NGAF - Chapter 8 The Importance of Saying No 20180129

1 - Guiding Questions:

(1) Why saying no is important? Have you had a hard time of turning down someone’s request( for example, you wanted to say no, but what came out of your mouth was yes, and next day you kicked yourself for saying yes) ? Please include a personal story.

The point of saying no is for the reason that we want to value and concentrate on something really matters. To value X, we must reject non-X.The rejection is an inherent and necessary part of maintaining our values, and therefore our identity. I usually turn down some friends' invitation to go shopping, which makes me appear to be an unsocial person, but I decide to use the limited time to do something more meaningful for myself.

(2) Why Saint Petersburg was one of the Mark’s favorite trips?

Because Mark experienced the  culture of outspokenness and frankness in Saint Petersburg. The culture there values honest a lot and could accept saying yes as well as saying no.

(3) Why commitment gives you freedom?

Commitment gives you freedom because you’re no longer distracted by the unimportant and frivolous and it hones your attention and focus, directing them toward what is most efficient at making you healthy and happy. 

(4) How to build trust?

To build trust you have to be honest. That means when things suck, you say so openly and without apology. When trust is destroyed, it can be rebuilt only if the following two steps happen: 1) the trust-breaker admits the true values that caused the breach and owns up to them, and 2) the trust-breaker builds a solid track record of improved behavior over time. Without the first step, there should be no attempt at reconciliation in the first place.

2 - Expressions

(1)get traffic

Get traffic的意思是“获得流量”。流量多意味着关注度和知名度的提升。

例如：Community Forum will also organize various activities. Therefore, sponsoring community activities can be used to provide information on prizes, and thus get more traffic and visibility.

社区论坛上会经常举办各种活动。因此可以采用赞助社区活动，提供有关奖品，也因此可以获得较大的流量和知名度。

(2) at face value

At face value 的意思是“根据外表，从表面上看”。例如，电视购物频道播广告卖面霜，I accepted all those claims about its effectiveness at face value, 我把面霜功效的广告词当真了。

(3) frivolous

①ADJ If you describe someone as frivolous, you mean they behave in a silly or light-hearted way, rather than being serious and sensible. 轻率的

②ADJ If you describe an activity as frivolous, you disapprove of it because it is not useful and wastes time or money. 无用的 [表不满]

例如：He continued to chat about the weather, about court gossip – the frivolous things of life – all the while penning the music.