I was inspired by an observation by Voltaire to make my resolution, Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. In other words, instead of pushing yourself to an impossible perfect, and therefore getting nowhere, accept good. Many things worth doing are worth doing badly.
在做出一项决意时，我谨记伏尔泰的箴言：至善者，善之敌。换言之，不要逼迫自己达成不可能的完美，而是去同意好。很多事情值得去做，但无需每件事完美。
I have a friend who never exercises unless she's training for a marathon; as a consequence, she almost never exercises. I never push myself when I exercise, and although I suspect she scoffs1 at my wimpy（= wimpish：懦弱的，无用的）work-outs, I've managed to get myself to exercise several times a week for years. If I'd tried to have a more ambitious2 work-out, I'm sure I wouldn't have exercised at all.
我有一个朋友从来不训练，除非去练马拉松。结果，她几乎一直都没训练。而我训练的时候，永远不会勉强自己。虽然我怀疑她看不起我的低训练强度，可是数年来我能坚持每周训练几次。假如我设定一个更高的训练目的，我一定根本不会去训练。
Along the same lines, I told a friend that one of my happiness-project resolutions was to Remember birthdays, and so I was sending out happy-birthday emails. He said, Oh, you shouldn't email! You should call or write a hand-written note, that's much nicer. True but I won't. And it's better to get something done imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly3.
同理，我曾告诉一位朋友，在我的快乐计划中，有一条是记住过生日，因此我会发送过生日祝福邮件。他说：哦，你不该发邮件！应该打电话、写留言，这叫人感觉更好。 是啊但我不会去做。不完美地做了某件事总比追求完美而一事无成的好。
The perfect can also become the enemy of the good in the quest4 for perfect information. There are two ways to approach decision-making: as a satisficer or as a maximizer.
在获得详尽信息上，完美也会成为好的敌人。有两种决策者：满足者（这个词是有些)和最大化者。
Satisficers are those who make a decision or take action once their criteria5 are met. That doesn't mean they'll settle for mediocrity; their criteria can be very high, but as soon as they find the pasta sauce or the business card that has the qualities they want, they're satisfied.
满足者是指那些一旦满足了标准后即做出决定或采取行动的人。这不表示他们甘愿同意平庸：他们的规范可能非常高，但一旦找到了期望中的东西，譬如意粉酱或名片，他们就满足了。
Maximizers want to make the optimal6 decision. Even if they see a bicycle or a backpack that meets their requirements, they can't make a decision until after they've examined every option, to make the best possible choice. Studies suggest that satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers; maximizers spend a lot more time and energy to reach a decision, and they're often anxious about whether they did, in fact, make the best choice.
最大化者期望做出最佳化的决定。即使找到了满足需要的东西，比如自行车或背包，为了做出最好选择，他们要检查每个候选后才能做出决定。研究表明满足者总是比最大化者更快乐；最大化者为了做出一个决定要花更多的精力和时间，而且常常会为自己是否真的做出最好选择而烦恼。（对此的精彩讨论，请参阅《选择的矛盾》一书，作者Barry Schwartz）
In almost every category, I'm a satisficer, and in fact, I often felt guilty about not doing more research before making decisions. But it's one of my Secrets of Adulthood8: Most decisions don't require extensive research. In picking a girls' summer camp, a friend got information from twenty-five camps and visited five in person. We got information from five camps and picked the one that a friend's daughter loved. I used to think that my lack of diligence was a sign of laziness, and my resolution Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good has made me feel a lot better.
基本上我是一位满足者，事实上，我常常会由于没做更多调查就做了决定而愧疚。但，我的一条成年人秘密是：多数决定无需详尽调查。为了选择一个女生夏令营，我的一位朋友调查了25个夏令营，亲自去了5个。而大家调查了5个，选择了一位朋友女儿喜欢的那个。我曾以为不勤奋是懒惰的标志，然而至善者，善之敌这想法让我心情大大地好了起来。
In some situations, the happier course is to know when good enough is good enough, and not to worry about perfection9 or making the perfect choice.
某些时候，要掌握满足，而别去担忧是不是完美或是不是做了完美决定。
