Happiness: 我也從沒問過自己，幸福到底是什麼？
在人生道路上一直戰戰兢兢的自我學習，也抱著焦慮與恐懼隨時怕自己被淘汰。現在，為一家之主與人父，也開始更關心自我更底層的內在與存在的價值。
這篇為Naval在2021所發的一部Podcast，同時也有逐字稿。在大AI時代我也與其協作產出這篇的中譯，外帶一些自己的OS。
距離上一篇發文也好一段時間，剛好讀完這一篇，同時也心想：透過分享可以時刻便利未來的自己複習外，也希望藉此可以提供一個方向給有需要的讀者。也希望每一個時期讀一讀的同時，也可以順手讓中文的意義可以更完整。
AI翻譯並非絕對，每個人讀起來的文字也有起有落，就像幸福兩字而言，也有無盡的解讀。
這篇我整理一些關鍵字出來，其中也有脈絡可循：
- 健康
- 財富
- 幸福
- 慾望
- 效率
- 決策
- 知識
- 社交
- 平靜
- 真理
那就廢話不多說，Enjoy!
Live Long Enough and You’ll Become a Philosopher
活得夠長，你就會成為哲學家
This podcast is a practical philosophy of health, wealth and happiness
這個播客是關於健康、財富和幸福的實用哲學
Naval: Let’s talk about why we’re doing this podcast. It’s really a discussion of highly practical philosophy.
Naval：我們來談談為什麼要做這個播客。這確實是一場高度實用的哲學討論。
Philosophy, as we normally think of it, is impractical. It’s abstract and obtuse — something written a long time ago in fancy language. We put it on a pedestal and it feels unapproachable. Sometimes it comes across like truisms.
正如我們通常認為的那樣，哲學是不切實際的。它抽象而遲鈍 — — 這是很久以前用花哨的語言寫成的東西。我們把它放在一個基座上，感覺難以接近。有時它看起來像是老生常談。
The big problems are the old ones
大問題都是老問題
But if you live long enough, you will become a philosopher yourself. You’ll have spent a lifetime solving the big problems in your life. The big problems are the old ones, the ones we’ve been trying to solve since the beginning: How do I stay happy? How do I become healthy? How do I become wealthy? How do I raise the family I want?
但如果你活得夠長，你自己就會成為哲學家。您將花費一生的時間來解決生活中的重大問題。大問題是老問題，是我們從一開始就一直在努力解決的問題：我如何保持快樂？我怎樣才能變得健康？我怎樣才能變得富有？我如何養育我想要的家庭？
What one monkey can do, another can do
一隻猴子能做的事，另一隻猴子也能做
This podcast is about practical philosophy that has worked for us. What one monkey can do, another can. We want people to think, “If this person learned something that made them happier, healthier or wealthier, then I can do it too.” That’s what we focus on: a practical philosophy of health, wealth and happiness.
這個播客是關於對我們有用的實用哲學的。一隻猴子能做的事，另一隻猴子也能做。我們希望人們思考，“如果這個人學到了一些讓他們更快樂、更健康或更富有的東西，那麼我也能做到。”這就是我們所關注的：健康、財富和幸福的實用哲學。
Nivi: If you summed it up in one word, it would be health: financial health, mental health and physical health.
Nivi：如果用一個字來概括，那就是健康：財務健康、心理健康和身體健康。
Naval: Health is a state of well-being. Let’s get to a state of financial health where we’re not fearful day to day. That’s where we started, and we spent a lot of time on that. Let’s get to a state of physical health where we’re not suffering from afflictions, disease and addiction. Let’s get to a state of mental health where we’re relatively at peace and quite content with ourselves.
Naval：健康是一種幸福的狀態。讓我們的財務狀況保持健康，每天都不會感到恐懼。這就是我們開始的地方，我們花了很多時間。 讓我們達到一種身體健康的狀態，這樣我們就不會遭受痛苦、疾病和成癮的困擾。讓我們達到一種心理健康的狀態，在這種狀態下，我們相對平靜並且對自己非常滿意。
Happiness Without Material Comfort Is Playing on Hard Mode
幸福在沒有物質享受的情況下是困難的
It’s easier to fulfill your material desires than to renounce them
滿足你的物質慾望比放棄它們更容易
Naval: You can achieve happiness without financial wealth. Most of us recognize you’re not going to buy your way to happiness. But in modern times, you can buy your way out of common causes of unhappiness. Financial wealth can give you freedom and more time. It can give you peace.
Naval： 無需經濟財富即可獲得幸福。我們大多數人都體認到，你無法透過花錢買到幸福。但在現代，您可以透過花錢來擺脫不快樂的常見原因。財務財富可以給你自由和更多的時間。它可以帶給你平安。
Renouncing things is not an easy path to happiness
放棄一切並不是通往幸福的捷徑
In olden times, one of the routes to finding peace was becoming a monk. You would renounce things — sex, shelter, money and other material attachments — and go off in the woods. You might find some peace after 30 years, when you’d finally gotten over the fact that you weren’t going to have these things. The truth is, most of them probably never got over it. There are lots of monks out there but there aren’t a lot of enlightened people.
在古代，尋求平靜的途徑之一就是出家為僧。你會放棄一切 — — 性、住所、金錢和其他物質依戀 — — 然後去樹林裡。 30年後，當你終於克服了你不會擁有這些東西的事實時，你可能會找到一些平靜。事實是，他們中的大多數人可能從未克服過這個問題。那裡有很多和尚，但開悟的人卻很少。
It’s easier to fulfill your material needs than to renounce them
滿足你的物質需求比放棄它們更容易
It was Osho who said, essentially: “Every time I meet a prostitute, she wants to talk about God. And every time I meet a priest, he wants to talk about sex.” Whatever you deny yourself will become your new prison.
奧修本質上是這樣說的：「每次我遇到妓女時，她都想談論上帝。每次我遇到牧師，他都想談論性。
Today it’s actually easier to fulfill your desire for material comfort than it is to renounce it. It’ll take you a lifetime to renounce material comfort, and it still might not work. But you can make some money and be materially successful in less than a lifetime.
今天，滿足你對物質舒適的渴望實際上比放棄它更容易。你要花一輩子的時間才能放棄物質享受，而且可能還是行不通。但你可以在不到一生的時間內賺到一些錢並取得物質上的成功。
You can achieve happiness without material comfort, and it probably would be a more lasting form of happiness. But that’s playing on hard mode.
你可以在沒有物質享受的情況下獲得幸福，而且這可能是一種更持久的幸福形式。但這是在困難模式下進行的。
When you’re sick, your desires run away
當你生病時，你的慾望就會消失
Physical health is the foundation of everything. If you don’t have your physical health, you have nothing. A Confucius saying I like: “A sick man only wants one thing, a healthy man wants 10,000 things.” When you’re sick, your desires run away. Without the ability to get up and function, you can’t turn into the desiring machine that you are.
身體健康是一切的基礎。如果你沒有身體健康，你就一無所有。我喜歡孔子的一句話：「病者欲一物，健康者欲萬物」。當你生病時，你的慾望就會消失。如果沒有起床和工作的能力，你就無法變成你所渴望的機器。
Although physical health is the most important, I speak the least about it because it’s the area where I have the least specific knowledge. I am not self-actualized in that regard. I’m in OK shape and have an OK diet. I understand the theories of physical health, but I would feel fraudulent offering it to you unless I were a paragon of physical health myself.
雖然身體健康是最重要的，但我很少談論它，因為這是我了解最少的領域。在這方面我還沒有自我實現。我的身材很好，飲食也很好。我了解身體健康的理論，但除非我自己是身體健康的典範，否則我會覺得向您提供這些理論是欺騙性的。
I’ve gone from being unhappy to being very happy
我從不開心變成了很開心
In wealth, I’m much more self-actualized. And on the mental health side — finding happiness and peace — I’ve gone from being a mostly unhappy person to being very happy. That was deliberate. It was practiced and effort-based. It happened through realizations. Because I made progress, I can tell you what worked for me.
在財富方面，我比較自我實現。在心理健康方面 — — 尋找幸福與平靜 — — 我已經從一個幾乎不快樂的人變成了非常快樂的人。那是刻意的。這是經過實踐和努力的。這是透過認識發生的。因為我取得了進步，所以我可以告訴你什麼對我有用。
Happiness Is Not Science or Math
幸福不是科學或數學
Happiness is more like poetry than algorithms
幸福更像是詩而不是算法
Naval: Happiness is an extremely loaded term. It means completely different things to different people. Everybody has strong preconceived notions of what happiness is and how they can attain it.
Naval：幸福是一個意義極為豐富的用語。這對不同的人來說意味著完全不同的事情。每個人對於什麼是幸福以及如何獲得幸福都有著強烈的先入為主的觀念。
There are many types of happiness
幸福有很多種
I’m going to conflate happiness, pleasure, peace, joy, bliss, contentment, well-being and more. I don’t do it deliberately.
我將把幸福、快樂、平安、快樂、幸福、滿足、幸福等等混為一談。我不是故意的。
But at the same time, this is not math. We cannot clearly bound these words. They mean different things in different contexts to different people. So try and get into the spirit of what I’m saying, rather than getting hung up on specific words and details.
但同時，這不是數學。我們無法明確地約束這些字詞。它們在不同的背景下對不同的人意味著不同的東西。因此，嘗試領會我所說的精神，而不是糾結於具體的字詞和細節。
When some people talk about happiness, they’re really talking about pleasure or thrills. They might say, “I had a really good meal; therefore, I’m happy.” When other people are talking about happiness, they’re talking about a general state of contentment and well-being. Other people are referring to enlightenment, like a Buddha would have reached.
當有些人談論幸福時，他們實際上是在談論快樂或興奮。他們可能會說：「我吃了一頓非常好的飯；因此，我很高興。當其他人談論幸福時，他們談論的是一種普遍的滿足和幸福狀態。其他人指的是開悟，就像佛陀所達到的。
Many people take the point of view that there’s no such thing as happiness or that happiness is counterproductive — or that misery comes from pursuing happiness. There’s a lot of truth to these ideas; we’ll get into it.
許多人認為幸福並不存在，或幸福會適得其反，或是痛苦來自於追求幸福。這些想法有很多道理；我們會詳細討論的。
Happiness is more like poetry than algorithms
幸福更像是詩而不是算法
I might say, “The way to be happy is X,” and people will respond, “Well, didn’t you just say happiness is a cause of misery?” This is not mathematics. You can’t link algorithms together.
我可能會說，“快樂的方式是X”，人們會回答，“好吧，你剛才不是說快樂是痛苦的原因嗎？”這不是數學。你無法將演算法連結在一起。
This is more like poetry. If you read 50 poems by the same poet and try to map them out analytically and map words from one poem to another and see if it makes sense, you’ll miss the point. Don’t fixate on the words. Don’t even fixate on the sentences. Ponder the overall thought process and message.
這更像是詩。如果你閱讀同一位詩人的 50 首詩，並嘗試將它們分析性地繪製出來，並將一首詩中的單字映射到另一首詩中，看看它是否有意義，你就會錯過要點。不要執著於詞語。甚至不要專注於句子。思考整體的思考過程和訊息。
Happiness Is a Skill You Can Develop
幸福是一種可以培養的技能
You’re not stuck at your current level of happiness
你並沒有陷入當前的幸福水平
Naval: The first step to increasing your level of happiness is realizing you can. This is where a lot of people get tripped up. For the vast majority of people, some of their happiness — probably a lot more than they think — is in their control.
Naval：提高幸福感的第一步就是意識到你可以。這是很多人被絆倒的地方。對絕大多數人來說，他們的一些幸福 — — 可能比他們想像的要多得多 — — 是在他們的掌控之中。
This step is not easy. You might be stuck on this for a long time. Many people believe that happiness cannot be developed or changed, so they devalue it. They say, “Well, I don’t want to be happy.
”這一步並不容易。你可能會被困在這個問題上很長一段時間。許多人認為幸福無法發展或改變，因此他們貶低它。他們說：“好吧，我不想快樂。”
Genetics is important, but it’s only half the picture
遺傳學很重要，但這只是問題的一半
Genetics is important. It goes a long way in determining strength, athletic performance and intelligence. But your genetic set point is only about half of it. And happiness, or general contentment, is much more malleable than the other things.
遺傳學很重要。它對於確定力量、運動表現和智力有很大幫助。但你的基因設定點只有它的一半左右。幸福，或普遍的滿足感，比其他事物更具可塑性。
It would be very hard for me to change my athletic performance dramatically purely by working out. I’m much more limited in that arena because of my genetics. But things like my temperament, outlook on life, how peaceful I am, how angry I get — these are much more in my control.
對我來說，純粹透過運動來顯著改變我的運動表現是非常困難的。由於我的基因，我在這個領域受到的限制要大得多。但像我的脾氣、人生觀、我有多平靜、我有多生氣 — — 這些都更在我的掌控之中。
You’re not stuck at your level of happiness
你並沒有被困在你的幸福水平上
So, happiness is a skill like nutrition and fitness. Happiness is a skill you identify and develop that slowly gives you results as you get better at it. It is not God-given. It’s not handed to you and now you’re stuck with it — though if you start with a high setting, by all means keep it.
所以，幸福是一種技能，就像營養和健身一樣。幸福是一種你發現並發展的技能，隨著你的進步，它會慢慢為你帶來成果。它不是上帝所賜予的。它不是交給你的，現在你必須堅持下去 — — 儘管如果你從高設定開始，無論如何都要保留它。
Desire Is a Contract You Make to Be Unhappy
慾望是一份讓你不快樂的契約
Happiness is returning to a state where nothing is missing
幸福就是回到什麼都不缺的狀態
Naval:Desire’s a contract you make to be unhappy until you get what you want. You become disturbed because you want something. Then you work really hard to get it and are miserable in the meantime. Finally, when you get it, you revert to the state you were in before you had it. It’s not like you achieve some peak level of bliss that you stay on forever.
Naval：慾望是一份契約，在你得到你想要的東西之前，你會不快樂。你因為想要某樣東西而變得不安。然後你非常努力地得到它，同時你也很痛苦。最後，當你得到它時，你會恢復到你得到它之前的狀態。這並不是說你達到了永遠幸福的巔峰水平。
No single thing will make you happy forever
沒有一件事能讓你永遠幸福
People hold onto a delusion that there’s something out there that will make them happy and fulfilled forever. No single thing can do that.
人們抱持著錯覺，認為有某些東西可以讓他們永遠快樂和滿足。沒有任何一件事可以做到這一點。
Enlightenment is something different. It seems to be a permanent solution; but we’re not going to explore that just yet. We’re just talking about common sense happiness.
啟蒙是不同的。這似乎是一個永久的解決方案；但我們暫時不打算對此進行探索。我們只是在談論常識性的幸福。
Happiness is a process of understanding and self-discovery
幸福是一個認識和發現自我的過程
There’s no single permanent solution to happiness. Rather, achieving happiness requires a process of understanding and self-discovery. It is a process of training yourself to see certain truths.
幸福沒有單一的永久解決方案。相反，實現幸福需要一個理解和自我發現的過程。這是一個訓練自己看見某些真理的過程。
If obtaining things made us permanently happy, then the cavemen would have been miserable, and we would all be deliriously happy. Yet, net happiness per person is not going up and might even be going down. Modernity probably brings more unhappiness than the past.
如果獲得東西能讓我們永遠幸福，那麼穴居人就會很痛苦，而我們都會幸福得神魂顛倒。然而，人均淨幸福感並沒有上升，甚至可能下降。現代性可能比過去帶來更多的不快樂。
So happiness is returning to the state where nothing is missing in this moment.
所以幸福就是回到這一刻什麼都不缺的狀態。
If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy?
如果你這麼聰明，為什麼不快樂？
You can increase your happiness without losing your drive
您可以在不失去動力的情況下增加幸福感
Naval: “Happiness is for stupid people.” That’s a common complaint I hear from smart overachievers. They think only dumb or lazy people can be happy. Entrepreneurs will say, “I don’t want to be happy because I want to be successful.” They worry that if they get too happy they’ll lose their desire and won’t work hard anymore.
Naval：“幸福是屬於愚蠢的人的。”這是我從聰明的優秀者那裡聽到的常見抱怨。他們認為只有愚蠢或懶惰的人才能幸福。企業家會說：“我不想快樂，因為我想成功。”他們擔心如果太高興就會失去慾望，不再努力工作。
Can you increase happiness without losing your drive?
你能在不失去動力的情況下增加幸福感嗎？
Like everything else, there is some truth to this. Generally, the more intelligent you are, the more you can see behind the façade of everyday life being easy or safe. You see all the risks and downsides — the calamities that await us. You see the cynicism and manipulation behind so many things portrayed as being good for you or society. You become cynical, and you signal your intelligence through cynicism. Very smart people often communicate in purely cynical observations.
和其他事情一樣，這也是有一定道理的。一般來說，你越聰明，你就越能看到日常生活輕鬆或安全的表象背後。你會看到所有的風險和不利因素 — — 等待我們的災難。你會看到許多被描繪成對你或社會有益的事物背後的憤世嫉俗和操縱。你變得憤世嫉俗，並透過憤世嫉俗來表明你的智慧。非常聰明的人經常以純粹憤世嫉俗的觀察進行交流。
It’s OK to not want to be happy. But we’re going to explore whether you can increase your happiness without significantly lowering your drive or intellect.
不想快樂也沒關係。但我們將探討是否可以在不顯著降低你的動力或智力的情況下增加你的幸福感。
Let’s take the first objection: “I’m not happy because I’m smart.” This is partially true. You are unhappy partially because you know and understand too much. You’ve been exposed to too much. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be happy and retain your intelligence.
讓我們來看第一個反對意見：“我不快樂，因為我很聰明。”這部分是正確的。你不快樂的部分原因是你知道和理解的太多。你接觸的東西太多了。但這並不意味著你不能快樂並保留你的智力。
Figuring out the truth will lead to happiness
弄清楚真相就會帶來幸福
But don’t get it backwards: You’re not smart because you’re unhappy; you’re unhappy because you’re smart. You can be happy and smart — it’s just going to take more work. The good news is, smart people are good at figuring out the truth. The more you dig into certain deep truths, the freer and more peaceful you will become. That peace will lead to happiness.
但不要退步：你不快樂不聰明；因為你不快樂所以你不聰明；因為你不快樂所以你不聰明。你不快樂是因為你很聰明。你可以快樂又聰明 — — 只是需要付出更多的努力。好消息是，聰明人善於找出真相。你越深入挖掘某些深刻的真理，你就會變得越自由、越平靜。那種平安會帶來幸福。
If you’re so smart, why aren’t you happy? I absolutely believe that is true. The beauty of being mentally high functioning in our society is that you can trade it for almost anything. If you’re smart, you can figure out how to be healthy within your genetic constraints and how to be wealthy within your environmental constraints.
如果你這麼聰明，為什麼不快樂呢？我絕對相信這是真的。在我們的社會中，精神高度運作的美妙之處在於，你可以用它來交換幾乎任何東西。如果你很聰明，你就能弄清楚如何在遺傳限制內保持健康，以及如何在環境限制中致富。
If you’re smart, you can figure out how to be happy within your biological constraints. But your biological constraints are a lot larger than you might think.
如果你很聰明，你就能弄清楚如何在你的生理限制內獲得快樂。但你的生理限制比你想像的要大得多。
The dynamic range of happiness is quite large
幸福感的動態範圍相當大
If you’ve ever gotten drunk or achieved an altered state of mind on psychedelic drugs or through meditation, breathing or other hypnotic techniques, you have experienced brief moments of happiness beyond what you feel on a typical day.
如果您曾經喝醉過，或服用致幻藥物或透過冥想、呼吸或其他催眠技巧改變了精神狀態，您就會體驗到超越平常一天的短暫幸福時刻。
Of course, some of this is a fake, pleasure-driven happiness. But there’s truth to it; otherwise, you wouldn’t desire that state
.當然，其中有些是虛假的、受快樂驅動的幸福。但這是事實；否則，你不會想要那種狀態。
Achieving these brief states of happiness can show you how dynamic your range is — and that range can be quite large.
實現這些短暫的幸福狀態可以向你展示你的範圍有多麼動態 — — 而且這個範圍可能相當大。
How do you nudge yourself in that direction on a perpetual basis, as opposed to visiting it by stunning your mind into submission and silence?
你如何永久地推動自己朝這個方向發展，而不是透過讓你的思想屈服和沈默來實現這一目標？
Being Unhappy Is Extremely Inefficient
不快樂是極度低效的
A peaceful mind makes better decisions
平靜的心態可以做出更好的決定
Naval: Besides “I’m too smart for it,” the other objection is, “I don’t want it to lower my productivity. I don’t want to have less desire or less work ethic.”
Naval：除了「我太聰明了」之外，另一個反對意見是「我不希望它降低我的工作效率。我不想減少慾望或減少職業道德。
Fact check on that is: True. The happier and more peaceful you are, the less likely you are to run out and change the world. At the same time, being unhappy is very inefficient. A peaceful person doesn’t have extraneous thoughts going through their head. If you’re a driven, unhappy person, your mind will be on 24/7.
事實查核是：確實如此。你越快樂、越平靜，就越不可能跑出去改變世界。同時，不快樂也是非常低效率的。一個平和的人，腦子裡不會有多餘的想法。如果你是一個有動力、不快樂的人，你的思想就會24/7。
Unhappy people don’t have good judgment
不快樂的人沒有好的判斷力
What are the consequences of this? You won’t sleep well. You’re much more likely to react with anger and dig yourself into a hole you have to dig out of. Your decisions are emotional and impetuous. You’re more likely to get caught in the busy trap — busy all the time and running from one thing to another because you can’t mentally prioritize.
這會帶來什麼後果？你會睡不好的。你更有可能做出憤怒的反應，把自己挖進一個必須挖出來的洞裡。你的決定是情緒化且衝動的。你更有可能陷入忙碌的陷阱 — — 一直忙碌，從一件事跑到另一件事，因為你無法在頭腦中確定優先順序。
When you don’t have peace of mind, it’s difficult to make judgments because you have too many threads going through your head. You don’t have time to devote to making those judgments.
當你內心不安時，很難做出判斷，因為你的腦子裡有太多的線索。你沒有時間去做這些判斷。
There’s a tradeoff. If you become the Buddha tomorrow, it’s unlikely you’ll also launch rockets to the moon like Elon Musk. On the other hand, there are plenty of successful, optimistic scientists, innovators and other leaders — especially as they get older. Happy people aren’t always ineffective.
這是一個權衡。如果你明天成為佛陀，你不太可能像馬斯克那樣向月球發射火箭。另一方面，有許多成功、樂觀的科學家、創新者和其他領導者 — — 尤其是當他們年老時。快樂的人並不總是效率低。
A peaceful mind makes better decisions
平靜的心態可以做出更好的決定
When I got happier in my own life, I became much more effective — even though I don’t work as hard as I used to. I’m able to form relationships with people who I would have kept at a distance earlier in my life, for whatever preconceived notions I held.
當我的生活變得更加快樂時，我的工作效率也變得更高 — — 儘管我不再像以前那樣努力工作。我能夠與那些我早年會保持距離的人建立關係，無論我持有什麼先入為主的觀念。
I make decisions much more clearly now, because I can see the long-term outcomes.I cut straight to the chase and don’t try and negotiate an extra 20% here or there — because I know that’s going to make me unhappy in the long-term, make the other person unhappy, and make the deal less stable.
我現在做決定更加清晰，因為我可以看到長期結果。對方不高興，讓交易變得不太穩定。
I’ve become more productive even though I don’t work as hard, because I make better decisions.
儘管我工作不那麼努力，但我的工作效率卻提高了，因為我做了更好的決定。
Work the Least for It
關於這一節，延伸閱讀：17 questions.2 (tim.blog)
將會帶來更多啟發。
最少的工作
Happy people don’t have to work as hard
幸福的人不必那麼辛苦
Naval: The quality of our decisions is paramount in the modern age, because we’re all leveraged. You can be leveraged through code, community, media, capital, labor and other ways. If you’re smart, you leverage every decision you make.
Naval：我們決策的品質在現代至關重要，因為我們都受到影響。你可以透過法典、社群、媒體、資本、勞動力等方式獲得槓桿。如果你很聰明，你就會利用你所做的每一個決定。
If Warren Buffett makes the right decision 85% of the time and his competitors get it right 70% of the time, Buffett will win everything. That’s a source of his strength: good decision making. He makes one or two decisions a year. Most of the time he’s sitting around reading books, thinking, reading S-1s, playing bridge, traveling and golfing.
如果華倫巴菲特在 85% 的情況下做出正確的決定，而他的競爭對手在 70% 的情況下做出正確的決定，那麼巴菲特將贏得一切。這是他力量的泉源：良好的決策。他每年都會做出一、兩個決定。大部分時間他都坐著看書、思考、閱讀S-1s、打橋牌、旅行和打高爾夫球。
So true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obviously, hard work is not the solution. Good decision making and high leverage is the solution.
顯然，努力工作並不是解決問題的方法。良好的決策和高槓桿率就是解決方案。
A peaceful mind makes better decisions
平靜的心態可以做出更好的決定
Having a peaceful mind, being a happier person, relying less on momentary pleasure and being calmer will give you the frame of mind to make better decisions. Being happy will actually increase your effectiveness. As long as the increase in effectiveness is higher than the reduction in drive, you’re well off.
擁有平和的心態，做一個更快樂的人，少依賴一時的快樂，保持冷靜，會讓你有心情做出更好的決定。快樂其實會提高你的效率。只要效率的增加高於動力的減少，你就很富裕了。
Ask yourself: Would you rather be the best in the world by working the hardest for it or by working the least for it, because you worked the most intelligently?
問問自己：你願意透過最努力的工作來成為世界上最好的人，還是願意透過工作最少的方式來成為世界上最好的人，因為你工作得最聰明？
Imagine you are the universal god. You are omniscient and omnipotent. You could change anything in the universe just by pushing a butterfly in one direction, because you know exactly how the particles will collide from there on out.
想像你是宇宙之神。你是無所不知、無所不能的。您只需向一個方向推動一隻蝴蝶就可以改變宇宙中的任何事物，因為您確切地知道粒子從那裡開始將如何碰撞。
Omniscience(GPT4o’s “o”) is omnipotence. Knowledge is power. We can achieve happiness purely through knowledge, and that happiness will improve our decision making. That happiness will give us more time to read; make us more knowledgeable about how we operate and other people operate; make us more effective; and improve our judgment. It should also increase our earnings and the returns we need to be financially free.
全知就是全能。 知識就是力量。我們可以純粹透過知識獲得幸福，而這種幸福會改善我們的決策。那種快樂會讓我們有更多的時間去閱讀；讓我們更了解自己和他人的運作方式；讓我們更有效率；並提高我們的判斷力。它還應該增加我們實現財務自由所需的收入和回報。
The Modern Struggle Is Fighting Weaponized Addiction
現代鬥爭正在與武器成癮作鬥爭
Pursuing pleasure for its own sake creates addiction
為了快樂而追求快樂會讓人上癮
Naval: On some very deep level, all pleasure creates its own offsetting pain and fear of loss. I recently tweeted, “In an age of abundance, pursuing pleasure for its own sake creates addiction.” I was upgrading a Miyamoto Musashi line, “Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.”
Naval：在某些非常深的層面上，所有的快樂都會產生其自身抵消的痛苦和對失去的恐懼。我最近發推文說：「在一個物質豐富的時代，為了快樂而追求快樂會讓人上癮。」我正在升級宮本武藏的台詞，“不要為了快樂而追求快樂”看在自己的份上。
Musashi was a Japanese swordsman. In his time, pursuing pleasure meant a very different thing than it does today. He didn’t have unlimited processed food, Internet pornography, marijuana and alcohol available on demand.
武藏是日本劍客。在他那個時代，追求快樂的意義與今天截然不同。他沒有按需提供無限量的加工食品、網路色情、大麻和酒精。
Now that we’re in an age of abundance, we can easily fall into addiction if we pursue pleasure for its own sake. And that’s hard to get out of.
現在我們處在一個物質豐富的時代，如果我們為了追求快樂而容易上癮。這很難擺脫。
The modern struggle is really about individuals — disconnected from their tribe, religion and cultural networks — who are trying to stand up to all these addictions that have been weaponized: alcohol, drugs, pornography, processed foods, news media, Internet, social media and video games.
現代的鬥爭實際上是關於個人 — — 與他們的部落、宗教和文化網絡脫節 — — 他們試圖抵抗所有這些已被武器化的成癮：酒精、毒品、色情、加工食品、新聞媒體、互聯網、社交媒體和視頻遊戲。
Addictions are fake work and fake play
成癮是假工作和假遊戲
Addictions let you engage in fake play and fake work. Before, you had to go socialize with friends; now, you can just get drunk with a bunch of strangers. Before, you had to go find a mate, create children and raise a family; now, you can just watch a lot of porn. Before, you had to hunt and climb trees to get fruit for a little bit of natural sweetness; now, you can buy all the gelato you want.
成癮會讓你從事虛假的遊戲和虛假的工作。以前，你必須去和朋友應酬；現在，你必須去。現在，你可以和一群陌生人一起喝醉。以前，你必須去找伴侶、生孩子、養家；現在，你必須去尋找伴侶、生孩子、養家。現在，您可以觀看大量色情內容。以前，你必須打獵、爬樹才能獲得一點點天然甜味的果實；現在，你必須去打獵、爬樹才能獲得一點天然的甜味。現在，您可以購買您想要的所有冰淇淋。
The modern struggle is standing up to these weaponized addictions. They give you small doses of pleasure, but they also desensitize you and expose you to the misery of their absence.
現代鬥爭正在對抗這些武器化的癮。他們帶給你少量的快樂，但也會讓你麻木不仁，讓你承受他們缺席帶來的痛苦。
Breaking Addiction Is Socially Unacceptable
戒除毒癮在社會上是不可接受的
Addiction enables artificial relationships and activities
成癮使人為的關係和活動成為可能
Naval: If you drink alcohol or take some kind of drug regularly, try the following thought experiment.
Naval：如果您經常飲酒或服用某種藥物，請嘗試以下思想實驗。
What events do you most look forward to? I’ll bet they’re the ones where you get to drink or do drugs. You look forward to dinnertime, an upcoming party or bar-hopping with friends.
您最期待哪些活動？我敢打賭，他們就是你喝酒或吸毒的地方。您期待晚餐時間、即將舉行的聚會或與朋友一起去酒吧。
To see how artificial it is, resolve to abstain from drinking or doing drugs the next time you go out. Now ask yourself how much you’re looking forward to that event. You’ll find: not at all.
要了解它有多人為，請下定決心下次外出時戒酒或戒毒。現在問問自己，您對這次活動有多期待。你會發現：根本不是。
This creates a conundrum. These sources of artificial pleasure eventually will desensitize me, bring misery when they’re gone and lead to addiction. But if I give them up, I’ll also be miserable because I’ll no longer socialize with my friends. I won’t go out, and I won’t have fun.
這就產生了一個難題。這些人為的快樂來源最終會讓我變得麻木，當它們消失時會帶來痛苦並導致上癮。但如果我放棄它們，我也會很痛苦，因為我將不再與朋友交往。我不會出去，也不會玩得開心。
Breaking addiction requires a new lifestyle
戒毒需要新的生活方式
完全讓我想起26歲前的人生與社交圈，就是一種毒癮
Breaking addiction is very hard, because you have to break the physical addiction and you also have to change your lifestyle. You have to switch to a lifestyle in which you can be happy without that substance.
戒除毒癮是非常困難的，因為你必須戒除身體上的毒癮，還必須改變你的生活方式。你必須改變一種生活方式，即使沒有這種物質你也能快樂。
If I drink to be social and do that enough, I’ll find myself hanging out with people I wouldn’t spend time with otherwise. When I’m sober, I can’t tolerate these people, the topics we discuss or the venues we visit. I can only do it drunk.
如果我喝酒是為了社交，而且做得夠多，我會發現自己和那些原本不會共度時光的人一起出去玩。當我清醒時，我無法容忍這些人、我們討論的話題或我們參觀的場所。我只能喝醉了。
Addiction holds together fake relationships and fake activities
成癮將虛假的關係和虛假的活動結合在一起
These fake relationships and fake activities are held together by alcohol. If I stop drinking, I have to replace my friends and find new things to do. This is difficult and socially unacceptable.
這些虛假的關係和虛假的活動是透過酒精維繫在一起的。如果我停止喝酒，我就必須更換我的朋友並尋找新的事情做。這是困難的，也是社會不可接受的。
I realized a while ago that it’s a problem to look forward to weekends and holidays. First, it takes the joy out of the everyday, because you’re living in the future and suffering the rest of time. Second, you have accepted a way of life in which most of your time is spent suffering.
不久前我意識到期待週末和假期是一個問題。首先，它剝奪了日常生活中的快樂，因為你生活在未來，其餘的時間都在受苦。其次，你已經接受了一種大部分時間都在痛苦中度過的生活方式。
Finding Peace from Mind
從心靈中尋找平靜
The mind should be a servant, not a master
頭腦應該是僕人，而不是主人
Naval: Let’s talk about peace, and then we’ll talk about truth and how they relate to happiness.
Naval：我們先談談和平，然後再談談真理以及它們與幸福的關係。
When I say you want to be happy, what I’m actually saying is you want to find peace. We say peace of mind, but what we really want is peace from mind.
當我說你想要快樂時，我其實是說你想要找到平安。我們說心靈的平靜，但我們真正想要的是心靈的平靜。
The mind goes quiet during the moments of greatest pleasure
在最快樂的時刻，心靈會變得安靜
During your moments of greatest pleasure — whether you’re doing a drug, having an orgasm, finding your edge kite-surfing, laughing with a friend or looking at an incredible sunset — your mind goes quiet. It calms down, and that voice in your head goes silent. You achieve a sense of awe, which you might also call beauty, bliss or joy.
在你最快樂的時刻 — — 無論是吸毒、享受性高潮、風箏衝浪、與朋友歡笑還是欣賞令人難以置信的日落 — — 你的思緒都會安靜下來。它平靜下來，你腦海中的聲音也消失了。你會產生一種敬畏感，你也可以稱之為美麗、幸福或喜悅。
We all seek this. We all chase it. Deep down, what we’re actually looking for is peace from mind.
我們都尋求這個。我們都追逐它。在內心深處，我們真正尋求的是內心的平靜。
Somewhere along the way, the mind became a master
一路走來，頭腦成為了大師
I’m not making the mind out to be an enemy. It’s a very useful tool. But somewhere along the way, it became uncontrollable. The mind became the master rather than a servant.
我並沒有把自己的想法當成敵人。這是一個非常有用的工具。但在這個過程中，事情變得無法控制。頭腦變成了主人而不是僕人。
Our mind evolved to be paranoid, fearful and angry. Humans are the most paranoid and angry creatures to ever walk the earth. We are apex predators who dominated the food chain by killing, subjugating or domesticating every other species on this planet. We did it through fear, violence and, of course, cooperation.
我們的思想進化為偏執、恐懼和憤怒。人類是地球上最偏執、最憤怒的生物。我們是頂級掠食者，透過殺死、征服或馴化地球上的所有其他物種來主宰食物鏈。我們透過恐懼、暴力，當然還有合作做到了這一點。
Nature is brutal. Turn on any nature documentary and you’ll see: A eats B; B eats C; C eats D; D eats E. Nature is red in tooth and claw. We are derived from violence and blood.
大自然是殘酷的。打開任何自然紀錄片，你會看到：A吃B； B吃C； C吃D； D 吃 E。我們源於暴力和血腥。
Our environment rewards pessimism and paranoia
我們的環境助長悲觀和偏執
Modern society’s a lot safer and more peaceful. It still makes sense to be careful, maintain some paranoia and occasionally to get angry — but not as much as we’re hardwired to do. It’s okay to dial it down.
現代社會更加安全和平。小心謹慎、保持一定的偏執、偶爾生氣仍然是有道理的 — — 但不要像我們生來就要做的那麼多。把它調低就可以了。
The threat level is not as high as our genes think. If you were walking through the woods 1,000 years ago and heard something rustling in the bushes, you’d be right to be paranoid. Let’s say nine out of 10 times it’s a rabbit in the bushes, and one out of 10 times it’s a tiger. The optimist would catch a rabbit nine out of 10 times and get eaten by a tiger the 10th. The pessimist survives every time.
威脅程度並不像我們的基因想像的那麼高。如果你 1000 年前你在樹林裡散步，聽到灌木叢裡有沙沙的聲音，你會感到偏執。假設十分之九是灌木叢中的兔子，十分之一是老虎。樂觀的人十次抓到兔子，第十次就會被老虎吃掉。悲觀主義者每次都能生存。
Our evolved nature rewards pessimism. But we live in much safer times, so we must find ways past that and work towards peace.
我們進化的本性獎勵悲觀主義。但我們生活在一個更安全的時代，因此我們必須找到超越這一時代的方法並努力實現和平。
Happiness Is Peace in Motion
幸福是運動中的平靜
Peace is happiness at rest
平靜是安息時的幸福
Naval: In some ways, modern life is more hectic than prehistoric times. Our sources of stress are more chronic.
Naval：在某些方面，現代生活比史前時代更忙碌。我們的壓力來源較為長期。
Let’s define stress. In physical terms, stress happens when something wants to be in two places at one time. If I apply pressure to both ends of an iron beam, I create stress on the beam because one part wants to be north and the other part wants to be south.
讓我們定義一下壓力。從物理角度來說，當某物想要同時出現在兩個地方時，就會產生壓力。如果我對一根鐵樑的兩端施加壓力，就會在鐵樑上產生壓力，因為一部分想要朝北，另一部分想要朝南。
Stress is an inability to decide what’s important
壓力是無法決定什麼是重要的
In mental terms, stress is an inability to decide what’s important. You want two incompatible things at once. I want to relax, but I need to work. Now I’m under stress.
從心理角度來說，壓力是指無法決定什麼是重要的。你同時想要兩個不相容的東西。我想放鬆，但我需要工作。現在我壓力很大。
When you give up on something, it’s no longer stressful. When you accept that something’s out of your control, there’s no point in getting stressed about it.
當你放棄某件事時，它就不再有壓力了。當你承認有些事情是你無法控制的時候，就沒有必要為此感到壓力。
The mind constantly creates stress, making you more paranoid or angry than situations warrant.
頭腦不斷地製造壓力，讓你比情況更偏執或更憤怒。
You want to find peace from mind. You aren’t turning off your brain. You can’t suppress the mind or force it to do anything. If I say, “Don’t think of a white elephant,” you’ll think of a white elephant. Rather, you want to develop tools so your mind can calm down on its own. Then, stress will go away naturally.
您想要從心靈中找到平靜。你並沒有關閉你的大腦。你無法壓制心或強迫它做任何事。如果我說，“不要想一頭白象”，你就會想到一頭白象。 相反，您想要開發工具，以便您的思緒能夠自行平靜下來。那麼，壓力就會自然消失。
How do you do that? How do you end up with a more peaceful mind?
你是怎樣做的？怎樣才能讓自己的心變得更平靜呢？
Peace is happiness at rest
平靜是安息時的幸福
Here’s a phrase I like: “Peace is happiness at rest; happiness is peace in motion.” Someone who’s peaceful at rest will end up happy when they do an activity. While a happy person sitting idle will be peaceful. The ultimate goal is not happiness, even though we use that term a lot. The goal is peace.
我喜歡這樣一句話：「平靜是安息的幸福；幸福就是運動中的平靜。一個在休息時平靜的人在進行活動時最終會感到快樂。一個快樂的人閒坐時會感到平靜。最終目標不是幸福，儘管我們經常使用這個詞。目標是和平。
So the question becomes: How do you get to peace?
所以問題變成了：如何才能獲得平安？
The first problem with attaining peace is that no activity will get you there. Fundamentally, peace is inactivity; it’s a sense that everything is fine.
獲得平靜的第一個問題是沒有任何活動可以讓你到達那裡。從根本上來說，和平就是不作為；這是一種一切都很好的感覺。
If everything is fine, you’re not doing any physical or mental activity to change it. You’re also not wishing you were doing something to change it, because that creates stress.
如果一切都很好，那麼你就不會做任何身體或精神活動來改變它。你也不希望自己做一些事情來改變它，因為這會產生壓力。
You cannot work toward peace, only understanding
你不能努力實現和平，只能努力理解
You cannot achieve peace directly or even work toward it. Rather, you can work toward understanding. There’s an old Sikh saying, “The name of God is truth.” When you understand certain things and they become a part of you, you naturally become a more peaceful person.
你無法直接實現和平，甚至無法為此而努力。相反，你可以努力理解。有一句古老的錫克教諺語：「上帝的名字就是真理。」當你理解某些事情並且它們成為你的一部分時，你自然會成為一個更加平和的人。
The Closer You Are to the Truth, the More Silent You Become Inside
越接近真相，內心越沉默
Wise people are quiet
聰明人都是安靜的
Naval: I put out this tweet a while back: “The closer you are to the truth, the more silent you become inside.”
Naval：我不久前發布了這條推文：“你越接近真相，你的內心就越沉默。”
We intuitively know this. When someone is blabbing too much or being the court jester, you know they’re not at peace. You know Robin Williams was not peaceful inside.
我們憑直覺知道這一點。當某人喋喋不休或充當宮廷小丑時，你就知道他們並不平靜。你知道羅賓威廉斯內心並不平靜。
Wisdom begets stoicism
智慧產生堅忍
We expect a wise person like a Lao Tzu or Socrates to be quiet — not because they’re trying to look wise, but because they’re internally quiet. We understand that peace and wisdom go together.
我們期望像老子或蘇格拉底這樣的聰明人保持安靜，不是因為他們試圖看起來聰明，而是因為他們內心安靜。我們知道和平與智慧是相輔相成的。
Kapil Gupta, who’s written far more on this topic than I have, said, “Wisdom begets stoicism. Stoicism does not beget wisdom.” As you become wise, you naturally become stoic. You don’t become wise by being stoic. That’s reversing the cart and horse.
Kapil Gupta 在這個主題上寫的文章比我多得多，他說：「智慧產生堅忍。斯多葛主義不會產生智慧。當你變得明智時，你自然會變得堅忍。你不會因為堅忍而變得明智。這就是本末倒置。
As an aside, one of my tweets the other day got incredibly misinterpreted. So many people failed that IQ test. I wrote, “The smarter you get, the slower you read.” The speed reading crowd got triggered, and people said, “Well, Bill Gates reads 150 books per year.” Others said, “I read really slowly, so I must be smart.” They got it wrong. I said, “If A, then B.” That doesn’t mean, “If B, then A.”
順便說一句，前幾天我的一條推文被嚴重誤解了。很多人都沒有通過智商測驗。我寫道：“你越聰明，你閱讀的速度就越慢。”速讀人群被觸發了，人們說：“好吧，比爾蓋茲每年讀 150 本書。”還有人說：“我讀得很慢，所以我一定很聰明。”他們搞錯了。我說：“如果是A，那麼B。”這並不意味著“如果是 B，那麼 A”。
Groups Search for Consensus, Individuals Search for Truth
團體尋求共識，個人尋求真理
What society wants for you isn’t what’s good for you
社會想要給你的並不是對你有好處的
Naval: What’s considered to be true is fought over. Individuals search for truth but groups search for consensus — and society is the largest group. So the biggest problem we run into is this: What society wants for you is not always what’s good for you.
Naval： 被認為是真實的東西是會被爭奪的。 個人尋求真理，群體尋求共識－而社會是最大的群體。所以我們遇到的最大問題是：社會對你的要求並不總是對你有好處。
Even smart people go along with society’s lies
即使聰明人也會聽從社會的謊言
Even smart, critical thinkers go along with many of society’s truths, knowing deep down they are lies.
即使是聰明、批判性的思想家也會認同許多社會真理，但內心深處知道它們都是謊言。
Here’s a simple example: “Money won’t make you happy” is a social truth, but it’s not an individual truth. Look at all the individuals trying to make money. They know money can remove a lot of sources of unhappiness and get them to a point where happiness is under their control. It becomes their choice, as opposed to being inflicted upon them by external forces.
這是一個簡單的例子：「金錢不會讓你快樂」是一個社會真理，但它不是一個個人真理。看看所有試圖賺錢的人。他們知道金錢可以消除許多不快樂的根源，並使他們掌控幸福。這是他們的選擇，而不是外在力量強加給他們的。
That is just one of many lies society tells you.
這只是社會告訴你的眾多謊言之一。
Another one of society’s lies is that you send your kids to school for education. In fact, they get an hour of education a day and indoctrination the rest of the time. They’re taught at the speed of the slowest student, and they’re mostly taught subjects that are irrelevant or obsolete.
社會的另一個謊言是你送孩子去學校接受教育。事實上，他們每天接受一小時的教育，其餘時間接受灌輸。他們的教學速度是最慢的學生的速度，而且大部分課程都是不相關或過時的。
沒錯!!!! 所以家長一定要多花時間
School is a combination of a bit of education, large doses of socialization and compliance training, and a massive dose of babysitting — which is helpful for parents who can’t take care of their kids at home. It also keeps young troublemakers off the street.
學校是一些教育、大量社交和合規培訓以及大量保姆的結合體 — — 這對於無法在家照顧孩子的父母來說很有幫助。它還可以讓年輕的麻煩製造者遠離街頭。
School does a lot of things, but education is just a tiny piece of it. Homeschooling stats clearly show this, and even unschooling stats are starting to show it.
學校做了很多事情，但教育只是其中的一小部分。在家上學的統計數據清楚地表明了這一點，甚至非學校教育的統計數據也開始表明這一點。
Guilt is society training you to be your own warden
內疚是社會訓練你成為自己的看守
Society does not just lie to you. It programs you to beat yourself up when you transgress one of its truths. Guilt is society programming you so effectively that you become your own warden. Guilt is society’s voice speaking in your head.
社會不只是對你說謊。當你違背其中一項真理時，它會讓你毆打自己。內疚是社會如此有效地對你進行編程，以至於你成為自己的典獄長。 內疚是社會在你腦海中說話的聲音。
Truth-seeking is a hard business. You essentially have to understand, with deep conviction, things that you’ve been programmed to misunderstand.
尋求真理是一件艱難的事。你本質上必須懷著堅定的信念去理解那些你被程式設計誤解的事情。
The Path to Peace Is Truth
和平之路就是真理
When self-improvement fails, work on discovering the truth
當自我提升失敗時，努力發現真相
Naval: The search for peace is really the search for truth. Try to see the advantage of understanding things by discovering the truth rather than by practice.
Naval：尋找和平其實就是在尋找真理。試著看看透過發現真理而不是透過實踐來理解事物的好處。
When you discover the truth, bad habits can disappear
當你發現真相時，壞習慣就會消失
Let’s say I’m trying to quit smoking. There are techniques I can try, but they’re always painful and difficult. Often, a moment will come when I see myself in a new way that allows the habit to disappear by itself. I get a diagnosis of lung cancer and understand I’m going to die, or I see a friend get in trouble with similar bad habits. When I see something clearly enough and understand it, the bad habit can dissolve by itself.
假設我正在嘗試戒菸。我可以嘗試一些技巧，但它們總是痛苦且困難。通常，有一天我會以一種新的方式看待自己，讓這個習慣自行消失。我被診斷出患有肺癌，並且知道自己快要死了，或者我看到一個朋友因類似的壞習慣而陷入麻煩。當我足夠清楚地看到某件事並理解它時，壞習慣就會自行消失。
More broadly, I may see some facet of myself that I don’t like. Maybe I see it in a friend and then can’t unsee it to the point that we can no longer be friends.
更廣泛地說，我可能會看到自己不喜歡的某些方面。也許我在朋友身上看到了這一點，然後就無法忽視它，以至於我們不能再成為朋友了。
Self-improvement is just a dressed up form of self-conflict
自我提升只是自我衝突的偽裝
Seeing and understanding things leads to changes that practice and technique cannot achieve. When you’re following a technique, there’s always a gap between you and the thing you’re trying to achieve. There’s always repetition, struggle and conflict.
觀察和理解事物會帶來實踐和技術無法實現的改變。當你遵循一種技術時，你和你想要實現的目標之間總是存在著差距。總是有重複、鬥爭和衝突。
If we want peace, we have to give up on self-conflict. We even have to give up on self-improvement, because self-improvement is just a dressed up form of self-conflict. Instead, we need to use our natural curiosity to understand things better. Through understanding, we will naturally improve ourselves.
如果我們想要和平，我們就必須放棄自我衝突。我們甚至不得不放棄自我提升，因為自我提升只是自我衝突的偽裝。相反，我們需要利用我們天生的好奇心來更好地理解事物。透過了解，我們自然會提升自己。
Once we truly understand the effects of unhealthy food on our bodies — when we see the extra weight we’re carrying, or we track the glucose spike and crash after eating too much sugar, or we see how caffeine hops us up and then crashes us — we automatically change for the better.
一旦我們真正了解不健康食物對我們身體的影響 — — 當我們看到我們所承受的額外體重，或者我們在吃太多醣後跟踪血糖峰值和崩潰，或者我們看到咖啡因如何讓我們興奮然後讓我們崩潰－我們會自動變得更好。
也好比說理解多巴胺的運作後更清楚所有社交軟體的目的
So, the path towards peace is truth.
因此，通往和平的道路是真理。
