It can be easy to run through the maze¹ of life without pausing to think of its meaning.

人生是一座迷宫，要时不时停下脚步思索人生的意义。

Does what I’m doing matter? More importantly, does it matter to me?

我所做的是否有意义？更重要的是，对自己有没有意义？

Feeling that what you’re doing has a real purpose and meaning that matters to you can make a huge difference in your life. It makes getting up each day the most exciting thing in the world. You can’t wait to get started. Forget trying to force yourself to work hard, it becomes more important to remind yourself to take breaks to eat!

所做的事情有真正的目标和意义，你的人生将大不一样。它给了我们每一天起床的理由，你将迫不及待开始每一天的生活，不再需要迫使自己努力地工作，而是需要提醒自己该休息休息，吃点东西。

But how can we cultivate a more meaningful life? The answer is usually complicated. It can depend on many factors. I’ve written down 10 ideas that I believe will help you find meaning in your life every day, so that you can’t wait to get up in the morning and see what the day will bring.

但是怎么样才能够让人生更有意义呢？一般来说，答案很复杂，因为这取决于很多的因素。这里我列了10条，相信能够帮助你们找到人生的意义，找到每天起床体验生活的动力。

1. Know What’s Important

知道什么是重要的

Know what’s important for you. Write down your top 5 things that you believe are the essence of how you want to live life. This can include things like “family time,” or “sing every day.” It could also include more complex ideas, like “honesty” and “simplicity².”

知道什么对自己是重要的。写下你认为人生中最重要的头五件东西，可以包括“和家人在一起的时间”或者是“每天唱歌”，还可以包括更复杂的，如“诚信”和“简洁”。

2. Pursue Your Passion

追逐你的热情

I believe everyone should pursue their passion in life. It’s what makes life worth living, and gives our lives true meaning and purpose. Each time you work on something you love, it creates joy inside you like nothing else. Finding a way to use your passions to give back to the world will give your life ultimate meaning.

我相信每个人都应该有所追求，这让人生更有价值，同是让生活富有意义和目标。每当你追求自己所好，它都能给你带来由衷的快乐，这是其他东西无法比拟的。利用你的爱好，回报社会，你将获得人生的终极意义。

If you can’t manage (or aren’t ready) to work on your passion for a living, be sure and make time for it every day. By working on your passion and becoming an expert in it, you will eventually have the opportunity to make money from it. Be ready to seize that opportunity!

如果你没能够（或者还未能）把工作和爱好结合起来，那么请确保每天都有时间能够做自己喜欢的事情。做自己喜欢的事情，并且成为这方面的专家，你将有机会将爱好变成工作。准备好，抓住机会吧！

3. Discover Your Life’s Purpose

发现人生的目标

If you had to give yourself a reason to live, what would it be? What would you stand for? What principles do you hold highest? Is your life’s purpose to help others? Is it to inspire others with great works of art, or you words? Finding your life’s purpose is a daunting³ task, and when I first heard the idea, I had no idea where to start.

如果存在是有理由的，那会是什么呢？你是为什么而生活？你最坚持原则是什么？你的人生目标是帮助别人吗？还是用伟大的艺术作品或是文字启发他人？寻找人生的目标是一项艰难的任务，我第一次听说的时候，也是毫无头绪。

4. Be Self-Aware

增强自我意识

Be aware of yourself and your actions. Remain mindful of what you do at all times, and make sure you are living life according to your principles, your life’s purpose, and what you are passionate⁴ about. Review your actions each day, taking stock of those that strayed from your path. Work towards correcting any incidents in the future. Meditation⁵ is a great tool for accomplishing this task. It helps us increase our self-awareness throughout the day.

增强自我意识。时刻注意自己的所作所为，确保你的人生符合自己的原则、目标和所好。每天回顾自己的行为，偏离方向的要及时纠正，并逐渐降低偏离概率。冥想对完成这项任务非常有用，它能够帮助我们提升全天自我意识。

5. Focus

专注

Rather than chasing 3 or 4 goals and making very little progress on them, place all of your energy on one thing. Focus. Not only will you alleviate⁶ some of the stress associated with trying to juggle⁷ so many tasks, you will be much more successful. Try and align⁸ your goal with something you are passionate about, so that there will be an intrinsic drive to work hard and do well.

与其同时追求3、4个目标又没有进步，不如把所有的精力放到一件事情上，这样，不仅不再需要同时处理那么多事，减轻了压力，你会更成功。尝试把目标和爱好相结合，这样就有努力并做好工作的动力了。

6. People More Than Things

人比物更重要

Often, we are faced with wanting to buy material goods. I recommend you consider carefully what you purchase, and think more about spending your money on experiences with friends and family. Not only will this give deeper meaning to your life by focusing on your relationships rather than material wealth, but you will be a happier person as a result.

犯购物欲的时候，建议你三思而后行，想想这些钱可以花在朋友和家人上的。把人生的重心放在家人、朋友上而非物质财富，这让你的人生有更深沉的意义，你也将变得更幸福。

7. Live With Compassion⁹

生活需要同情心

Both for yourself, and others. Keep in mind the following quote:

对于自己和他人，请牢记以下的名言：

"One must be compassionate¹⁰ to one's self before external compassion." For some, compassion is the purpose of life, what gives it meaning, and what leads to ultimate happiness.

“一个人只有对自己有同情心，才能对外界有同情心。” 对于有些人，同情心是生活的目标，与生命带来意义并指向最终的幸福。

8. Find a Way to Give Back

懂得回报

Do something that both honors your beliefs and passions, while giving something back to the world. By giving something back, we inevitably¹¹ find purpose in the act. By cultivating more of these activities, you will find your life has more meaning and purpose behind it.

做自己所相信的、所爱的，又能回报世界的事。回报世界，我们能够找到人生的价值。多做这样的事，你将发现人生充满了意义和目标。

9. Simplify Your Life

让生活更简单

By simplifying your life, you’ll have more time to do what fulfills¹² you and gives your life meaning. It can also help reduce stress and make your overall life easier to manage. It can also greatly improve your productivity. If you’ve never tried to simplify things before, it really is a great feeling.

让生活更简单，你将有更多的时间能够投入让生活更有意义的事情中去，减少压力，让生活来得更轻松。同时还能大幅度提升效率。简化生活起来，感觉真的很棒！

10. Set Daily Goals

设定每日目标

In the morning, before you start your day, create a list of 3 goals that you find fulfilling and meaningful. Make sure they adhere to your set of principles and beliefs. Tackle the hardest things first! Don’t make this list too long. By placing too many things on the list, you’ll feel the urge to multi-task, which is not good, or you’ll feel overwhelmed, which isn’t good either. By trying to do less, you’ll end up doing more.

早上，别着急展开一天的生活，先列出你认为最有意义的三项目标。确保这三项与你的原则、信念相符。然后从最困难的那一项开始。不要一下子设立过多的目标，如果目标太多，你会有同时处理很多事情的冲动或者喘不过气来的感觉，这都是不好的。目标定的少，成就就来得多。

Doing all of these things at once may seem daunting, but you can pick one thing at a time and slowly incorporate the ideas into your life. Life is about the journey, not the destination. Living a life of purpose gives both fulfillment and meaning to your journey.

如果同时做这10件事情的话会很艰难，不过你可以一次做一项，然后将慢慢的将这10项融入到生活中去。生活是旅行本身，而不是目的地。有目标的生活让你的旅程更有意义和满足感。