生命的意义不是快乐，而是有用
For the longest time, I believed that there’s only purpose of life: And that is to be happy.
长久以来，我曾坚信人生唯一的目的就是：追求快乐。
Right? Why else go through all the pain and hardship? It’s to achieve happiness in some way.
不是吗？否则我们为何要忍受那么多痛苦和困难？不就是为了某种形式的快乐吗？
And I’m not the only person who believed that. In fact, if you look around you, most people are pursuing happiness in their lives.
而且，不只是我一个人这么想。看看你周围，大多数人也都在追求所谓的“幸福”。
That’s why we collectively buy shit we don’t need, go to bed with people we don’t love, and try to work hard to get approval of people we don’t like.
这也是为什么我们会集体去买根本不需要的东西，和并不爱的人成为伴侣，拼命工作只为取悦那些我们并不喜欢的人。
Why do we do these things? To be honest, I don’t care what the exact reason is. I’m not a scientist. All I know is that it has something to do with history, culture, media, economy, psychology, politics, the information era, and you name it. The list is endless.
为什么我们会做这些事？老实说，我并不在意具体原因。我不是科学家。我只知道，这和我们的历史、文化、媒体、经济、心理、政治、信息时代等诸多因素密切相关，说不完也道不尽。
We are who we are.
我们本就如此
Let’s just accept that. Most people love to analyze why people are not happy or don’t live fulfilling lives. I don’t necessarily care about the why.
不如坦然接受这一点。很多人热衷于分析，为什么现代人活得不快乐，为什么总感觉生命空虚。我对“为什么”没那么感兴趣，我更关心的是“怎么做”。
I care more about how we can change.
我更关心，我们如何才能改变。
Just a few short years ago, I did everything to chase happiness.
- You buy something, and you think that makes you happy.
- You hook up with people, and think that makes you happy.
- You get a well-paying job you don’t like, and think that makes you happy.
- You go on holiday, and you think that makes you happy.
就在几年以前，我也在拼命追逐快乐：
- 买点什么东西，就以为自己会快乐；
- 和人发生关系，就以为自己会快乐；
- 找了一份高薪却不喜欢的工作，也以为这就是快乐；
- 外出度假，也觉得那就是快乐。
But at the end of the day, you’re lying in your bed (alone or next to your spouse), and you think: “What’s next in this endless pursuit of happiness?”
可每到夜深人静，躺在床上（无论是独自一人还是伴侣在侧），心里总会冒出一句话：“接下来呢？这场永无止境的快乐追逐，还要持续多久？”
Well, I can tell you what’s next: You, chasing something random that you believe makes you happy.
我可以告诉你，接下来只会是：你继续去追逐另一个“看起来会让你快乐的”东西。
It’s all a façade. A hoax. A story that’s been made up.
这一切，都是假象、骗局、一个编出来的故事。
Did Aristotle lie to us when he said:
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
那亚里士多德说的这句话呢，他骗我们了吗：
“幸福是人生的意义和目的，是人类存在的最终目标。”
I think we have to look at that quote from a different angle. Because when you read it, you think that happiness is the main goal. And that’s kind of what the quote says as well.
或许我们需要换个角度理解这句话。因为第一眼看过去，你会以为“幸福快乐”才是人生的终极追求。但真的是这样吗？
But here’s the thing: How do you achieve happiness?
问题是：我们如何获得快乐？
Happiness can’t be a goal in itself. Therefore, it’s not something that’s achievable.
如果快乐本身是目标，那它就不可能真正被“获得”。
I believe that happiness is merely a byproduct of usefulness.
我相信：快乐其实只是“有用”的副产品。
When I talk about this concept with friends, family, and colleagues, I always find it difficult to put this into words. But I’ll give it a try here.
每当我尝试和朋友、家人、同事探讨这个观点时，总觉得难以用语言准确表达。但我想在这里尝试说清楚。
Most things we do in life are just activities and experiences.
- You go on holiday.
- You go to work.
- You go shopping.
- You have drinks.
- You have dinner.
- You buy a car.
我们日常生活中做的大多数事情，其实只是一些活动和体验：
- 出去旅行
- 上班
- 购物
- 喝酒聚餐
- 买车……
Those things should make you happy, right? But they are not useful. You’re not creating anything. You’re just consuming or doing something. And that’s great.
这些事，按理说应该让人快乐吧？但它们本身并不“有用”。你没有创造什么，只是在消费、在体验。
Don’t get me wrong. I love to go on holiday, or go shopping sometimes. But to be honest, it’s not what gives meaning to life.
这样也很好——别误会，我也喜欢旅行，也偶尔爱购物。但说实话，这些都不能让我感受到“生命的意义”。
What really makes me happy is when I’m useful. When I create something that others can use. Or even when I create something I can use.
真正让我感到快乐的，是当我变得“有用”的时候。当我创造了某些东西，可以被他人使用，甚至只是自己也能从中受益。
For the longest time I found it difficult to explain the concept of usefulness and happiness. But when I recently ran into a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the dots finally connected.
过去我一直觉得难以解释“有用”和“快乐”之间的关系，直到最近看到爱默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson）的一句话，一下子就豁然开朗了：
Emerson says:
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
“人生的意义不是为了快乐，而是要有用、有担当、有同情心，要活出一种‘你曾经来过’的痕迹。”
And I didn’t get that before I became more conscious of what I’m doing with my life. And that always sounds heavy and all. But it’s actually really simple.
过去的我，并不真正理解这句话，直到我开始认真思考自己的人生。当你真正意识到这一点时，你会发现，这其实并不复杂。
It comes down to this: What are you DOING that’s making a difference?
问题归根结底就是：你做了哪些能带来影响的事情？
Did you do useful things in your lifetime? You don’t have to change the world or anything. Just make it a little bit better than before you were born.
你在有限的一生中，做过哪些“有用的事”？你不需要拯救世界，只要在你离开这个世界时，它比你出生时稍微变得更好一点，就够了。
If you don’t know how, here are some ideas.
- Help your boss with something that’s not your responsibility.
- Take your mother to a spa.
- Create a collage with pictures (not a digital one) for your spouse.
- Write an article about the stuff you learned in life.
- Help the pregnant lady who also has a 2-year old with her stroller.
- Call your friend and ask if you can help with something.
- Build a standing desk.
- Start a business and hire an employee and treat them well.
如果你不知道怎么做，以下是一些灵感：
- 主动帮老板处理一些不属于你职责范围的事情；
- 带妈妈去做一次spa；
- 为爱人做一本手工相册（不是电子的）；
- 写一篇文章，总结自己的人生经验；
- 帮一个带着两岁小孩的孕妇推婴儿车；
- 给老朋友打个电话，问问能不能帮上什么忙；
- 自己动手做一个站立式书桌；
- 创业、雇人，并好好对待他们……
That’s just some stuff I like to do. You can make up your own useful activities.
这些都是我喜欢做的一些小事。你也可以有属于自己的“有用清单”。
You see? It’s not anything big. But when you do little useful things every day, it adds up to a life that is well lived. A life that mattered.
你看，其实并不需要什么大动作。但当你每天都在做一点点有用的事，它们最终会汇聚成一段被好好活过的生命，一段真正有意义的存在。
The last thing I want is to be on my deathbed and realize there’s zero evidence that I ever existed.
我最不愿意的，就是临终那一刻，发现自己留不下一点点“我来过的证据”。
Recently I read Not Fade Away by Laurence Shames and Peter Barton. It’s about Peter Barton, the founder of Liberty Media, who shares his thoughts about dying from cancer.
最近我读了一本书，叫《不褪色》（Not Fade Away），由Laurence Shames和Liberty Media创始人Peter Barton合著。Peter在书中谈到他身患癌症、面对死亡时的思考。
It’s a very powerful book and it will definitely bring tears to your eyes. In the book, he writes about how he lived his life and how he found his calling. He also went to business school, and this is what he thought of his fellow MBA candidates:
这本书非常震撼，读后一定会让你眼眶湿润。他写到自己的人生，以及如何找到了使命感。他也曾读MBA，对身边同学有这样的感受：
“Bottom line: they were extremely bright people who would never really do anything, would never add much to society, would leave no legacy behind. I found this terribly sad, in the way that wasted potential is always sad.”
“说到底，他们是些极聪明的人，但一生都不会真正‘做’些什么，不会给社会留下太多，也不会留下什么真正的遗产。我觉得这太悲哀了，仿佛在看着巨大的潜力被浪费。”
You can say that about all of us. And after he realized that in his thirties, he founded a company that turned him into a multi-millionaire.
我们每个人，都可能成为这样的人。而正是意识到这一点，他在30多岁时创办了公司，也因此成为亿万富翁。
Another person who always makes himself useful is Casey Neistat. For three years he posted a new video about his life and work on YouTube. And in every video, he’s doing something.
还有一个例子是Casey Neistat。他连续三年每天在YouTube上传一支视频，记录生活和工作。在每一支视频中，他都在创造、在行动。
He also talks about how he always wants to do and create something. He even has a tattoo on his forearm that says “Do More.”
他说过，他永远想要去做事、去创造。他甚至在手臂上纹了一行字：“Do More”。
Most people would say, “why would you work more?” And then they turn on Netflix and watch back to back episodes of the latest TV show that came out.
很多人会不解地问：“你为什么总是在工作？”然后一边说着，一边打开Netflix，一集接一集地追剧。
A different mindset.
一种不同的思维方式
Being useful is a mindset. And like with any mindset, it starts with a decision. One day I woke up and thought to myself: What am I doing for this world? The answer was nothing.
“变得有用”是一种思维方式。而一切思维方式的转变，始于一个决定。有一天我醒来，突然问自己：“我到底为这个世界做了些什么？”答案是——什么也没有。
And that same day I started writing. For you it can be painting, creating a product, helping elderly, or anything you feel like doing.
从那天起，我开始写作。对你来说，也许是画画、做产品、帮助老人、或者任何你愿意去尝试的事情。
Don’t take it too seriously. Don’t overthink it. Just DO something that’s useful. Anything.
别太严肃，别想太多。做点什么有用的事。什么都行。
