When you’re nearing the summit of this turbulent climb through life, will you reach the top with wild enthusiasm or will you be hobbling with the aching knees of regret? You’ve climbed through storms, passed over green patches and had help from friends, and now it’s almost over. Your whole life has been leading you to this moment and one thing is certain: this final ascent we all have to do alone.

生活遇到湍急时，你是乐观攀登到顶点还是悲叹着徘徊不前？你已经历过狂风暴雨、走过一马平川，也得到过朋友的帮助，但现在一切已成过往。人生走到这一刻，能确定的便是：这一仗，你只能孤身奋战了。

What thoughts will flash through your mind? You will be faced with tough questions such as: Did I do enough, love enough, was I happy?

你想到了什么？是不是想到这样的棘手问题：我做得够好吗？爱得够多吗？我快乐吗？

You might leave these questions simmering on the back burner, thinking tomorrow will be a good day to contemplate the answers, but remember—tomorrow might not come!

或许你选择暂且把这些疑问搁置一边，等明天再好好思考。但是别忘了——明日复明日，万事成蹉跎！

So here’s what you can do today. Let’s call this an insurance policy for tomorrow’s happiness.

下面这些事情是你今天就能做的，姑且看作是明天幸福的保证吧。

 

1. Put your health and wellness above everything else

健康高于一切

There is an old saying: “If you don’t have your health you have nothing,” and this is very true. Your body is housing your soul. Exercise, eat clean and get the proper rest. Take care of your body so that you have the opportunity to lead a long and full life.

俗话说：“健康不再，万事无奈。” 千真万确。身体是革命的本钱。要运动、健康饮食、恰当休息。照顾好自己的身体，这样才有机会创造完满人生。

 

2. Take the time to do the things you love

花时间做喜欢的事

This may sound cliché, but work less and play more. You will never regret taking a vacation, engaging in a new hobby or spending a day with those who make you happy. But you might regret never taking that art class, reading that book or crossing big items off the bucket list. Be a participant in life.

虽是陈词滥调，但你确实应该少操心工作、多学会享受。去度假、发展新爱好或和使你快乐的人消磨，你不会后悔；但若是没有去上那堂艺术课、没有阅读某本书或没能完成某个心愿，你却会感到后悔。所以，做个生活的积极参与者吧。

 

3. Stop taking life so seriously

别过得一本正经

Why are you taking life so seriously anyway? Really? Find humor in something everyday, and laugh, laugh a lot!

干嘛把生活搞得如此严肃呢，嗯？每天找些乐子，多开怀大笑吧！

 

4. Always say what you need to say

说该说的话

If you love someone, tell them. If someone hurt you, tell them. If you have trouble expressing your feelings, then write a letter. Make sure those around you know each and every day how you feel.

如果你爱某个人，那就告白吧；如果某人伤害了你，那就说出来吧。要是你不擅长口头表达情感，那就采取写信的方式。确保身边的人每天都能知道你的感受。

 

5. Open up your mind to possibilities

向机遇敞开心怀

If you look in your garage and see a coiled, dark shadow that resembles a snake, your reaction might be to jump with fear, but later when you look closer and realize it’s just a green hose, you might feel silly for believing the tricks of your mind. Stop being controlled by your deluded projections.

如果你探头看到垃圾箱有个貌似蛇的黑乎乎蜷曲着的东西，反应肯定是吓了一跳，再细看时，你发现其实只是一截绿色水管，原来是自己看错了啊，你哑然失笑。所以，不要再被自己无端假想给绊住。

Change your perspective and open yourself up to a new world of exciting and fulfilling possibilities. Look at your life with fresh eyes and you’ll find improved relationships, more excitement, and less resentments, anger and bitterness.

换个视觉，敞开心胸接纳各种惊奇而有意义的机遇。用全新眼光审视自己的生活，你会发现更融洽的人际关系、更多开心，会少一些抵触、愤怒与痛苦。

 

6. Follow your own path—live a life true to you

听从内心——过自己的生活

Stop comparing yourself to others and stop striving for perfection. Life is not a masquerade ball—take off the mask, be yourself! If people don’t like it, then maybe it’s time to find a new party. Doing or being any other way will leave you feeling lonely, depressed and hopeless. Stop living a life based on the expectations of others.

停止与他人攀比，停止追求完美。生活不是一场化装舞会——摘掉面具，做回你自己吧！要是别人不喜欢，那就换个环境。有悖自我只会使你感到孤独、沮丧甚至绝望。不要再为了他人的期望而生活了。

 

7. Stop living in the past

停止活在过去

Right now you need to throw away regrets of the past. It’s gone, there is no point dwelling on what could of been, doing so will only rob the present moment of joy.

从现在开始，你应该抛开对过去的悔恨。既然已经过去，后悔不仅于事无补，反倒会掠走当下的快乐。

The past doesn’t exist except as a memory, it’s a mental story and it can’t be changed. Why not tell the story of your past in a way that enhances your present moment and future.

过去除了回忆一无所有，而回忆只是一则无法改变的故事罢了。既然如此，何不以积极的方式讲述过去的故事，从而为当下及将来提供正能量呢？

 

 

 

8. Accept the things you cannot change

接受无法改变的事情

When you fight against reality, you get bloody in a battle of what ifs and denial. Whether your reality is that you should have married someone else, said something you needed to say, or are dealing with an illness, the reality is you can’t change any these things. Dwelling or worrying is only robbing your present moment of all joy.

在与现实的斗争中，你不断假设又不断碰壁，撞得头破血流。不论你是在后悔错过该嫁的人、说了不该说的话，或正身患疾病，现实都无法改变。一味沉溺其中或忧愁焦虑只会丧失当下的快乐。

What you can do is re-evaluate your life now and take the necessary steps to make the appropriate changes. Follow your instincts, they will tell you when you have veered off the path of where you should be, whether it be your relationship or career. Tune into your inner compass it will guide you in the right direction.

你能做的是从现在起重新审视自己的生活，采取必要措施作出恰当改变。听从直觉的指引。不论是感情还是职业，请让内心指引你到达正确方向。

Take “what if”, “should have” and “why me” out of your story. Move on.

把“假如”、“本应该”及“为什么是我”从字典里删除。然后，继续前行。

 

9. Practice mindful living

试着用心生活

Mindful living will in fact slow down time; it will enhance the present moment and fill otherwise mundane days with awe and joy.

用心生活能放慢时间、彰显当下时光并使平凡的日子充满惊喜与快乐。

Ten years from now you might think, Where did my life go? When we live mindfully we immerse ourselves in moments. These are the moments that make up our lives. If you don’t practice mindfulness you run the risk of having these precious moments of your life lost to a string of foggy over-thinking. Rest in the spaces in between the major events, these spaces are your life.

十年后你可能会问：我这辈子是怎么过来的？如果用心生活，你会尽情过好每分每秒，而正是这些分分秒秒构成了全部生活；要是麻木生活，你会错失生活中美好的瞬间，以后只留下一抹模糊的掠影。享受里程碑间的间歇时光吧——这些就是你的生活呵。

 

10. Stop chasing money, fame, and possessions

停止追逐金钱、名利和财富

We crave wealth, prestige, fame and popularity, we crave material things and beautiful people. We mistakenly think that happiness is going to arrive when we meet these goals. Instead of enjoying our life, we are in a constant pursuit of something other than where we are right now.

我们渴望财富、声望与名利，我们渴望物质和俊男美女。我们错误地以为，只要得到这些，幸福就会降临。我们忘了要享受生活、忽视当下时光，转而乐此不疲地追求其他东西。

At the end of your life, your expensive BMW will not be what’s flashing through your mind. You will more likely smile at the memory of your loyal dog. Stop chasing material possessions, there is no real happiness there, only an endless pursuit.

咽气之际，你脑中闪现的或许不是宝马汽车，而是让你微笑的忠诚老狗。停止追逐物质财富吧。物质并不能带来真正的快乐，只会招来永无止境的贪婪。

 

11. Always practice gratitude

常常感恩

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” — Melody Beattie

“感恩开启生活的圆满。它使我们拥有更多，变拒绝为接受，化混乱为有序，使困惑变澄澈。它能将简餐变成盛宴、房屋变成家园、陌生人变成好朋友。”—— 梅洛迪-贝蒂

Gratitude improves health, happiness, spirituality, connection, relationships, self-worth and simply gives life intense meaning.

感恩改善健康、快乐、精神、关系、人际和自我价值，并赋予生活深刻内涵。

Even if your life isn’t perfect—and here’s a secret, it never will be perfect—you still have a lot to be grateful for. So every day remember to take the time to smile, laugh and truly say thanks for all the small and big joys in your life.

哪怕你的生活并不完美（其实生活从来不曾完美），你仍有许多可以感恩的地方。所以，每天要记得微笑大笑，感激生活中或大或小的乐趣。

 

12. Love

爱心

This is an excerpt by the famous Martha Beck that has made an enormous impact on my life. It sums up regret beautifully:

下面一段话摘自玛莎-贝克的文字，把遗憾总结非常美妙，我感到受益匪浅：

“So the ultimate lesson of regret, the one that will help guide you into a rich and satisfying future, is this: Every time life brings you to a crossroads, from the tiniest to the most immense, go toward love, not away from fear. Think of every choice in terms of “What would thrill and delight me?” rather than “What will keep my fear—or the events, people, and things I fear—at bay?”

“一课是关于遗憾。能指引你走向丰富而圆满的未来的是：每次生活中遇到十字路口，不论大小，都选择爱心那条路，而不是恐惧方向。每次都告诉自己‘前方有什么有趣的事情在等我’，而不是暗示自己‘前方有什么可怕的事情或人物’。”

Pay attention to all of the sources of love in your life and you’ll develop a growing sense of abundance of how much beauty surrounds you each day.

关注生活中的点滴爱心，慢慢你会发现，每天的生活都那么丰富而美妙！

 

So let’s summarize: A cheat sheet to living without regrets

现在让我们总结一下：无悔生活的贴士

Take care of your health

保持健康

Make time to do the things you love, work less, laugh and play

花时间做喜欢的事，少操心工作、多享受欢乐

Say what you need to say

说该说的话

Practice mindfulness

用心生活

Change your perspective

改变视觉

Let go of the past

放开过去

Accept the things you can not change

接受无法改变的事情

Stop thinking happiness is a future event

不要再认为幸福在于未来

Stop chasing money and material wealth

停止追逐金钱和物质财富

Live authentically

真实生活

Take off the mask

摘下面具

Follow your instincts

听从直觉

Practice gratitude

学会感恩

Don’t make your decisions based on fear

别让恐惧牵制你的决定

Love, love love!

充满爱心！

There is no guarantee that you won’t make any bad decisions, but when you start living your life with these tools in mind, your days will naturally become meaningful. Your wise eyes will be full of adventure and tales: adventures that might not be perfect, but at the very least won’t be filled with regrets.

谁也不能保证你绝不会做出糟糕的决定，但一旦你在生活中谨记以上建议，一切自然会变得充满意义。你的眼里写满冒险和故事：冒险或许并不完美，但会让你无悔！