谷歌的幸福算法

谷歌的幸福算法

Deep inside the global tech behemoth Google sits an engineer with an unusual job description: to make people happier and the world more peaceful.

在全球科技巨头谷歌的深处，坐着一位工程师，他有着不同寻常的工作描述：让人们更快乐，让世界更和平。

A few years ago, Chade-Meng Tan, one of the company's first engineering employees in Mountain View, noticed many of his colleagues were stressed out and unhappy at work, so he decided to do something about it. He persuaded his bosses to let him create a course that would teach employees mindfulness skills to enhance emotional intelligence and promote wellbeing, and he transitioned to the HR department to run it. In a nod to his employer, he called it Search Inside Yourself, an admittedly corny name that is also the title of his book about the course's techniques.

几年前，公司在山景城的第一批工程员工之一Chade-Meng Tan注意到，他的许多同事在工作中压力很大，不开心，所以他决定做点什么。他说服老板让他开设一门课程，教授员工专注力技能，以提高情商，增进幸福感。他转行到人力资源部负责这项工作。经过雇主的同意，起了一个公认的老掉牙的名字，叫做“寻找内心深处的你”，也是他那本关于这门课程技巧的书的书名。

At the 2014 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, I was curious about Meng's panel, called "Make Yourself the Happiest Person on Earth." Not surprisingly, given the talk's promise, every seat and spot of floor space in the hotel ballroom was filled. Meng promised he was going to teach us the "scientifically proven" secret of happiness in three easy steps.

在2014年德克萨斯州奥斯汀举办的SXSW音乐节上，我对Meng的小组(让自己成为世界上最幸福的人)感到好奇。毫不奇怪，考虑到这次演讲的内容，酒店宴会厅的每个座位和楼层都坐满了人。Meng承诺，他将用三个简单的步骤教给我们“经过科学证明的”幸福秘诀。

Step one: "Calm your mind"

第一步:“冷静下来”

To introduce his first piece of advice, Meng led the SXSW audience through a short collective breathing exercise to calm the fluffy particles in the "snow-globes" (his metaphor) in our skulls. He advocates finding easy ways to take pauses during the day and be mindful of your breath. "If that's too hard, then just think about nothing for little bit," he joked.

为了介绍他的第一个建议，Meng带领SXSW的观众做了一个简短的集体呼吸练习，以平息我们头骨中“雪球”(他的比喻)中的绒毛颗粒。他提倡找到简单的方法，让你在白天休息，注意自己的呼吸。他开玩笑说:“如果这太难了，那就什么都不要想。”

But does it work? There is some evidence that mindfulness can help stave off negative thoughts. A recent review of 209 studies found that the practice can help treat depression, anxiety and stress. (Some researchers even claim that the stress-reduction promised by meditation could help slow the effects of aging.)

但这有用吗?有证据表明，专注力可以帮助避免消极的想法。最近对209项研究的回顾发现，这种做法有助于治疗抑郁症、焦虑症和压力。(一些研究人员甚至声称，冥想带来的减压效果可能有助于减缓衰老的影响。)

Step two: "Log moments of joy"

第二步:记录快乐的时刻

This means simply saying to yourself -- as you sip a great espresso, laugh at your friend's joke or buy that shirt you've wanted -- "I am having a moment of joy!" When negative things happen to us throughout the day we tend to hold on to them, while the good things are more fleeting and ephemeral. So, by consciously acknowledging the good things, says Meng, we increase our chances that when we reflect on our day, we conclude it was happy one.

这意味着，当你喝一杯很棒的浓缩咖啡，因为你朋友的笑话而大笑，或者买你想要的衬衫，只需对自己说“我正在享受快乐的时刻!”当一天中消极的事情发生在我们身上时，我们倾向于抓住它们不放，而好的事情更容易转瞬即逝。因此，Meng说，通过有意识地承认好的事情，我们增加了一种机会，即当我们反思我们的一天时，我们得出结论这是快乐的。

Step three: "Wish other people to be happy"

第三步:“祝他人幸福”

According to Meng, altruistic thoughts benefit us because we derive a lot of joy from giving, even more than from receiving.

根据Meng，利他主义思想使我们受益，因为我们从给予中获得了很多快乐，甚至比从接受中获得的更多。