如果用光速来形容我们的生活节奏，应该也不过分。但在这个便捷的时代，快乐却像是钻石一样稀少难得。

即使偶尔得到了快乐，快乐的纯度好像也被稀释了很多。所以，今天我们来探讨个问题：怎样才能获得高纯度的快乐呢？
 
先来看下面这个故事。

In the 1960s and 1970s, Walter Mischel, then a psychologist and professor at Stanford University, conducted a series of experiments in children.
二十世纪六、七十年代，斯坦福大学的心理学家、教授瓦尔特•米歇尔（Walter Mischel）在儿童之中进行过一系列实验。
 
In the experiment, Mischel and his colleagues wanted to see if preschool children (around four-years-old) had developed the mental capacity to resist the temptation of a small reward to earn a larger reward later.
在实验中，米歇尔和同事们想知道学龄前儿童（四岁左右）是否有足够心智为之后更大的奖励抵抗住眼前小诱惑。

They presented each of the 653 subjects with a choice: ring a bell and get one marshmallow immediately or wait fifteen minutes and earn two.
他们给653名参加实验的儿童这样的选择：要么敲铃可立即获得一个棉花糖，要么等待十五分钟获得两个棉花糖。

While a minority of them instantly opted for a single marshmallow, most children attempted to hold on, for varying times, to get their reward. In the end, only about thirty percent were able to delay gratification for the full fifteen minute period earning their second marshmallow.
少数人立即要了一个棉花糖，但大多数儿童选择多等待一会儿，以争取更大的奖励。最终结果来看，只有约百分之三十的儿童能够等待十五分钟，拿到两个棉花糖。

Following these initial experiments, Mischel grew curious about the subsequent development of these children. Would their differences in willpower persist into adolescence and adulthood? And if so, what effect would these differences have on their lives?
根据这些初步实验，Mischel很好奇这些孩子后续发展会怎样。他们身长的意志力差异是否会持续到青春期和成年期？如果有，这些差异对他们的生活有什么影响？

A decade later, Mischel and his colleagues (2010) began to follow up with the original subjects. They found that the subjects’ performance as four-year-olds did indeed have powerful implications on their general livelihoods.
十年后，米歇尔和同事（2010年）开始跟进原始研究课题。他们发现，实验者四岁时候的表现确实对他们以后生活有强大的影响。

The four-year-olds who could delay gratification longer went on to receive significantly higher SAT scores. They also developed better social cognitive and emotional coping skills.
那些四岁时候，能够延迟满足感的实验者，SAT分数更高，社会认知和情感应对技能也更强。

Today, the study participants are in their 40s and 50s, and recent research indicates that the children who were better at delaying gratification back in the day continue to enjoy numerous advantages. 
如今，这批儿童已经四五十岁了，但最新的研究显示孩童时期就学会延迟满足的人今天依旧有更多的优势。

They excel in education, have a greater sense of self-worth, manage their stress better, and are less prone to drug abuse.
他们在教育方面表现出色，有更强烈的自我价值感，能够更好地管理压力，不会轻易滥用药物。

The research has given us substantial evidence about how an individual’s ability to delay gratification plays a significant and intricate role in shaping their health, well-being, and success.
这个研究告诉我们延迟满足在身体健康，身心愉悦和成功中扮演多么关键又意想不到的作用。

这就是著名的斯坦福棉花糖实验，研究了一个心理学上常见但又没有深入研究过的现象——延迟满足感（delay of gratification），其实这个实验很好地说明到底高纯度的快乐该如何获得。
 
当然，现在流行这样一种说法：活在当下。似乎李白的“今朝有酒今朝醉”才能带来真正的快乐。我们现代人习惯了时效性和便捷，似乎一切能立刻兑换掉的东西，没有必要拖到下一刻，快乐也是一样。如果5分钟后能够享受快乐，我们不会耐着性子拖到第6分钟去兑现。
 
也许就像剧作家王尔德所说：“人生有两种悲剧，一是得不到你想要的东西，一是得到了你想要的东西。” 我们之所以没有办法享受高纯度快乐，就在于快乐太唾手可得，付出的努力不足以与快乐相称。即使得到也不会有珍惜和满足感。
 
但延迟满足感却能让快乐像葡萄酒愈久弥香。所谓成功者，不过是将眼界放在未来，而非贪恋一城一地，一时一刻的快感。他们有足够韧劲和耐力，让他们熬过那些灰暗无边的日子，在未来某个时刻see the light at the end of tunnel，而后厚积薄发。
 
延迟满足感和大器晚成同样需要耐力、执着和取舍和一种仪式感。一顿大餐，如果你只是在饿了时候去品尝，绝对会觉得寡淡无味。但如果是加完班，做好了一天的工作，带着一份充实和犒赏的感觉去享用，那种仪式感会让快乐增值，这顿大餐会让你的味蕾彻底绽放。
 
所以，各位亲爱的看官，如果你只是想吃巧克力而吃了一颗，那是不会快乐的。如果你口袋里有巧克力，那么把它冰镇起来，当你付出的努力、辛苦足以与巧克力的快乐相配时，再去品尝吧，那时候的巧克力绝对会唇齿留香！