Lectures on happiness are becoming increasingly popular in Harvard University. I went to one of them, which left a lasting impression on me. While we were listening with close attention, the speaker suddenly stopped and started a game, giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write their name on it using a pen. Then the 100 students from 25 schools were divided into two groups.

Now the two groups were in different rooms with their balloons flying in it. The first group of 50 students were asked to find the balloon with their name on it within 5 minutes. Everyone was hurriedly searching for their own name, pushing and running into each other, and there was lots of noise. At the end of 5 minutes, none of them could find their own balloon.

The second half, on the other hand, was asked to randomly (随机地) collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

This is exactly happening in our lives. Everyone is hurriedly looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness, and you will get your own happiness. And this is the purpose of human life.

It's amazing how often we take advantage of things in life. When we're used to something, we don't always appreciate how lucky we are to have it. While we're here complaining that our WiFi isn't fast enough and our videos keep buffering (卡顿), there are people in Africa who don't even get to eat three meals a day. While most people work hard for the things they own, it's important to stop and think of what others don't have every now and again. You may not think that shoes are something worth going crazy over, but the Uganda woman would disagree. After all, she went wild when she put a pair on for the first time in her life.

That's what Laura Grier did one day. The woman was in Bwindi National Park, Uganda, when she felt it necessary to stop and help someone by the side of the road. The person in question was standing around without any shoes on, and the sight convinced Grier to give up her own footwear. She had more shoes at home, while this woman had never even worn a pair before.

Laura's generosity was definitely appreciated by the stranger who treated her benefactor (恩人) to a celebratory dance. The woman couldn't keep the smile from her face as she went wild in her brand-new shoes. Grier was thrilled that her good deed had made the stranger so happy, and she cheered on the Ugandan woman as she danced in the street.

The next time you buy a pair of shoes, remember how lucky you are to have them.

People are always afraid of making mistakes. But sometimes it’s not bad to make mistakes, and here is why.

At first, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things, because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try new things, how can you improve? How can you create? The simple answer is, “You can’t.” Look around you, everything you see is the result of someone trying new things.

Another good thing about mistakes is this: when you are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented the light bulb. When he was asked how he felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work.

Finally, when you make a mistake, you are that much closer to success. Why? Because you have said what you should say, and you have done what you should do. Every time you make a mistake, you are closer to success. But it doesn’t mean that you can make mistakes without thinking. Instead, when you try new things you have to think them over, so that you can keep away from some unnecessary mistakes.

We shouldn’t spend all our time and money on the only one way, but use them correctly. Because our time and money are limited (有限的).

There is an old saying, “If you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough.” So go bravely and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And succeed.