(mèng)想努力

Even if your life isn’t perfect, you can always build towards a goal you’re passionate about. If you aren’t building towards something, you’re probably stagnating. When this happens to me I start to feel like a victim trapped by my own life. The best way to reverse this is working towards a goal.

即使你的人生不完美，你也可以朝著自己懷有激情的目標(biāo)去努力。如果你沒(méi)有努力的目標(biāo)，你可能會(huì)停滯不前。當(dāng)我遇到這種情況時(shí)，我會(huì)覺(jué)得自己像一個(gè)被自己的生活困住的受害者。想要扭轉(zhuǎn)這個(gè)局面，好的辦法就是朝著一個(gè)目標(biāo)努力。

We can’t control everything about our lives, but working towards a goal gives us something positive to focus on and lays the foundation for future success. No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something. As Lao Tzu said, even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

我們不能控制生活中的每一件事情，但是朝著一個(gè)目標(biāo)努力會(huì)給我們一些正能量，讓我們專注，并且為未來(lái)的成功打下基礎(chǔ)。不論你的激情是什么，行動(dòng)起來(lái)，開始做些事情。就好像老子說(shuō)的：千里之行始于足下。

Bonus: 6. Stay in Shape

附送第6點(diǎn)：保持身材

You only get one body. Once it’s been ruined there isn’t much you can do about it. Exercise to keep the rust off. Avoid excessive consumption of damaging substances and unhealthy foods. It may feel like terrible self denial at the time but enjoying good health in your later years is worth the sacrifice.

你只有一個(gè)身體。一旦身體受損，你做什么都于事無(wú)補(bǔ)。運(yùn)動(dòng)起來(lái)，別讓身體生銹，避免過(guò)量攝入有害物質(zhì)和不健康的食品。有時(shí)候也許會(huì)感到可怕的自我否定，但在晚年時(shí)擁有健康會(huì)讓這些犧牲都值得。