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Most mornings as I leave the Y after my swim and shower, I cross paths with a coterie of toddlers entering with their caregivers for a kid-oriented activity. I can’t resist saying hello, requesting a high-five, and wishing them a fun time. I leave the Y grinning from ear to ear, uplifted not just by my own workout but even more so by my interaction with these darling representatives of the next generation.
大多数早上，游完泳、冲完澡的我离开基督教青年会时，都会穿过满是蹒跚学步的幼儿的小径，他们被看护人带到这里，参加一个面向儿童的活动。我禁不住要向他们问好，请他们跟我击掌，并祝他们玩得愉快。我离开时总是满面笑容，精神振奋，这不仅仅因为我刚刚锻炼了身体，更重要的是，我和下一代人的这些可爱代表互动了一番。
What a great way to start the day!
能以这样的方式开始每一天，真是太棒了！
When I told a fellow swimmer about this experience and mentioned that I was writing a column on the health benefits of positive emotions, she asked, “What do you do about people who are always negative?” She was referring to her parents, whose chronic negativity seems to drag everyone down and make family visits extremely unpleasant.
当我跟一同游泳的一个伙伴说起上述体验，并提及我正在写一篇关于积极情绪对健康有什么好处的专栏文章时，她问，“你会拿一直都很消极的人怎么办？”她指的是她的父母，长期主导着他们的消极情绪似乎会把每个人拉下水，让探亲过程不愉快到极点。
I lived for half a century with a man who suffered from periodic bouts of depression, so I understand how challenging negativism can be. I wish I had known years ago about the work Barbara Fredrickson, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina, has done on fostering positive emotions, in particular her theory that accumulating “micro-moments of positivity,” like my daily interaction with children, can, over time, result in greater overall well-being.
我和一个因抑郁症不时发作而遭受折磨的男人共同生活过50年，很能明白消极情绪会带来多大的挑战。我真希望自己多年前就了解北卡罗来纳大学(University of North Carolina)的心理学家芭芭拉·弗雷德里克森(Barbara Fredrickson)在培养积极情绪方面做的工作，尤其是她的这样一个理论：“激发积极情绪的微瞬间”不断累积，假以时日，会让整体健康状况得到改善。我和孩子们每天的交流就属于这种微瞬间。
The research that Dr. Fredrickson and others have done demonstrates that the extent to which we can generate positive emotions from even everyday activities can determine who flourishes and who doesn’t. More than a sudden bonanza of good fortune, repeated brief moments of positive feelings can provide a buffer against stress and depression and foster both physical and mental health, their studies show.
弗雷德里克森以及其他人开展的研究表明，我们可以在多大程度上从日常活动中获得积极情绪，决定着我们能不能活得健康快乐。他们的研究显示，比起突然交上一次好运，反复出现的那些激发积极情绪的短暂时刻，可以更好地缓冲压力和抑郁，增进身心健康。
This is not to say that one must always be positive to be healthy and happy. Clearly, there are times and situations that naturally result in negative feelings in the most upbeat of individuals. Worry, sadness, anger and other such “downers” have their place in any normal life. But chronically viewing the glass as half-empty is detrimental both mentally and physically and inhibits one’s ability to bounce back from life’s inevitable stresses.
这并不是说，一个人要健康快乐，就必须一直都很积极。显然，有些时刻和情况会自然而然地让最乐观的人产生消极感受。忧虑、悲伤、愤怒以及其他类似的“沮丧之情”存在于每一个普通人的生命中。但总是看到杯子只剩下一半水，不仅有碍身心健康，还会抑制一个人顶住生活中不可避免的压力、重焕生机的能力。
Negative feelings activate a region of the brain called the amygdala, which is involved in processing fear and anxiety and other emotions. Dr. Richard J. Davidson, a neuroscientist and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin — Madison, has shown that people in whom the amygdala recovers slowly from a threat are at greater risk for a variety of health problems than those in whom it recovers quickly.
负面情绪会激活脑部一个名为杏仁核的区域，它与恐惧、焦虑等情绪的处理有关。威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校(University of Wisconsin — Madison)健康心灵研究中心(Center for Healthy Minds)创始人、神经科学家理查德·J·戴维森(Richard J. Davidson)博士发现，遇到威胁后杏仁核平复较慢的人，会比杏仁核平复较快的那些人面临更大的出现各种健康问题的风险。
Both he and Dr. Fredrickson and their colleagues have demonstrated that the brain is “plastic,” or capable of generating new cells and pathways, and it is possible to train the circuitry in the brain to promote more positive responses. That is, a person can learn to be more positive by practicing certain skills that foster positivity.
戴维森、弗雷德里克森以及他们的同事开展的研究表明，大脑具有“弹性”，或者说可以产生新细胞和通路，我们有可能通过训练脑回路来催生更为积极的反应。也就是说，一个人可以通过使用培养积极情绪的特定技巧，学着变得更积极。
For example, Dr. Fredrickson’s team found that six weeks of training in a form of meditation focused on compassion and kindness resulted in an increase in positive emotions and social connectedness and improved function of one of the main nerves that helps to control heart rate. The result is a more variable heart rate that, she said in an interview, is associated with objective health benefits like better control of blood glucose, less inflammation and faster recovery from a heart attack.
例如，弗雷德里克森的团队发现，开展为期六周的慈悲与仁爱冥想训练，会让人产生更多积极情绪，增进社会联络，并改善一种帮助控制心率的重要神经的功能。她接受采访时说，其结果是心率变异度更高，而这牵涉到一些健康方面的客观好处，比如血糖得到更好的控制，减少炎症，以及在心脏病发作后更快地恢复。
Dr. Davidson’s team showed that as little as two weeks’ training in compassion and kindness meditation generated changes in brain circuitry linked to an increase in positive social behaviors like generosity.
戴维森的团队发现，即便只进行为期两周的慈悲与仁爱冥想训练，也可以让脑回路发生有助于增进慷慨等积极社会行为的改变。
“The results suggest that taking time to learn the skills to self-generate positive emotions can help us become healthier, more social, more resilient versions of ourselves,” Dr. Fredrickson reported in the National Institutes of Health monthly newsletter in 2015.
“这些结果显示，花时间学习自行产生积极情绪的技巧，有助于我们变成更健康、更合群、更具复原力的人，”2015年，弗雷德里克森在国立卫生研究院(National Institutes of Health)的每月简报中表示。
In other words, Dr. Davidson said, “well-being can be considered a life skill. If you practice, you can actually get better at it.” By learning and regularly practicing skills that promote positive emotions, you can become a happier and healthier person. Thus, there is hope for people like my friend’s parents should they choose to take steps to develop and reinforce positivity.
戴维森表示，换句话说，“健康可以被视为一种生活技巧。如果勤加练习，你其实会有进步。”通过学习和定期使用催生积极情绪的技巧，你可以变成一个更快乐、更健康的人。因此，我朋友的父母那样的人是有希望的，只要他们选择采取行动，培养和增强自己的积极情绪。
In her newest book, “Love 2.0,” Dr. Fredrickson reports that “shared positivity — having two people caught up in the same emotion — may have even a greater impact on health than something positive experienced by oneself.” Consider watching a funny play or movie or TV show with a friend of similar tastes, or sharing good news, a joke or amusing incidents with others. Dr. Fredrickson also teaches “loving-kindness meditation” focused on directing good-hearted wishes to others. This can result in people “feeling more in tune with other people at the end of the day,” she said.
弗雷德里克森在其新书《爱的方法》(Love 2.0)中表示，“比起一个人独自体验的积极情绪，共同的积极情绪——两人沉浸在同一种情绪中——甚至可能对健康产生更大影响。”想象一下和一个趣味相投的朋友一同观看有趣的戏剧或电影或电视剧，或者与人分享好消息、笑话或趣事的情形吧。弗雷德里克森还教人练习以给予他人善意祝福为重点的“慈心奉爱冥想”。她说，最终，这会让人“觉得与他人更合拍”。
Activities Dr. Fredrickson and others endorse to foster positive emotions include:
弗雷德里克森等人推荐的一些有助于培育积极情绪的行为包括：
Do good things for other people. In addition to making others happier, this enhances your own positive feelings. It can be something as simple as helping someone carry heavy packages or providing directions for a stranger.
做有益他人的事情。除了让他人更快乐，这样做还会增强你的积极情绪。事情可以非常简单，比如帮人提重物，或者给陌生人指路。
Appreciate the world around you. It could be a bird, a tree, a beautiful sunrise or sunset or even an article of clothing someone is wearing. I met a man recently who was reveling in the architectural details of the 19th-century houses in my neighborhood.
欣赏周围的一切。可以是一只鸟，一棵树，一次美丽的日出或日落，甚至是某人穿的一件衣服。我所在的社区里伫立着一些始建于19世纪的房子，我最近遇到了一个正在欣赏那些房子的建筑细节的男人。
Develop and bolster relationships. Building strong social connections with friends or family members enhances feelings of self-worth and, long-term studies have shown, is associated with better health and a longer life.
建立和巩固关系。与朋友或家庭成员密切交往可以增强自我价值感，而且有长期研究表明，这和更好的健康状况以及更长的寿命之间有关联。
Establish goals that can be accomplished. Perhaps you want to improve your tennis or read more books. But be realistic; a goal that is impractical or too challenging can create unnecessary stress.
树立能够实现的目标。或许你想要提高自己的网球水平，或者阅读更多书籍。但要现实一些：不切实际或太过具有挑战性的目标，可以会制造出不必要的压力。
Learn something new. It can be a sport, a language, an instrument or a game that instills a sense of achievement, self-confidence and resilience. But here, too, be realistic about how long this may take and be sure you have the time needed.
学些新东西。可以是能够带来成就感、自信心和复原力的一项运动、一门语言、一样乐器或者一种游戏。但请再次注意，要对可能花费多长时间有现实的认知，并确定自己能抽出足够多的时间。
Choose to accept yourself, flaws and all. Rather than imperfections and failures, focus on your positive attributes and achievements. The loveliest people I know have none of the external features of loveliness but shine with the internal beauty of caring, compassion and consideration of others.
选择接受你自己，接受你的缺点以及全部。聚焦于自己的积极属性和成就，而非缺陷和失败。我认识的最可爱的人，没有任何关乎可爱的外在特征，而是因为体贴、有同理心、为他人着想而散发出内在美。
Practice resilience. Rather than let loss, stress, failure or trauma overwhelm you, use them as learning experiences and steppingstones to a better future. Remember the expression: When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.
训练复原力。不要被损失、压力、失败和创伤击垮，而是要把它们当成前车之鉴和通往更美好未来的垫脚石。记住一句话：如果生活给了你柠檬，那就用它做柠檬水吧。
Practice mindfulness. Ruminating on past problems or future difficulties drains mental resources and steals attention from current pleasures. Let go of things you can’t control and focus on the here-and-now. Consider taking a course in insight meditation.
进行正念练习。总是想着过去的问题或未来的困难，会让人神思枯竭，无力关注眼前的乐趣。别去管你无法控制的事情，专注于当下吧。不妨考虑参加内观修行课程。
