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When enough is enough
知足常乐
Recently, I rushed into a Gap store to buy a pair of jeans. A salesperson asked if she could help. "I want a pair of jeans — 32-28," I said in haste.
不久前，我冲进一家 Gap 店去买一条牛仔裤。店员问我是否要她帮忙。“我想要一条牛仔裤，32-28码的，”我匆匆地说。
"Do you want slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit, baggy, or extra baggy?" she ventured. "Do you want stone-washed, acid-washed, button-fly or regular-fly, faded or regular?"
“您想要紧身的，合身的，休闲的，宽松的，还是特大宽松的？”她试探地问道。“您想要石磨的还是漂染的？纽扣门襟还是拉链门襟？褪色的还是普通的？”
I stopped. I didn't have a hint, not the remotest idea of what she had asked, so I said, "I just want regular jeans. You know - the kind that used to be the only kind."
我停了下来。我在她所问的问题中没得到任何暗示，也对这些问题毫无所知，所以我说：“我只想买一条普通的牛仔裤。你知道的，曾经是唯一的那种。”
She pointed in the right direction. The trouble was, with all those options distributed in front of me, I wasn't sure what I wanted. So, I tried on pair after pair of jeans for almost two hours - trying to decide. It wasn't a big decision, little depended on my choice, but I was convinced that one pair had to be just right for me.
她指了指找得到我要的那种牛仔裤的地方。麻烦的是，看着所有摆在我面前的牛仔裤，我不知该选哪一条。于是，为了作出选择，我就一条一条地试穿，足足试了将近两个小时。这并不是一项重大的决定，也并不取决于我的选择，但我确信，有一条牛仔裤必定适合我。
The jeans I chose were fine, but this simple transaction provoked a strong reaction in me. Buying a new pair of pants shouldn't render someone a wreck! Purchasing jeans was once an easy choice; now it's become a complex decision.
我选择的牛仔裤还不错，但这桩简单的买卖却引起了我强烈的反应。买一条新裤子不应该让人感到疲惫不堪的！购买牛仔裤曾经是一件很容易的事，现在它却变成了一个复杂的决策过程。
Choices in modern life have increased tremendously. A typical store in 1900 had only a few dozen categories with one or two options per category. Modern supermarkets have 50,000 to 60,000 items in thousands of categories. Looking for hair-care products? There are more than 350 types of shampoo and conditioners. Need a painkiller? There are almost 100 options. Toothpaste, anyone? You have 40+ types to choose from!
现代生活中的选择已大幅增加。1900 年的时候，一个商店一般只有几十种类别，每种类别只有一到两种选择。现代的超市在几千种类别里，有 50，000 至 60，000 件物品。寻找护发产品吗？有超过 350 种的洗发水和护发素。需要止痛药吗？有近 100 个选项。有人要牙膏吗？你有 40 多种可选择！
It's true that enforced restrictions with very limited or no choices make life unbearable, and having options does increase our sense of liberation and control. However, my jeans purchase highlights a different problem. As options increase out of control, people often begin to feel their life is crashing down on them. They are overloaded, overwhelmed and feel their life growing vacant without meaning.
确实，在强行限制的生活中，非常有限的选择或毫无选择让人难以忍受，而有选择无疑可增加我们的自由感和控制感。然而，我购买牛仔裤的经历却突显了一个不同的问题。随着选择失控般地增加，人们常常开始感到他们的生活正在崩溃。他们不堪重负，不知所措，觉得他们的生活在变得空虚而没有意义。
