I was inspired by an observation by Voltaire to make my resolution, "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." In other words, instead of pushing yourself to an impossible "perfect," and therefore getting nowhere, accept "good." Many things worth doing are worth doing badly.

在做出一项决意时,我谨记伏尔泰的箴言:"至善者,善之敌".换言之,不要逼迫自己实现不可能的"完美",而是去接受"好".许多事情值得去做,但不需要事事完美.

I have a friend who never exercises unless she's training for a marathon; as a consequence, she almost never exercises. I never push myself when I exercise, and although I suspect she scoffs at my wimpy(= wimpish:懦弱的,无用的)work-outs, I've managed to get myself to exercise several times a week for years. If I'd tried to have a more ambitious work-out, I'm sure I wouldn't have exercised at all.

我有一个朋友从来不锻炼,除非去练马拉松.结果,她几乎一直都没有锻炼.而我锻炼的时候,从来不会勉强自己.虽然我怀疑她看不起我的低锻炼强度,可是数年来我能坚持每周锻炼几次.如果我设定一个更高的锻炼目标,我肯定根本不会去锻炼.

Along the same lines, I told a friend that one of my happiness-project resolutions was to "Remember birthdays," and so I was sending out happy-birthday emails. He said, "Oh, you shouldn't email! You should call or write a hand-written note, that's much nicer." True – but I won't. And it's better to get something done imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly.

同理,我曾告诉一位朋友,在我的"快乐计划"中,有一条是"记住生日",因此我会发送生日祝福电子邮件.他说:"哦,你不该发电子邮件!应该打电话、写留言,这让人感觉更好." 是啊--但是我不会去做.不完美地做了某件事总比追求完美而一事无成的好.

The perfect can also become the enemy of the good in the quest for perfect information. There are two ways to approach decision-making: as a satisficer (yes, that is a word) or as a maximizer.

在获得详尽信息上,"完美"也会成为"好"的敌人.有两种决策者:满足者(这个词是有的)和最大化者.

Satisficers are those who make a decision or take action once their criteria are met. That doesn't mean they'll settle for mediocrity; their criteria can be very high, but as soon as they find the pasta sauce or the business card that has the qualities they want, they're satisfied.

"满足者"是指那些一旦满足了标准后即做出决定或采取行动的人.这不表示他们甘愿接受平庸:他们的标准可能很高,但是一旦找到了希望中的东西,比如意粉酱或名片,他们就满足了.

Maximizers want to make the optimal decision. Even if they see a bicycle or a backpack that meets their requirements, they can't make a decision until after they've examined every option, to make the best possible choice. Studies suggest that satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers; maximizers spend a lot more time and energy to reach a decision, and they're often anxious about whether they did, in fact, make the best choice. (For a fascinating discussion, read Barry Schwartz's The Paradox of Choice.)

"最大化者"希望做出最优化的决定.即便找到了满足需求的东西,例如自行车或背包,为了做出最佳选择,他们要检查每一个候选后才能做出决定.研究表明满足者往往比最大化者更快乐;最大化者为了做出一个决定要花更多的精力和时间,而且经常会为自己是不是真的做出最佳选择而烦恼.(对此的精彩讨论,请参阅《选择的矛盾》一书,作者Barry Schwartz)

In almost every category, I'm a satisficer, and in fact, I often felt guilty about not doing more research before making decisions. But it's one of my Secrets of Adulthood: Most decisions don't require extensive research. In picking a girls' summer camp, a friend got information from twenty-five camps and visited five in person. We got information from five camps and picked the one that a friend's daughter loved. I used to think that my lack of diligence was a sign of laziness, and my resolution "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" has made me feel a lot better.

基本上我是一位满足者,实际上,我经常会因为没有做更多调查就做了决定而愧疚.但是,我的一条"成年人秘密"是:多数决定不需要详尽调查.为了选择一个女孩夏令营,我的一位朋友调查了25个夏令营,亲自去了5个.而我们调查了5个,选择了一位朋友女儿喜欢的那个.我曾以为不勤奋是懒惰的标志,然而"至善者,善之敌"这想法让我心情大大地好了起来.

In some situations, the happier course is to know when good enough is good enough, and not to worry about perfection or making the perfect choice.

某些时候,要学会知足,而别去担心是否完美或是否做了完美决定.

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