Whenever we’re introduced to strangers, we make snap decisions about them according to our first impressions.

每次我們結識陌生人的時候，都會根據第一印象快速對他們做出判斷。

Whether they’re attractive.

他們有沒有吸引力。

Whether they seem like a decent person.

他們看起來像不像正經人。

How much they earn.

他們賺多少錢。

For most Brits, simply asking someone how much they’re ’worth’ financially is considered grossly impolite. Thankfully, most people are kind enough to drop several clanging hints about their relative wealth or successful careers. They’re the ones who post on social media about flying to a meeting for work, or Snapchatting you a photo of their ’cheeky cocktail’ from a beach in Tenerife. They’re the ones wearing clothes with labels big enough to silently scream about how loaded they are and how well they’re doing.

對大多數英國人而言，詢問別人的薪水很不禮貌。幸好大多數人都很好心，能給出一些關于他們相對財富或成功事業的一些暗示，他們就是那些往社交網站上傳一些打飛的去開會或工作的照片的人，或跟你分享他們在特內里費島海灘上喝雞尾酒的照片，衣服上大大的商標無聲地宣誓著自己的闊綽和成功。

It’s a worrying trend, and I’m not immune to it. I’ve felt the warm guttural glow of knowing I earned more than somebody, and the baseless grey irritation of knowing that I earn less than another. I’ve ’checked in’ to places when I know full well that anybody reading it will either get jealous or think I’m an arse.

這個潮流讓人擔憂，我真的受不了。我知道自己比別人賺得多了心里會暗暗竊喜，知道自己比別人賺得少了心里會略感悲傷。我也曾去過自以為比較豪華的場所，而且我明白，別人看到了要么會羨慕要么會覺著我厚顏無恥。

It seems as though self-worth is increasingly being tied to the careers we choose and the money we earn. A study in 2013, for example, found that nearly 17 percent of unemployed Americans were depressed, compared to almost six percent of those who had a permanent job.

貌似自身的價值正逐漸和我們選擇的事業還有賺多少錢聯系在一起。比如2013年的一項研究發現接近17%的美國失業者很郁悶，相比之下有穩定工作的人中這個比重只有6%。

We need to stop placing so much value on what a person earns, and putting more on what they do. Don’t get me wrong - being ambitious is not a fault, and achievements should always be celebrated. But when a person uses their success to judge you negatively, it becomes a problem.

我們不能再繼續把價值都附加到一個人賺多少錢和他們的工作上。你不要誤會，有抱負本身沒有錯，成功也應該得到喝彩。但當一個人用自己的成功來否定你時，問題就出現了。

We need to stop thinking that somebody is worth admiring if they’re filthy rich but stabbed everybody in the back along the way to get there. We need to consign the expression ’Nice Guys Finish Last’ to the dustbin of history, by realising that being a decent person is not a sign of weakness but a positive and desirable trait.

如果一個人腰纏萬貫但卻在通往成功的路上對捅了所有人，那么我們就不要再認為他們很值得尊敬了。我們需要把“人善被人欺”這句話丟進歷史的垃圾桶，我們要意識到做一個正派的人不意味著懦弱，而是一種積極優秀的品質。

If you want to know what you’re really worth, here’s a tip: It doesn’t have anything to do with your bank account.

如果你想知道自己到底有什么價值，這兒有個建議：這跟你銀行卡里有多少錢沒關系。

It’s about how many times you’ve been there for your friends. It’s how many times you’ve been kind to a stranger. It’s every time you did something unselfish, or told your partner you loved them, or treated someone with respect no matter where they were in their own life.

你的價值與你幫朋友多少次有關，與你善待陌生人多少次有關。價值體現在你每一次的無私，或者對愛人表達愛意，或者無論一個人在生活中扮演什么角色你都尊重他。

So the next time someone boasts about their wealth, remember that they can have all the money in the world, but they can never buy their way out of being a douchebag.

所以下次有人再吹噓他們多有錢，記住他們可以擁有世界上所有的金錢，但永遠擺脫不了人渣的本質。