How do you define success?

 That's the question at the core of an exhaustive research project by Timothy Judge, a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. "Despite their many accomplishments¹, ambitious people are only slightly happier than their less-ambitious counterparts, and they actually live somewhat shorter lives," says Judge.

　　这个问题是美国圣母大学（University of Notre Dame）门多萨商学院（Mendoza College of Business）管理学教授蒂姆西?贾吉进行的一项深入研究项目的核心。贾吉称：“虽然积极进取的人取得了很多成就，但他们的幸福感相比不那么积极进取的人只高了一点点，而且他们的寿命事实上也相对更短一些。”

　　His study tracked 717 go-getters, born in the early years of the 20th century, and measured ambition, achievement, and various indicators² of health and happiness at key points in the subjects' lives, from childhood into young adulthood³ and beyond.

　　他的这项研究跟踪调查了717名生于上世纪初的积极进取者，选取他们从童年到成年以及日后岁月中的关键节点，针对进取心、成就以及各种健康和幸福指标进行了测定。

　　Many in the group graduated from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and other prestigious⁴ schools, and then went on to demanding, high-status, highly paid careers. Yet, when compared with a control group of more laid-back peers — folks with the personality profile psychologists sometimes label Type B — the high-achieving group was not markedly happier. What's more, the slackers, on average, outlived the high-achievers.

　　接受调查的人中很多都是毕业于哈佛（Harvard）、耶鲁（Yale）、普林斯顿（Princeton）、斯坦福（Stanford）和其他一流名校，随后从事高要求、高地位和高收入的职业。但与控制组中的寻求安逸者（心理学家通常将这类人列为B类人）相比，这些高成就者的幸福感并没有显著增加。而且，平均而言，寻求安逸者的寿命比高成就者更长。

　　"We discovered that ambition has, at most, only a very slight positive effect on life satisfaction, and actually a slightly negative impact on longevity," says Judge. "So, yes, ambitious people do achieve more successful careers, but that doesn't seem to translate into leading happier or healthier lives."

　　“我们发现，进取心最多只是增加人生满足感的一个很细微的因素，事实上它同时还对寿命具有轻微的负面影响，”贾吉说。“因此，没错，积极进取者的确拥有更成功的事业，但这看起来并没有转化为更幸福、更健康的生活。”

　　Although the study doesn't address the reasons for higher mortality rates among ambitious people, Judge speculates that "perhaps the investments they make in their careers come at the expense of the things we know affect longevity," such as "healthy behaviors, stable relationships, and deep social networks."

　　虽然这项研究没有指出导致积极进取者寿命较短的原因，但贾吉猜测：“或许是因为他们对事业忘我投入，忽略了很多有益于健康的事情，”比如“健康的生活习惯、稳定的家庭关系和深候的社交网络”。

　　Note to parents: Pushing kids to aim for the stars, get into a prestigious school, and pursue a high-powered career may not do them any favors in the long run.

　　因此，父母们需要注意了：敦促子女抱负远大理想、进名牌学校、追寻辉煌事业从长远来看似乎对他们并没有什么好处。

　　"If your biggest wish for your children is that they lead happy and healthy lives, you might not want to overemphasize the importance of professional success," says Judge. "There are limits to what our ambitions can bring us — or our kids."

　　“如果你最大的愿望是他们能拥有幸福和健康的生活，或许不应过度强调事业成功的重要性，”贾吉说。“进取心能给我们（以及孩子们）的东西有限。”

　　The study, "On the Value of Aiming High: The Causes and Consequences of Ambition," will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Applied⁵ Psychology⁶.

　　这项研究报告《志存高远的价值：进取心的前因和后果》（On the Value of Aiming High: The Causes and Consequences of Ambition）将刊登在即将出版的《应用心理学》杂志 （Journal of Applied Psychology）上。

1 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

3 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

6 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。