At the University of California, my students and I surveyed more than 2,000 years of self-change techniques-perhaps most of the major self-change methods that have ever been proposed by religious leaders, philosophers, psychologists and psychiatrists. We also reviewed the scientific research literature on self-change, a topic that behavioral scientists began to explore in earnest in the 1960s.
在加利福尼亞大學,我和我的學生調查了2,000多年來人們用來自我改變的技巧-也許大部分主要的方法都是由宗教領袖、哲學家、心理學家和精神病專家提出的.我們還回顧了有關自我改變的科學研究文獻.早在20世紀60年代,行為科學家就已開始認真探索這一課題.
Here is what we found: Of the hundreds of self-change techniques that have been suggested over the centuries, perhaps only a dozen are distinctly different. Many have now been subjected to scientific study, meaning that researchers have tried to see which ones work best.
我們的發現結果如下：幾個世紀以來人們提出的上百種自我改變的方法中,也許僅有十來種與其他方法截然不同.許多方法至今仍是科學研究的對象,這意味著研究人員一直試圖探明其中哪種方法是最有效的.
Three deserve special mention: They're powerful, simple and easy to learn. What's more, individuals who have made successful changes in their lives-changes in eating habits, exercise regimens, career paths, coping strategies, and so on-often relied on one or more of these methods.
其中有三種方法特別值得一提：它們效果明顯而又簡單易學.此外,那些已成功改變了人生道路的人們,也常常依靠這些方法中的一種或多種來改變其飲食習慣、養生之道、事業方向和處世策略等.
To get yourself started in a new direction, here are three ways to do this：
要想開闢新的人生道路,不妨試試以下三種方法：
1.Modify Your Environment
1.改善周邊環境
People who have never tried this are astounded by the enormous effect it often has. I've known several people who have overcome nail-biting simply by buying 50 nail files and distributing them everywhere: in their pockets, their desks and their bedrooms. With a nail file always within reach, they tended to groom rather than bite.
從未嘗試改善環境的人通常會對該方法所產生的顯著效果感到很驚奇.我認識幾個人,他們為了改掉咬指甲的壞習慣而買了50把指甲銼並把它們分放到各處：包括口袋裡、書桌上、臥室內.由於指甲銼總能觸手可及,他們就會選擇修指甲,而不是去啃指甲了.
The power of rearranging one's space has been well demonstrated in studies since it was first reported in the 1960s. For example, a young woman who had difficulty studying made dramatic strides when she got a better desk lamp and moved her desk away from her bed. To change yourself, change your world.
重新佈置自己的空間具有很大的效力,20世紀60年代,該觀點首次被提出,並在諸多研究中得到充分驗證.舉例來說,一位年輕的女士在學習上困難重重,自從換了一個好點兒的檯燈並把書桌搬離開床邊後,她在學習上就取得了大幅的進步.要改變自我就必須改變你周圍的世界.
2.Monitor Your Behavior
2.監督自身行為
I've been reading research studies on self-monitoring for 20 years, and I've conducted some myself. To be honest, I still don't fully understand why this technique works, but it does, and remarkably well for most people. The fact is, if you monitor what you do, you'll probably do better.
20年來我一直在閱讀有關自我監督的研究報告,而且自己也進行過一些研究.說實話,我仍未完全弄懂,為何這種方法會起作用,但它確實有效,而且對多數人來說都效果顯著.實際上,如果你時常留意自己所做的,很可能就會做得更好.
Weigh yourself regularly and you may well start to lose weight. Keep a record of what you eat and you'll probably start eating more wisely.
定期地稱一稱體重,你或許就會真的開始減肥.記錄下自己每天的飲食,你可能就會在飲食方面更加明智.
3.Make Commitments
3.許下諾言
When you make a commitment to another person, you establish what psychologists call a contingency of reinforcement; you've automatically arranged for a reward if you comply and a punishment if you don't. It puts some pressure on you, and that's often just what you need.
當你向別人許諾時,你就形成了心理學家所說的"後效強化作用".你會很自覺地做好安排,如果履行了承諾,就得到嘉獎；如果食言,面臨的就是懲罰.這將給你帶來壓力,而這通常也正是你所需要的.
For instance, if you want to exercise more, arrange to do it with a friend. If you don't show up, your friend will get angry, and that may be just the ticket to keeping you punctual. Decades of research have demonstrated the power of this strategy. Mary Lou Kau and Joel Fischer of the University of Hawaii reported a case of a woman who got herself to jog regularly by setting up a simple arrangement with her husband: he paid her quarters and took her out on weekends whenever she met her jogging goals.
再比如說,如果你想加強鍛鍊,那麼就安排個朋友一起鍛鍊.假如你到時沒露面,你的朋友就會生氣,這或許正是督促你守時的一種方法.幾十年的研究已證實了這一措施的效力.夏威夷大學的瑪莉•盧•考和喬爾•費希爾報告過一位婦女的案例,這位女士使自己堅持慢跑的方法就是和丈夫達成了一項簡單的協議-無論何時,只要她實現了慢跑目標,丈夫都給她一些零錢,並在週末陪她出去玩.
There's good news here for all of us. We can meet many of the demands and overcome many of the challenges of life with simple skills-straightforward practices that anyone can master and that don't require willpower-in other words, with skill, not will.
這對我們大家來說是個好消息.我們只需要簡單的技巧就能滿足生命中眾多要求並克服諸多挑戰,而這些直接的實踐是任何人都能掌握而不需要意志力-換句話說,只用技巧,而非意志.
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