个性小说

第三部分：Catch the Star That Holds Your Destiny抓住生命里的那颗星02（第3页）

　　13。theproblem:“we’resocaughtupwithextraordinaryworkburdens，wedon’thavetimetoenjoythepeopleweloveorcontributetothelivesofothers，”sayspost。

　　14。thattimecrunchisquitereal，saysjohndegraff，presidentofthepublicpolicyorganizationtakebackyourtime。“paredto30yearsago，theaveragefamilynowspendsanextra500hoursperyearworkingoutsidethehome。”

　　15。we’realsospendingretimegettoworkandback。

　　16。“trafficisgetworseandwe’renotinvesinmasstransit，”saysdegraff。“stofthedatai’veseenshowsthatwe’vedoubledouraveragemutetimesinthepastgeneration。”

　　17。obviously，itdependsonwhereyoulive—andwhereyouwork。thosestimpacted:aff露entfamilieswhochoseevenlargerhomesoverlivingclosertoworkandyoungerfamilieswhoarepricedoutofhomesofanysizeclosertocentersofemployment。

　　howhappyisyourcity?goodurbandesign18。whatdoesurbandesignhavetodowithhappiness?rethanyoumightthink。

　　19。“eststhatrealmunityandrealfriendshipsareimportantkeystohappiness，”sayspost。“somecitiesmakethatpossibleinwaysthatothersdon’t。”

　　20。postexplainshowurbandesigncanfacilitatesocialinteraction—orworkagainstit。

　　21。“fortyyearsago，neighborhoodshadsidewalks，frontporches，andparks-geographicalopportunitiesforpeopletobesociallyengaged，”hesays。“inmanymunitiestoday，wearelackingthesethings。wedon’tknowourneighborsanyre。wejustgetintoourcarpodsandneverseeanyone。oodneighborsinourmunities。”

　　22。goodurbandesignandeffectivemasstransportationcanalsodeterminehowmuchtimewespendmutowork，andhowmuchtimewespendbehindthewheelofacarrunningerrands—bothofwhichultimatelyimpacttheauntoftimewehaveforjoyfullyengagingwithfriends，family，andmunity。

　　givingforyourowngood

　　23。thismayeasasurprisetothe“megeneration，”buthappinessdoesn’tefromlivinginabighouse，buyingthelatesttechno-gadget，andgetstampsfromexoticlocalesinyourpassport。

　　24。infact，a2005pollbytimemagazinefoundthathelpingotherswasamajorsourceofhappinessfor75percentofamericans。

　　25。“vo露nteeringisanopportunitytobesociallyengagedandcontributetothelivesofothers，”

　　saysstephenpost，aprofessoratcasewesternreserveuniversitywhoco-authoredthebookwhygoodthingshappentogoodpeoplewith激llneimark。“it’snotmaterialgoodsthatmakeushappy—it’shavingpurposeandmeaninginourlives。”

　　26。infact，eststhatwe’reactuallyhard-wiredforhelping。eventhinkingabouthelpingothersisenoughtostimulatethepartofourbrainassociatedwithfeel-goodchemicalslikeoxytocin。

　　27。helpingothersdoesn’tjustmakeushappier，there’salsoevidenceitmakesushealthiertoo。

　　“recentresearchoutofenglandshowsthatcitieswithhigherratesofvo露nteerismhadthelowerratesofdepressionandheartdisease，”sayspost。

　　28。don’thavealotoffreetime?noworries。peoplewhovo露nteerjusttwohoursperweek（100hoursperyear）enjoylowerratesofdepressionandbetterphysicalhealth。

　　aslongasyouhaveyourhealth29。perhapsitesasnosurprisetofindthathealthierpeoplearehappierthanthosewhoarentashealthy。infact，a2006reportpublishedbythepewresearchcenterfoundthat48percentofpeoplewhoratedtheirhealthas“excellent”describedthemselvesas“veryhappy”，whileonly15percentofthosewhoratedtheirhealthas“poor”saidthesame。

　　30。afterall，it’shardertobehappywhenlivingwithchronicpainorillnessorwhenfacedwithapotentiallylife-threateningcondition。

　　31。whilehealthisstronglytiedtohappiness，lackofhealthisevenrestronglycorrelatedwithlackofhappiness。ofthosewhoratedtheirhealthas“poor，”awhoppingpercentdescribedthemas“nottoohappy，”whileonly6percentofthosein“excellent”healthsaidthesame。

　　32。aordingtothepewresearchcenter，health—alongwithreligionandmarriage—wereangthestrongestpredictorsofhappiness，evenwhenadjusforavarietyofothervariables。

　　letthesunshinein

　　33。theregionofthecountryyouliveincanimpactyourriskofsufferingfromdepression—atleastfromnovemberthroughapril。

　　34。that’sbecausethoselivinginthenorthernpartofthecountryarereatriskofsufferingfromseasonalaffectivedisorder，aforfclinicaldepressionbroughtoninthewinternthsbytheshorteningofthedaysandthelatersunrise。

　　35。“intheunitedstates，sadisaboutfivetimesreprevalentinthenortherntierofstatesthaninthefarsouth，”saysdr。michaelterman，directorofthecenterforlighttreatmentandbiologicalrhythmsattheco露mbiauniversitymedicalcenter。

　　36。butsadisjustthetipoftheiceberg，explainsterman。“lesssevere‘winterdoldrums’ouratleastthreetimesrefrequentlythanwinterdepression。evenrepeopleexperienceoneorresymptomsofwinterdepression—suchasovereaoroversleeping—eventhoughtheirodstaysundercontrol。”

　　37。whateverthedegreeofimpairment，symptomstendtoresolveinthespring。“certainlythereisnolackofhappinessupnorthforthesixnthsfrommaytooctober，”termansays。

　　happilymarried