快樂的祕訣:記住美好時光

The elusivesecret of happiness could be as simple as remembering the good times and forgetting the regrets, a new university study reported yesterday.

快樂的祕訣難以捉摸，但也可以很簡單。昨日發佈的一項新的大學研究報告稱，快樂的祕訣就是：記住美好的時光，忘記遺憾的往事。

For people who look at the past through rose-tinted glassesare happier than those who focus on negative past experiences and regrets, according to a new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

這篇發表在《個性與個體差異》雜誌上的新研究報告稱，那些以極度樂觀的精神看待過去的人比那些專注於過往不愉快經歷和遺憾往事的人更快樂。

The study helps explain why personality has such a strong influence on a person's happiness and the findings suggest that people with certain personality traits are happier than others because of the way they think about their past, present and future.

研究解釋了人的個性爲何會對個人的快樂感有強大的影響力。研究結果顯示，具有某些特定個性特徵的人比其他人要快樂，因爲他們看待自己的過去、現在和未來的方式有所不同。The study examined how peoples' ratings on the "Big Five" personality traits relates to their approach to time and life satisfaction.

該研究按照“五大個性特徵”給人們打分，並將個性特徵和人們對光陰和生活的滿意度聯繫起來。

The "Big Five" model assesses how extroverted, neurotic, open, conscientious and agreeablea person is, and rates individuals as high or low on each personality trait rather than assigning them a personality type.

“五大個性特徵”模式對一個人的外向程度、神經質程度、開明程度、責任心和隨和與否做出評價，標出每個人每項個性特徵的程度高低，而不是給他們指定一種個性類型。"We found that highly extraverted people are happier with their lives because they tend to hold a positive, nostalgic view of the past and are less likely to have negative thoughts and regrets. People high on the neurotic scale essentially have the exact opposite view of the past and are less happy as a result," said Ryan Howell, assistant professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, who authored the study with SF State graduating senior Jia Wei Zhang.

舊金山州立大學的心理學助理教授萊恩 豪威爾說：“我們發現，非常外向的人對自己的生活更滿意，因爲他們一般會用積極、懷舊的目光來看待過往，對過去不大會有消極的想法和遺憾。特別神經質的人看待過去的方式則正好相反，因而也就比較不快樂。”一同撰寫該研究報告的還有舊金山州立大學即將畢業的大四學生張家瑋（音譯）。

"This is good news because although it may be difficult to change your personality, you may be able to alter your view of time and boost your happiness," Howell said.

豪威爾說：“這是好消息，因爲儘管你難以改變自己的個性，但是你可以改變自己看待過去的方式，從而提升你的幸福感。”

The authors suggest that savoring happy memories or reframingpainful past experiences in a positive light could be effective ways for individuals to increase their life satisfaction.

報告的作者指出，享受快樂的回憶，用積極的眼光看待傷痛的過往，會有效地增進個人對生活的滿意度。Numerous studies over the last 30 years have suggested that personality is a powerful predictor of a person's life satisfaction. These latest findings help explain the reason behind this relationship.

在過去三十年內開展的多項研究都指出，個性可以有效地預示個人對生活的滿意度。這些最新的研究發現有助於解釋這兩者關係背後的原因。

"Personality traits influence how people look at the past, present and future and it is these different perspectives on time which drive a person's happiness," Howell said.

豪威爾說：“個性影響人們看待過去、現在和未來的方式，正是這些對於人生的不同視角影響着個人的幸福感。”