 You don't need millions to be happy. At The Happiness Institute in Australia, a couple of hundred dollars maydo the trick.
Since the institute opened its doors this year, men and women of all ages have been paying A0 an hour (US0) for lessons in how to feel great. Businesses are spending as much as A,000 on half-day happinessworkshopsfor their staff. "You can actually increase your happiness levels. That's what we teach," said Timothy Sharp, founder of institute, which also offers group sessions from A a head. "We take people from zero and try to put a positive in their happiness bank account. You don't have to settle just for OKness. It's no more OK than having a zerobank balance. You can have a lot more," Sharp said. Experts say only about 15 percent of happiness comes from income, assets and other financial factors. As much as 90 percent comes from elements such as attitude, life control and relationships. "If you're not anaturalin any of these areas you can learn to get a lot better at them," Sharp said. The Happiness Institute is part of what U.S. economist Paul Zane Pilzer calls the "Wellness Revolution." In his book of the same name, Pilzer says the next trillion-dollar industry after cars and information technology will be inpreventative businessesthat help people find peace, health and happiness. While most of us are significantlybetter offfinancially than our parents and grandparents, happiness levels haven't changed to reflect that. Studies show that once the basic needs of shelter and food are met, additional wealth adds very little to happiness. Even investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has warned not to "equate money with happiness." "A vast array of individuals seriouslyoverratethe importance of money in making themselves, and others, happy," said strategist James Montier in a recent memo to clients. "Since the 1950s, people's happiness levels have been remarkably constant despite a massive growth in income-per-head over the same timehorizon," he said. (Agencies)
| 你并不需要成為百萬富翁才會感到幸福快樂。在澳大利亞的 “幸福學院”，花幾百美元就有可能讓你找到幸福。 該學院自從今年開業(yè)以來，已經有許多男女老少前來上課，每小時花費200澳元（140美元）來學習如何找到幸福的感覺。
一些公司為員工支付6000澳元來參加半天的“幸福研討會”。 該學院的創(chuàng)始人蒂莫西·夏普說：“實際上你能使自己更快樂些，這就是我們所教授的。”這個學院還開設了每人收費30澳元的團體課程。 夏普說：“我們把人們的‘幸福帳戶'設為零，并努力使它增加為正數。你不必僅僅滿足于‘還不錯'，銀行余額為零只能算過得去而已，你可以擁有更多。” 專家們認為，大約只有15%的幸福感來自于收入、財產和其他的經濟因素，而90%則來自于態(tài)度、支配生活的能力和人際關系等。
“如果你不是以上任何方面的天才，你可以學著在這些方面做到更出色。”夏普說。
“幸福學院”的做法部分體現了美國經濟學家保羅·贊恩·皮爾澤所說的“健康革命”。 在他的同名著作The Wellness Revolution（《財富第五波》）中，皮爾澤認為繼汽車和信息技術產業(yè)之后，下一個價值萬億美元的行業(yè)將是幫助人們尋找和平、健康和幸福的（疾病）預防性產業(yè)。 盡管我們大多數人的經濟狀況比我們的父母和祖父母要好得多，但幸福程度并沒有隨之改變。 研究表明，一旦衣食住行的基本需求得到滿足，額外的財富并不能增添多少幸福。 德國德累斯頓佳信投資銀行甚至提出忠告說：不要“把錢和幸福劃等號”。
策略師詹姆斯·蒙蒂爾在最近給客戶的一份便函中提到：“在使自己和他人快樂這方面，很多人都過高地估計了金錢的重要性。” 他說：“二十世紀五十年代以來，盡管人均收入在同期范圍內有了大幅度的增長，但人們的幸福水平一直特別平穩(wěn)。” do the trick: 獲得成功
workshops: 研討會
bank balance:銀行余額
natural:某方面有天生才能的人
preventative businesses:預防性產業(yè)
better off:經濟狀況好的，富裕的
overrate:對……估價過高
horizon:范圍 (中國日報網站譯)
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Updated: 2004-07-06 01:00
