The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled,pain f

The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled,pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness.If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness.But in fact,the opposite is true:more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
人们认为生活中没有痛苦就等同于幸福而实际上他们的这种想法会减少他们获得幸福的机会.假如快乐和高兴等同于幸福那么痛苦必就意味着不幸.但是实际上是,事实刚好相反,在达到幸福前都会有一些痛苦
As a result,many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness.They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage,raising children,professional achievement,religious commitment （预担的义务）,self - improvement.
结果是,许多人避免尝试真正幸福的来源.他们害怕那些带来的痛苦的不可避免的事情比如结婚,生孩子,专业成就,宗教承诺,自我改善.
Ask a bachelor（单身汉） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment.For commitment is in fact quite painful.The single life is filled with fun,adventure,excitement.Marriage has such moments,but they are not its most distinguishing features.
问一个单身汉,为什么他不结婚
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation.I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations.It liberates time:now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness.It liberates money:buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless.And it liberates us from envy:we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.