I 8217;m working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone 8217;s project will look different, but it 8217;s the rare person who can 8217;t benefit. Join in 8212; no need to catch up, just jump in right now.
我正在进行我的“快乐项目”，你也应该有一个!每个人的项目看上去都不同，但是绝大多数人都会从中受益——不需要努力赶超，只要立刻参与。
Everyone says, and it 8217;s true, that one of the most effective ways to handle negative emotions is to lighten up. If things are sad, try to find a reason to laugh. If you 8217;re angry, joke around. Easier said than done, however.
大家都知道，处理消极情绪最有效方式之一是“放轻松”。如果你悲伤，找一个大笑的理由。如果你生气，去开个玩笑。不过，做比说要难。
I had a chance to keep my resolution to 8220;Make a joke of it 8221; last night. As a consequence of certain marital negotiations last year (not conducted in the most happiness-boosting way, I must confess), my husband took on the job of dealing with my daughter 8217;s adventure in orthodontia. The orthodontist 8217;s office is right around the corner from his office, and he agreed that he 8217;d schedule the appointments and take her. Which was GREAT!
上周，我有一个机会得以运用“一笑了之”。 按照去年的家庭协议(我得承认，这协议并不是在一片祥和的气氛中签订的)，我丈夫负责女儿牙齿矫正术的事项。牙齿校正医生的办公室就在他的办公室拐角，丈夫同意由他安排时间带她去。这真太棒了!
On our flight to Kansas City for the holidays, the Big Girl lost her 8220;functional applicance 8221; (the new-fangled thing she wears in her mouth, except when she 8217;s eating). We looked everywhere on the plane; it was gone. We got back home a week later, and the Big Man didn 8217;t call to make an appointment. Days went by. I reminded him periodically, but nothing happened.
在我们去堪萨斯度假的航班上，我千金把她的“设备”(就是她嘴里戴的新鲜玩意，吃东西时得取下来)弄丢了。我们在飞机上四处找遍了还是没有。一周后我们回到家，大男人没有打牙医电话预约。时间一天天过去。我隔一段时间就提醒他，但是他无动于衷。
Whenever I thought about this delay, I became extremely annoyed. Last night, I stomped into our bedroom ready to turn on my anger at full volume. 8220;This really matters, this is important, she 8217;s growing now, what 8217;s the point, it 8217;s expensive, she 8217;ll only have to have braces longer, you promised you 8217;d do it, 8221; etc., etc., etc. Then I thought, 8220;Make a joke of it. 8221;
一想起他的拖拉，我就十分恼怒。昨晚，我跺着脚进卧室，准备大发雷霆。“这真的很要紧，很重要，她正在发育，而且，那很贵，她只得再等下去，而你答应过会去做。”等等，等等。可又一想，干脆“一笑了之”。
So I went over, put my arm around the Big Man, and said nicely, “You know what? If you don 8217;t call the orthodontist 8217;s tomorrow, I 8217;m going to be furious, I 8217;m going to be enraged, I 8217;m going to be beside myself. I 8217;m not threatening, just giving you fair warning.” And I laughed while I said it.
于是我走过去，用手臂搂着他，温柔地说：“你知道吗?如果你明天还不给校正牙医打电话。我会很生气。我会发怒，我不知道会做出什么事情。我可没威胁你，只是给你一个公正的警告”。我边说还一边笑。
8220;I know, I know! 8221; he said, shaking his head. 8220;I 8217;ll send myself an email right now. 8221; And he did. And today he made the appointment.
他摇了摇头说：“知道，知道啦!我现在就给自己发一封邮件。” 他还真发了。今天他约好了医生。
I 8217;m not sure if making a joke of it was more effective than getting angry, but I don 8217;t think it was less effective. And it was a much nicer way to have that unpleasant exchange. I was happier about it, and the Big Man was happier about it.
我不确定说笑会不会比愤怒更奏效，但是我相信效果不会更差。而且比让人不愉快的交流方式好得多。我对这个方法更满意;大男人也一样。
I used the same technique on myself last weekend. I had a bunch of dreaded, dull tasks to take care of. I told myself, 8220;I 8217;m going to clear away a lot of these chores in the next two days. It 8217;s going to be the 8216;Weekend of the Dreaded Tasks 8217;! Like the 8216;Rodents of Unusual Size, 8216; in The Princess Bride. 8221; As I groaned to myself as I put away the holiday decorations, organized my address list for our Valentine 8217;s cards, finally dealt with the mail that came when we were out of town, and other things too dull to mention, I repeated to myself, 8220;Oh well, this is the Weekend of the Dreaded Tasks. 8221; And just making that little joke to myself made it easier to tackle those tasks.
上周末我对自己采用了相同的方法。我有一堆烦人无聊的事情要做。我对自己说：“我明后两天把这些杂活都做掉。这将是‘恐怖任务周’!就好像The Princess Bride书中的‘超大型啮齿动物’”。我一边自个儿抱怨一边把节日饰物放好、整理情人节卡片的地址、最后处理不在家时收到的邮件，等等，其他的事情我都懒得再提。我反复告诉自己：“好吧，这是恐怖任务周。” 就这样，给自己编一个笑话，事情便更容易处理了。
Of course, I recognize that in neither case when I kept my resolution to 8220;Make a joke of it 8221; was I really funny. My jokes weren 8217;t funny at all. But just the attempt to take a humorous attitude made a huge difference.
当然，我承认，在遵守“一笑了之”的决意中，我并不觉得有趣。我的笑话一点也不好笑。但采用一个幽默的态度却能让情况有很大改观。
It 8217;s easy to say 8220;make a joke of it, 8221; but it 8217;s hard to do when you 8217;re feeling angry, scared, bored, or upset. Have you found a way to get yourself to make a joke?
说“一笑了之”容易，但是当你感到愤怒、害怕、无聊或烦心的时候要做到很难。你找到了一个让自己开玩笑的方法吗?
（兼职编辑:杨帆）