感恩，使人更快乐健康更有韧性

　　How to become more grateful, and why that will make you happier, healthier and more resilient
　　如何变得更加感恩，为什么这会让你更快乐、更健康、更有韧性
　　By David G. Allan, CNN
　　Published 4:43 AM EDT, Thu May 19, 2022
　　Editor’s Note: David G. Allan is the editorial director for CNN Travel, Style, Science and Wellness. This essay is part of a column called The Wisdom Project, to which you can subscribe here.
　　编者按：David G. Allan 是 CNN Travel, Style, Science and Wellness 的编辑总监。 这篇文章是一个名为 The Wisdom Project 的专栏的一部分，您可以在此处订阅该专栏。
　　CNN —
　　If you really think about it, so many of us should be in a perpetual state of gratitude.
　　美国有线电视新闻网—
　　如果你仔细想想，世界上许多人应该永远处于感恩的状态。
　　Which of these do you have going for you right now?   Family. Friends. Love. Health. Freedom from war and natural disaster. Imagination. Community. A roof over our heads. Common decency. Hope. Opportunity. Memories. Financial stability. Favorite places. Days off work. Good weather. The golden age of television. Books. Music. Ice cream. Weekends. A friendly exchange. Something good that happened today. Something bad that didn’t happen today. A good cup of coffee.
　　您在生活中的哪些方面过得还不错？家庭。朋友。爱。健康。远离战争和自然灾害。想象力。社区。头顶寒舍。社交礼仪。希望。机会。回忆。财务稳定。好去处。休假。好天气。电视的黄金时代。图书。音乐。冰淇淋。周末。一次亲切交谈。今天发生的好事。今天没发生的坏事。一杯上好咖啡。
　　You may not have everything you want (or even need) on my list or yours, but that probably still leaves buckets – nay, container ships – full of tangible and conceptual items for which to be grateful. Things can always be better, but they can always be worse. It often depends on how you look at that proverbial glass of water.
　　你所期待的未来、或当下急需之事，在我们的清单里难以一应俱全。即便如此，在清单中仍然会有一些，应该说，充满了许多值得感激的的事物，它们或许有形可见，亦或无形可感。未来究竟是山重水复，亦或柳暗花明，就看您是相信天生我材必有用，还是憾言却道天凉好个秋了。
　　To get in better touch with gratefulness – and get the health benefits of doing so – the trick is to find easy ways to count blessings more often than, say, over an annual turkey dinner. Keep your thankfulness boiling on the front burner of your mind, and you will increase your general appreciation of life.
　　Try to be more grateful for the small, mundane things that give you joy and meaning, as well as the big ones. Acknowledging just a handful each day will benefit you, and there are ways to make that a habit.
　　常怀感恩之心的窍门在于，着眼于生活中的小确幸，而非年度火鸡盛筵。把铭记感恩之心放在万事之首，你对生活的感激之情便油然而生，身体也会因此更加健康。
　　人生的快乐，生活的意义，恰恰就在日常生活中那些司空见惯的日常小事里，大事更是如此。若是在柴米油盐、鸡毛蒜皮的人间烟火中发现些许幸福琐事，长此以往，也会受益匪浅。
　　Grateful = healthful
　　感恩=健康
　　Perhaps the most obvious benefit of displays of gratitude is that they are closely tied to increased feelings of happiness – for both the givers and the receivers.
　　对给予者和接受者，表达感激之情使得双方都能提高幸福感，这么做的最大好处就在于此。
　　In this week’s   episode of CNN podcast Chasing Life, host Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviewed Christina Costa, a teacher and doctoral student at the University of Michigan   who has studied neuroscience and psychology.   She explained   how you can see gratefulness on brain scans. The feeling lights up the ＂feel-good＂ neurotransmitters of dopamine and serotonin, which Gupta pointed out also decrease hormones like cortisol, associated with stress.
　　在本周的 CNN 播客 追寻人生节目中，主持人 Sanjay Gupta 博士采访了密歇根大学研究神经科学和心理学的教师和博士生 Christina Costa。她解释了如何在脑部扫描中看到感恩。这种感觉点亮了多巴胺和血清素的＂感觉良好＂神经递质，古普塔指出，这也会减少与压力相关的皮质醇等激素。
　　＂The neurotransmitter reactions are pretty immediate,＂ Costa said. ＂It is hard to feel bad when you are focusing on someone that you are so grateful for, something that changed your life or something that is going really well today.＂
　　＂神经递质反应非常直接，＂科斯塔说。 ＂当你专注于一个你非常感激的人、改变你生活的事情或今天进展顺利的事情时，你很难感到哀伤。＂
　　Resilience, including the ability to cope with stress and trauma, is also correlated with gratitude. Studies have shown that counting blessings was a factor in managing post-traumatic stress for Vietnam War veterans and an effective coping strategy for many after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Other research shows that the more grateful you are, the more you are likely to exhibit patience and self-control. It can even be good for marriages and relationships: Couples good at exhibiting thankfulness tend to be ＂more committed and more likely to remain in their relationships over time.＂ Our best selves, it seems, are our most grateful selves.
　　人的韧性，包括应对压力和创伤的能力，也与感恩有关。研究表明，细数生活中的福佑是越南战争退伍军人管理创伤压力的一个重要环节，也是许多人应对 911 恐怖袭击后的有效措施。其他研究表明，你越感恩，你就越有可能展现耐心和自制力。它甚至对婚姻和人际关系也有好处：善于表达感激之情的夫妻往往＂更坚定，婚姻更加长久＂。我们展现最感恩的一面是，似乎就是我们最好的自己。
　　Studies have shown  that gratitude can indirectly influence physical health, as well.  ＂Gratitude strengthens your immune system and helps you experience less pain,＂ Costa said in the Chasing Life podcast.
　　研究表明，感恩也可以间接影响身体健康。 ＂感恩可以增强你的免疫系统，帮助你减少病痛，＂科斯塔在追寻人生的播客中说道。
　　Those who have ＂dispositional gratitude＂ – defined by one study as ＂part of a wider life orientation towards noticing and appreciating the positive in the world＂ – are more likely to report good physical health, a propensity for healthy activities and willingness to seek help for health concerns.
　　一项研究将有＂感恩性格的人＂定义为，更善于觉察、感谢生活中的积极事物，藉此走向更广阔世界的人。这样的人更加喜爱锻炼身体，愿意在出现健康问题时积极治疗，因此身体更加强健。
　　In another study, New York teenagers who rated as the most grateful in their class – defined by ＂having a disposition and moods that enabled them to respond positively to the good people and things in their lives＂ – were less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. The benefits of having more gratitude also correlated with benefits to the heart among patients who had experienced heart failure.在 另一项研究中发现，纽约市中被评为最感恩的纽约青少年们，他们大多性格阳光，积极回应生活中的好人和好事，相较于纽约其他青少年，沾染毒瘾和酒瘾的人更少。对于心衰患者而言，更多的感激之情也对心脏有益。
　　Being grateful can even get you a better night’s sleep. According to one study involving college students who instituted various methods for increasing gratitude, such as a gratitude journal, they worried less at bedtime and slept longer and better. In another study, adults in the United Kingdom (40% of whom had sleep disorders), reported that thinking about what they are grateful for at night led to falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer.
　　感恩甚至可以让你睡个好觉。在一项针对大学生的研究中，研究人员制定了各种让受试人员更加感恩的方法，例如感恩日记。而他们也在睡前担心更少，因此睡得更久、更好。在另一项研究中，英国的成年人（其中 40% 患有睡眠障碍），在晚上思考他们所感激的事情会让他们入睡更快，保持较长睡眠时间。
　　Convinced? Let’s get to the fun part.
　　How to up your GQ (gratefulness quotient)
　　信了吗？让我们看看有趣的部分。
　　如何提高你的 GQ（感恩商）
　　I’m currently conducting two completely unscientific thankfulness-boosting experiments. For nearly two years, I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal. And for the last five years or so, my family has engaged in a dinnertime ritual called ＂Roses, Thorns & Buds＂ that surfaces the same details.
　　我目前正在进行两个完全不科学的感恩提升实验。近两年来，我一直在写感恩日记。在过去五年左右的时间里，我的家人参与了一种名为＂玫瑰、荆棘和萌芽＂的晚餐仪式。
　　A lot has been written about these and other thankfulness experiments, and it should be noted that there are no rules or even standards that govern them. We’re in very, very soft science territory here. But reliable research does show that whatever you do to increase gratitude pays off, so it’s worth it to find what is easy, enjoyable and effective for you.
　　关于这些和其他感恩实验已经写了很多，需要注意的是，目前这些实验缺乏统一的规则甚至标准。这是一个非常偏向社会科学的领域。但可靠的研究确实表明，无论你做什么来增加感激之情，都会得到回报，所以找到简单、愉快和有效的感恩方法对你来说非常值得。
　　A gratitude journal  need not be any more complicated than keeping a notebook by your bed and starting a nightly habit of jotting down who and what you were grateful for that day. Journaling was the standard method for some of the studies cited above, so this is a simple but effective option.
　　感恩日记
　　在床边放一个笔记本，每晚睡前将一天中感恩的人和事记录下来，养成习惯，这其实并不难。在一些感恩研究中，写感恩日记是一个感恩生活的标准方式，简单却有效。
　　I’m coming up on two years of trying this one, and I added a layer you may want to consider. After one year, I took the time to total up all the mentions. My wife and children were, predictably, at the top, reminding me not to take them for granted. But I was surprised to see that coworkers, neighbors and a city park all ranked highly. It was useful for me to review in that way, because when I see those people, I have this added layer of positive feeling about them at the forefront of my mind. It’s hard to get annoyed by someone when you think, ＂I’m so often grateful for that person.＂
　　我并打算用尝试写两年感恩日记，我还想到了一个新点子。一年后，我花时间把所有提及的事物的次数加起来，不出所料，我提到最多次的就是我的妻子和孩子，这提醒我，不要把他们的存在视为理所当然。但令我惊讶的是，同事、邻居和城市公园的次数排名有这么靠前。这种回顾方式使我受益良多，因为当我看到这些人时，我脑海中浮现出一种对他们的积极情感。当你想着＂我经常感谢那个人＂时，你很难被他惹恼。
　　It was fun to play with the data, too. By category, ＂family＂ was the clear winner (1,011 instances) for me, followed by ＂places＂ (269 instances, with coffee shops being the biggest subcategory, ＂friends＂ (259), CNN ＂coworkers＂ (197) and ＂experiences＂ (133). Also, ＂Star Wars＂ (11) beat both beer (10) and books (8). It will be interesting to compare second-year totals against these. All of it is getting me closer to understanding and remembering what I’m most grateful for.
　　玩味感恩研究的数据时就更有趣了。按类别划分，＂家庭＂是我的明显赢家（1,011 次），其次是＂地点＂（269 次，咖啡店是最大的子类别，＂朋友＂（259 次），CNN ＂同事＂（197 次）和＂经验＂（133）。此外，＂星球大战＂（11）击败啤酒（10）和书籍（8）。将第二年的总数与这些进行比较会很有趣。所有这些都让我更加接近理解和记住我最感激的事情。
　　Roses, Thorns & Buds  (or RTB, among its devotees) has been part of so many family dinners since my older daughter was 4 years old that I’ve forgotten where we first heard about it. It’s quite simple: Everyone at the table takes turns sharing ＂roses,＂ which are something positive and happy-making about their day; ＂thorns,＂ which are the opposite of that; and ＂buds＂ for something we’re looking forward to and we anticipate will be a rose. Sometimes, the family meal and sharing these things itself is a rose.
　　自从我的大女儿 4 岁以来， 玫瑰、荆棘和萌芽 （热爱这一活动的信徒们叫它RTB）已经成为许多家庭聚餐的一部分，我已经忘记了我们第一次听说它的地方。这很简单：餐桌上的每个人轮流分享＂玫瑰＂，这是他们一天中积极快乐的事情； ＂荆棘＂，与此相反；和我们在生活中期待它实现的事，也就是长成玫瑰的＂萌芽＂。有时，家庭聚餐和分享这些东西本身就是一朵玫瑰花。
　　Granted, the ＂thorn＂ doesn’t necessarily increase gratitude – though it’s still useful from a family discussion, empathy and problem-solving perspective. And if you can fix a problem, a rose may grow in that thorn’s place.
　　诚然，尽管从家庭讨论、同理心和解决问题的角度来看＂荆棘＂并不一定会增加感激之情，它仍然很有用。如果你能克服一个生活中的困难，玫瑰可能会在荆棘处盛开。
　　Here are our unscientific findings: Each time, we find that we have many roses and buds and usually only one thorn to share.
　　我们得到一个非科学发现是：每次分享我们发现我们有很多玫瑰和花蕾，通常只有一根刺可以分享。
　　Friends have told us about effective variations on this technique, so one size doesn’t fit all. If the metaphor is too flowery for you, pick another. Home runs, strikeouts and on deck? The important thing is to connect to the thankfulness in this way, whether you do it most evenings or on the occasional weekend. It’s also an easy way for kids to get into a thankfulness habit themselves.
　　RTB项目的效果因人而异，我的朋友们还告诉了我许多RTB项目的其他有效技法。如果这个比喻对你来说太过于阳春白雪了，那就选择另一个接地气一点的。叫做本垒打，三振出局和击球准备怎么样？总而言之，重要的是用这种方式将你与感恩联系起来，无论您是在平时晚上还是在周末偶尔这样做。这也是孩子们自己养成感恩习惯的一种简单方法。
　　Happiness jars , a strategy popularized by ＂Eat, Pray, Love＂ author Elizabeth Gilbert, is something of a hybrid of gratitude journal and RTB. The idea is to write down on a slip of paper the happiest moment of the day and drop it in a jar. The advantage of doing it this way is that in moments of unhappiness, you can reach into the jar and be reminded of those moments, perhaps becoming grateful for them anew. Gilbert was struck by how many of her fans shared photos of their decorated happiness jars (see Pinterest if you need inspiration) and by how her happiest moments are ＂generally really common and quiet and unremarkable .＂
　　幸福罐 是《吃、祈、爱》的作者伊丽莎白吉尔伯特推广的一种策略，是感恩日记和 RTB 的混合体。这个想法是在一张纸上写下一天中最快乐的时刻，然后把它放进罐子里。这样做的好处是，在不快乐的时刻，你可以把手伸进罐子里，想起那些时刻，也许会重新感激它们。吉尔伯特对她的许多粉丝分享他们装饰过的快乐罐子的照片以及她最快乐的时刻＂通常非常普遍、安静和不起眼＂感到震惊。
　　And there are other experiments to try. You could set alarms or reminders on your phone to pause and think of something you are grateful for at different times of the day: Mornings help set the tone of the day, and reflecting while at work can be particularly useful. You can then record them on a gratitude journaling app.
　　进行其他实验也未尝不可。您可以在手机上设置闹钟或提醒，以便在一天中的不同时间暂停并想一想您感激的事情：早晨有助于定下一天的基调，在工作时反思可能特别有用。然后，您可以将它们记录在感恩日记应用程序上。
　　Or you could just focus on the simple act of saying thank you, and meaning it, more frequently. Writing letters of thanks (or emails if you want to be faster and more frequent) to those for whom you are grateful is worth doing with some regularity. You can also express gratitude with gifts, flowers and favors. Or simply make a list of all the things we take for granted but would be so unhappy to lose, such as job security, health, seeing loved ones. Review that list every week or so.
　　或者你可以只专注于简单的说谢谢，注意要十分真诚，并更频繁地表达。定期给你感激的人写感谢信（或者电子邮件，如果你想更快更频繁的话）也是值得的。你也可以用礼物、鲜花和恩惠来表达感激之情。或者简单地列出所有我们认为理所当然但会因为失去而非常不高兴的事情，例如工作保障、健康、见到亲人。每周左右查看这个列表。
　　Whatever way you start infusing your life with more moments of gratitude, in the short and long term, you will be grateful that you did.
　　无论你以何种方式，只要为你的生活注入更多的感恩时刻，在短期亦或长期来看，你都会感激自己的决定。