The study, which appears in the upcoming issue of the BMJ, was conducted by a team of researchers who set out to find out why life satisfaction in Denmark substantially exceeds that in Sweden and Finland. 

    The researchers noted that two explanatory factors, among others such as family life, health and a prosperous economy, give an insight into why the Danes are such a happy people. 

    The first factor, the researchers noted, was that winning the 1992 European Football Championship made the Danes so euphoric that the feeling lasted well past 1992. 

    Second, and more importantly, the researchers noted that while Danes are very satisfied, their expectations for the coming year are rather low, as well as being realistic. 

    In contrast, Italy and Greece, which rank low on life satisfaction, rank high on expectations for the year to come, together with Swedes and Finns. 

    Thus, the researchers concluded that when it comes to being satisfied, the lower the expectations, the happier a nation and a person can be.

    一項最新研究發現，快樂的真諦在于“知足”，對自己和他人抱有過高期望其實不是件好事。 

    這項研究結果將在最新一期的《英國醫學》雜志上發表。研究人員旨在通過此項研究發現為什么丹麥人的“生活滿意度”大大高于瑞典人和芬蘭人。 

    研究人員發現，在家庭生活、身體健康和經濟發達等諸多因素中，有兩大因素可以解釋為什么丹麥人比較快樂。 

    其中一個主要原因是丹麥奪得1992年“歐洲杯”冠軍讓全國人民歡欣鼓舞，這一情緒一直持續到現在。 

    另一個更重要的原因是丹麥人對生活感到滿意，他們對未來一年的期望值很低，而且比較現實。 

    而意大利人、希臘人、瑞典人和芬蘭人卻恰好相反，他們對來年抱有很高期望，同時對于生活的滿意度也很低。 

    研究人員由此得出結論，無論是一個國家還是一個人，期望值越低，就會越開心。