英語閱讀:5種方式打造精彩生活

1. Live Below Your Means

量力消費

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。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買不起的耀眼豪車。當時可能感覺很棒，但輕率的消費會讓你之后很受傷。

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.

享受生活中簡單的樂趣，盡可能地節(jié)省。昂貴的東西并不會帶來長久的幸福和安全感。從長遠來說，慎重消費才會帶給你更大的輕松和愉快。

2. Put Your Money to Work

讓你的錢運轉起來

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，你需要讓它們運轉起來。好的投資可以決定你的退休時間是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.

如果一個人在20歲出頭的時候把他工資的20%用于投資購買標準普爾指數(shù)基金，那么當他40歲出頭時，他獲得的利息會和他當前的工資持平。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)濟獨立可靠的道路，而且每個人都可以做到。

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。成長好的方法就是終身教育。這并不意味著你要去攻讀博士學位或者每天讀書兩小時。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.

教育會讓時間充實。也許你會覺得你獲得的點滴智慧并沒有多重要，但經(jīng)過多年積累，它們會讓你成為一個更睿智、更仁慈、更有趣的人。

4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships

建立長期的人際關系

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.

假設你擁有了你想要的一切。如果沒有人和你分享，你還會快樂嗎？我們和朋友家人之間建立起來的人際關系是我們生命中快樂的大來源。不要忘記這一點。

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.

花時間打造并享受人際關系對于長久的幸福來說是必不可少的。沒有那些你在乎的人，不管你有多成功，你都可能會活得很痛苦。

5. Work Towards a Dream You’re Passionate About

朝一個你懷有激情的夢想努力

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去努力。如果你沒有努力的目標，你可能會停滯不前。當我遇到這種情況時，我會覺得自己像一個被自己的生活困住的受害者。想要扭轉這個局面，好的辦法就是朝著一個目標努力。

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，但是朝著一個目標努力會給我們一些正能量，讓我們專注，并且為未來的成功打下基礎。不論你的激情是什么，行動起來，開始做些事情。就好像老子說的：千里之行始于足下。

Bonus: 6. Stay in Shape

附送第6點：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.

你只有一個身體。一旦身體受損，你做什么都于事無補。運動起來，別讓身體生銹，避免過量攝入有害物質和不健康的食品。有時候也許會感到可怕的自我否定，但在晚年時擁有健康會讓這些犧牲都值得。