Imagine winning a multi-million dollar lottery tomorrow.

想像一下，明天你中了數百萬元的樂透。

If you're like many of us, you'd be ecstatic, unable to believe your good luck.

如果你像大多數的我們，你可能會樂到衝上雲霄，無法相信自己竟然運氣這麼好。

But would that joy still be there a few years later?

但這樣的快樂感在幾年後還會存在嗎？

Maybe not.

可能不會。

A famous study of 22 lottery winners showed that months after winning, their average reported levels of happiness had increased no more than that of a control group who hadn't won the lottery.

一項針對 22 位樂透中獎者的著名研究顯示，中獎幾個月之後，他們平均幸福水平增加的幅度不超過沒有中樂透的對照組。

Some were actually unhappier than they had been before winning.

某些得主還認為自己比未得獎前不快樂。

And later studies have confirmed that our emotional well-being — how often and how intensely we feel things like joy, sorrow, anxiety, or anger —

後來的研究證實，我們的幸福感—也就是我們多頻繁和多強烈地感受到像是喜悅、悲傷、焦慮或憤怒之類的事物—

don't seem to improve with wealth or status beyond a certain point.

似乎無法隨著財富或地位的提高而提升。

This has to do with a phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation, or the hedonic treadmill.

這與稱為「享樂適應」的現象有關，或者稱做「跑步機效應」。

It describes our tendency to adapt to new situations to maintain a stable emotional equilibrium.

它描述了我們適應新情況以保持穩定的情緒平衡的傾向。

When it comes to feeling happy, most of us seem to have a base level that stays more or less constant throughout our existence.

當談到快樂時，我們大多數人似乎都有一個基本水平，在我們整個生存過程中或多或少保持不變。

Of course, the novelty of better food, superior vacations, and more beautiful homes can at first make you feel like you're walking on air,

當然，更好的美食，更美好的假期和更美麗的房屋所帶來的新穎性，一開始會讓你感到自己像在空中漫步，

but as you get used to those things, you revert to your default emotional state.

但是隨著對這些事情的習慣，你會回到最初的情緒狀態。

That might sound pretty gloomy, but hedonic adaptation makes us less emotionally sensitive to any kind of change, including negative ones.

聽起來難免讓人消沈，但享樂適應會讓我們對包括負面的外界變化不那麼情緒敏感。

The study with the lottery winners also looked at people who had suffered an accident that left them paralyzed.

有關這項樂透得主的調查同時也研究那些遭受意外後癱瘓的人。

When asked several months after their accidents how happy they were, they reported levels of happiness approaching their original baseline.

事故發生幾個月後，當被問及他們的幸福程度時，他們回報的幸福水平已接近事故前原有的水準。

So while the hedonic treadmill may inhibit our enjoyment of positive changes,

所以，儘管享樂跑步機效應可能抑制我們享受正向的改變，

it seems to also enable our resilience in recovering from adversity.

但它似乎也會讓我們從逆境中恢復韌性。

There are other reasons that winning the lottery may not make us happier in the long run.

從長遠來看，中獎還有其他原因可能不會使我們更快樂。

It can be difficult to manage large sums of money, and some lottery winners wind up spending or losing it all quickly.

因為要管理這麼一筆鉅款相當困難，而且某些得主很快就會花掉所有錢或將其全部損失掉。

It can also be socially isolating.

也可能造成得主與社會隔絕。

Some winners experience a deluge of unwelcome requests for money, so they wind up cutting themselves off from others.

許多得主會遇到大量不請自來的金錢要求，因此他們最終將自己與他人隔離開來。

And wealth may actually make us meaner.

還有財富實際上可能使我們變得更卑鄙。

In one study, participants played a rigged game of monopoly where the experimenters made some players rich quickly.

在一項研究中，玩家進行了一場「大富翁」遊戲，實驗主持者讓一些玩家快速致富。

The wealthy players started patronizing the poorer players and hogging the snacks they were meant to share.

有錢的玩家竟然開始把那些貧窮玩家當成傻瓜，覬覦他們原來想要分享的點心。

But just because a huge influx of cash isn't guaranteed to bring joy into your life doesn't mean that money can never make us happier.

但是，僅僅因為不能保證大量現金流入就能為生活帶來快樂，並不意味著金錢永遠無法使我們更加幸福。

Findings show that we adapt to extrinsic and material things, like a new car or a bigger house, much faster than we do to novel experiences, like visiting a new place or learning a new skill.

調查結果顯示，我們適應外在和像是新車或大房子的物質事物的速度比我們獲得像是造訪新城市或是學得新技能的新經驗還要快。

So by that reasoning, the more you spend money on experiences rather than things, the happier you'd be.

因此，依照這種推理，你把錢花在獲得更多的經驗而非物質產品上你會更快樂。

And there's another way to turn your money into happiness: Spend it on other people.

還有另外一種把你的錢變成幸福的方式就是把它花在別人身上。

In one study, participants were given some money and were either asked to spend it on themselves or on someone else.

在一項研究中，給參與者一些錢，並讓他們將錢花在自己身上或別人身上。

Later that evening, researchers called up these participants and asked them how happy they were.

當晚，研究人員召集這些參與者並詢問他們有多快樂。

The happiness levels of those who had spent the money on others were significantly greater than that of those who had spent it on themselves.

那些把錢花在別人身上的人，他們的快樂水平都遠大於那些花在自己身上的人。

And that seems to be true around the world.

而且全世界的人差不多都是這樣。

Another study examined the generosity of over 200,000 people from 136 countries.

另一項研究調查來自 136 個國家逾 20 萬人的慷慨度。

In over 90% of these countries, people who donated tended to be happier than those who didn't.

超過 90% 的國家中，會捐款的人通常比那些不捐款的人快樂。

But this all may be easier said than done.

但這件事說得比做得簡單。

Let's say a million dollars falls into your lap tomorrow.

假設明天有一百萬元從天而降，

What do you do with it?

你會怎麼處理它呢？