When you’re nearing the summit of this turbulent climb through life, will you reach the top with wild enthusiasm or will you be hobbling with the aching knees of regret? You’ve climbed through storms, passed over green patches and had help from friends, and now it’s almost over. Your whole life has been leading you to this moment and one thing is certain: this final ascent we all have to do alone。
生活遇到湍急巔峰時(shí)，你是樂(lè)觀攀登到頂點(diǎn)還是悲嘆著徘徊不前?你已經(jīng)歷過(guò)狂風(fēng)暴雨、走過(guò)一馬平川，也得到過(guò)朋友的幫助，但現(xiàn)在一切已成過(guò)往。人生走到這一刻，唯一能確定的便是：最后這一仗，你只能孤身奮戰(zhàn)了。
What thoughts will flash through your mind? You will be faced with tough questions such as: Did I do enough, love enough, was I happy?
你想到了什么?是不是想到這樣的棘手問(wèn)題：我做得夠好嗎?愛(ài)得夠多嗎?我快樂(lè)嗎?
You might leave these questions simmering on the back burner, thinking tomorrow will be a good day to contemplate the answers, but remember—tomorrow might not come!
或許你選擇暫且把這些疑問(wèn)擱置一邊，等明天再好好思考。但是別忘了——明日復(fù)明日，萬(wàn)事成蹉跎!
So here’s what you can do today. Let’s call this an insurance policy for tomorrow’s happiness。
下面這些事情是你今天就能做的，姑且看作是明天幸福的保證吧。
1. Put your health and wellness above everything else
健康高于一切
There is an old saying: “If you don’t have your health you have nothing,” and this is very true. Your body is housing your soul. Exercise, eat clean and get the proper rest. Take care of your body so that you have the opportunity to lead a long and full life。
俗話說(shuō)：“健康不再，萬(wàn)事無(wú)奈。” 千真萬(wàn)確。身體是革命的本錢(qián)。要運(yùn)動(dòng)、健康飲食、恰當(dāng)休息。照顧好自己的身體，這樣才有機(jī)會(huì)創(chuàng)造完滿(mǎn)人生。
2. Take the time to do the things you love
花時(shí)間做喜歡的事
This may sound cliché, but work less and play more. You will never regret taking a vacation, engaging in a new hobby or spending a day with those who make you happy. But you might regret never taking that art class, reading that book or crossing big items off the bucket list. Be a participant in life。
雖是陳詞濫調(diào)，但你確實(shí)應(yīng)該少操心工作、多學(xué)會(huì)享受。去度假、發(fā)展新愛(ài)好或和使你快樂(lè)的人消磨一天，你絕對(duì)不會(huì)后悔;但若是沒(méi)有去上那堂藝術(shù)課、沒(méi)有閱讀某本書(shū)或沒(méi)能完成某個(gè)心愿，你卻會(huì)感到后悔。所以，做個(gè)生活的積極參與者吧。
3. Stop taking life so seriously
別過(guò)得一本正經(jīng)
Why are you taking life so seriously anyway? Really? Find humor in something everyday, and laugh, laugh a lot!
干嘛把生活搞得如此嚴(yán)肅呢，嗯?每天找些樂(lè)子，多開(kāi)懷大笑吧!
4. Always say what you need to say
說(shuō)該說(shuō)的話
If you love someone, tell them. If someone hurt you, tell them. If you have trouble expressing your feelings, then write a letter. Make sure those around you know each and every day how you feel。
如果你愛(ài)某個(gè)人，那就告白吧;如果某人傷害了你，那就說(shuō)出來(lái)吧。要是你不擅長(zhǎng)口頭表達(dá)情感，那就采取寫(xiě)信的方式。確保身邊的人每天都能知道你的感受。
5. Open up your mind to possibilities
向機(jī)遇敞開(kāi)心懷
If you look in your garage and see a coiled, dark shadow that resembles a snake, your reaction might be to jump with fear, but later when you look closer and realize it’s just a green hose, you might feel silly for believing the tricks of your mind. Stop being controlled by your deluded projections。
如果你探頭看到垃圾箱有個(gè)貌似蛇的黑乎乎蜷曲著的東西，第一反應(yīng)肯定是嚇了一跳，再細(xì)看時(shí)，你發(fā)現(xiàn)其實(shí)只是一截綠色水管，原來(lái)是自己看錯(cuò)了啊，你啞然失笑。所以，不要再被自己無(wú)端假想給絆住。
Change your perspective and open yourself up to a new world of exciting and fulfilling possibilities. Look at your life with fresh eyes and you’ll find improved relationships, more excitement, and less resentments, anger and bitterness。
換個(gè)視覺(jué)，敞開(kāi)心胸接納各種驚奇而有意義的機(jī)遇。用全新眼光審視自己的生活，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)更融洽的人際關(guān)系、更多開(kāi)心，會(huì)少一些抵觸、憤怒與痛苦。
6. Follow your own path—live a life true to you
聽(tīng)從內(nèi)心——過(guò)自己的生活
Stop comparing yourself to others and stop striving for perfection. Life is not a masquerade ball—take off the mask, be yourself! If people don’t like it, then maybe it’s time to find a new party. Doing or being any other way will leave you feeling lonely, depressed and hopeless. Stop living a life based on the expectations of others。
停止與他人攀比，停止追求完美。生活不是一場(chǎng)化裝舞會(huì)——摘掉面具，做回你自己吧!要是別人不喜歡，那就換個(gè)環(huán)境。有悖自我只會(huì)使你感到孤獨(dú)、沮喪甚至絕望。不要再為了他人的期望而生活了。
7. Stop living in the past
停止活在過(guò)去
Right now you need to throw away regrets of the past. It’s gone, there is no point dwelling on what could of been, doing so will only rob the present moment of joy。
從現(xiàn)在開(kāi)始，你應(yīng)該拋開(kāi)對(duì)過(guò)去的悔恨。既然已經(jīng)過(guò)去，后悔不僅于事無(wú)補(bǔ)，反倒會(huì)掠走當(dāng)下的快樂(lè)。
The past doesn’t exist except as a memory, it’s a mental story and it can’t be changed. Why not tell the story of your past in a way that enhances your present moment and future。
過(guò)去除了回憶一無(wú)所有，而回憶只是一則無(wú)法改變的故事罷了。既然如此，何不以積極的方式講述過(guò)去的故事，從而為當(dāng)下及將來(lái)提供正能量呢?
8. Accept the things you cannot change
接受無(wú)法改變的事情
When you fight against reality, you get bloody in a battle of what ifs and denial. Whether your reality is that you should have married someone else, said something you needed to say, or are dealing with an illness, the reality is you can’t change any these things. Dwelling or worrying is only robbing your present moment of all joy。
在與現(xiàn)實(shí)的斗爭(zhēng)中，你不斷假設(shè)又不斷碰壁，撞得頭破血流。不論你是在后悔錯(cuò)過(guò)該嫁的人、說(shuō)了不該說(shuō)的話，或正身患疾病，現(xiàn)實(shí)都無(wú)法改變。一味沉溺其中或憂(yōu)愁焦慮只會(huì)喪失當(dāng)下的快樂(lè)。
What you can do is re-evaluate your life now and take the necessary steps to make the appropriate changes. Follow your instincts, they will tell you when you have veered off the path of where you should be, whether it be your relationship or career. Tune into your inner compass it will guide you in the right direction。
你能做的是從現(xiàn)在起重新審視自己的生活，采取必要措施作出恰當(dāng)改變。聽(tīng)從直覺(jué)的指引。不論是感情還是職業(yè)，請(qǐng)讓內(nèi)心指引你到達(dá)正確方向。
Take “what if”， “should have” and “why me” out of your story. Move on。
把“假如”、“本應(yīng)該”及“為什么是我”從字典里刪除。然后，繼續(xù)前行。
9. Practice mindful living
試著用心生活
Mindful living will in fact slow down time; it will enhance the present moment and fill otherwise mundane days with awe and joy。
用心生活能放慢時(shí)間、彰顯當(dāng)下時(shí)光并使平凡的日子充滿(mǎn)驚喜與快樂(lè)。
Ten years from now you might think, Where did my life go? When we live mindfully we immerse ourselves in moments. These are the moments that make up our lives. If you don’t practice mindfulness you run the risk of having these precious moments of your life lost to a string of foggy over-thinking. Rest in the spaces in between the major events, these spaces are your life。
十年后你可能會(huì)問(wèn)：我這輩子是怎么過(guò)來(lái)的?如果用心生活，你會(huì)盡情過(guò)好每分每秒，而正是這些分分秒秒構(gòu)成了全部生活;要是麻木生活，你會(huì)錯(cuò)失生活中美好的瞬間，以后只留下一抹模糊的掠影。享受里程碑間的間歇時(shí)光吧——這些就是你的生活呵。
10. Stop chasing money, fame, and possessions
停止追逐金錢(qián)、名利和財(cái)富
We crave wealth, prestige, fame and popularity, we crave material things and beautiful people. We mistakenly think that happiness is going to arrive when we meet these goals. Instead of enjoying our life, we are in a constant pursuit of something other than where we are right now。
我們渴望財(cái)富、聲望與名利，我們渴望物質(zhì)和俊男美女。我們錯(cuò)誤地以為，只要得到這些，幸福就會(huì)降臨。我們忘了要享受生活、忽視當(dāng)下時(shí)光，轉(zhuǎn)而樂(lè)此不疲地追求其他東西。
At the end of your life, your expensive BMW will not be what’s flashing through your mind. You will more likely smile at the memory of your loyal dog. Stop chasing material possessions, there is no real happiness there, only an endless pursuit。
咽氣之際，你腦中閃現(xiàn)的或許不是寶馬汽車(chē)，而是讓你微笑的忠誠(chéng)老狗。停止追逐物質(zhì)財(cái)富吧。物質(zhì)并不能帶來(lái)真正的快樂(lè)，只會(huì)招來(lái)永無(wú)止境的貪婪。
11. Always practice gratitude
常常感恩
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend。” — Melody Beattie
“感恩開(kāi)啟生活的圓滿(mǎn)。它使我們擁有更多，變拒絕為接受，化混亂為有序，使困惑變澄澈。它能將簡(jiǎn)餐變成盛宴、房屋變成家園、陌生人變成好朋友。”—— 梅洛迪-貝蒂
Gratitude improves health, happiness, spirituality, connection, relationships, self-worth and simply gives life intense meaning。
感恩改善健康、快樂(lè)、精神、關(guān)系、人際和自我價(jià)值，并賦予生活深刻內(nèi)涵。
Even if your life isn’t perfect—and here’s a secret, it never will be perfect—you still have a lot to be grateful for. So every day remember to take the time to smile, laugh and truly say thanks for all the small and big joys in your life。
哪怕你的生活并不完美(其實(shí)生活從來(lái)不曾完美)，你仍有許多可以感恩的地方。所以，每天要記得微笑大笑，感激生活中或大或小的樂(lè)趣。
12. Love
愛(ài)心
This is an excerpt by the famous Martha Beck that has made an enormous impact on my life. It sums up regret beautifully:
下面一段話摘自瑪莎-貝克的文字，把遺憾總結(jié)非常美妙，我感到受益匪淺：
“So the ultimate lesson of regret, the one that will help guide you into a rich and satisfying future, is this: Every time life brings you to a crossroads, from the tiniest to the most immense, go toward love, not away from fear. Think of every choice in terms of “What would thrill and delight me?” rather than “What will keep my fear—or the events, people, and things I fear—at bay?”
“最后一課是關(guān)于遺憾。能指引你走向豐富而圓滿(mǎn)的未來(lái)的是：每次生活中遇到十字路口，不論大小，都選擇愛(ài)心那條路，而不是恐懼方向。每次都告訴自己‘前方有什么有趣的事情在等我’，而不是暗示自己‘前方有什么可怕的事情或人物’。”
Pay attention to all of the sources of love in your life and you’ll develop a growing sense of abundance of how much beauty surrounds you each day。
關(guān)注生活中的點(diǎn)滴愛(ài)心，慢慢你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，每天的生活都那么豐富而美妙!
So let’s summarize: A cheat sheet to living without regrets
現(xiàn)在讓我們總結(jié)一下：無(wú)悔生活的貼士
Take care of your health
保持健康
Make time to do the things you love, work less, laugh and play
花時(shí)間做喜歡的事，少操心工作、多享受歡樂(lè)
Say what you need to say
說(shuō)該說(shuō)的話
Practice mindfulness
用心生活
Change your perspective
改變視覺(jué)
Let go of the past
放開(kāi)過(guò)去
Accept the things you can not change
接受無(wú)法改變的事情
Stop thinking happiness is a future event
不要再認(rèn)為幸福在于未來(lái)
Stop chasing money and material wealth
停止追逐金錢(qián)和物質(zhì)財(cái)富
Live authentically
真實(shí)生活
Take off the mask
摘下面具
Follow your instincts
聽(tīng)從直覺(jué)
Practice gratitude
學(xué)會(huì)感恩
Don’t make your decisions based on fear
別讓恐懼牽制你的決定
Love, love love!
充滿(mǎn)愛(ài)心!
There is no guarantee that you won’t make any bad decisions, but when you start living your life with these tools in mind, your days will naturally become meaningful. Your wise eyes will be full of adventure and tales: adventures that might not be perfect, but at the very least won’t be filled with regrets。
誰(shuí)也不能保證你絕不會(huì)做出糟糕的決定，但一旦你在生活中謹(jǐn)記以上建議，一切自然會(huì)變得充滿(mǎn)意義。你的眼里寫(xiě)滿(mǎn)冒險(xiǎn)和故事：冒險(xiǎn)或許并不完美，但絕對(duì)會(huì)讓你無(wú)悔!
