DON’T EAT THE APPLE 别吃那个苹果
1, James Erskine, a psychologist at St. George's University of London, is fascinated by Wegners research on white bears.
fascinate 动词 使着迷;迷住 If something fascinates you, it interests and delights you so much that your thoughts tend to concentrate on it.
eg: I was fascinated by the plot of Holmes.
2, He's long marveled at people's tendency to do the exact opposite of what they want to do (himself included, though this intrepid writer was unable to pry any details out of Erskine).
marvel 动词 惊讶不已;不胜惊羡;大为赞叹 If you marvel at something, you express your great surprise, wonder, or admiration.
eg: He is long marveled at the girls' dancing.
3, To appreciate the near universality of chocolate cravings, consider this: For a study designed to examine the differences between people who crave chocolate and people who don't, it took researchers a year just to find eleven men who didn't like chocolate.
universality n. 普遍性;广泛性;一般性;多方面性 (看着以为是大学那个单词。。。)
4, Before the chocolate was brought in, he asked the women to think out loud for five minutes.
loud 短语 清晰明了;清楚明白 If you tell someone something loud and clear, you are very easily understood, either because your voice is very clear or because you express yourself very clearly.
eg: The message is a powerful one, and I hope it will be heard loud and clear by him.
THE PROBLEM WITH DIETING 节食减肥的问题
5, Although dieting is a long-standing American pastime, as a method of losing weight, it stinks.
stink 动词 令人讨厌;让人反感;让人感觉糟糕 If you say that something stinks, you mean that you disapprove of it because it involves ideas, feelings, or practices that you do not like.
eg: I think their methods stink.
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: WHAT’S ON YOUR MOST-WANTED LIST?深入刨析: 你最渴望什么?
The science suggests that when we outlaw a food, we increase desire. Is this true in your experience? Have you ever tried to lose weight by cutting out a food group or favorite snack? If so, how long did that last—and how did it end? Is there anything on your do-not-eat list right now? If so, how has outlawing it influenced your cravings for it? If you don't diet, is there anything you;re prohibiting? Has it killed your desire, or fed it?
THE POWER OF ACCEPTANCE 接受的力量
What are we to do with our thoughts and cravings if not push them away? Maybe we should embrace them.如果无法摆脱这些想法和诱惑,我们如何应对他们呢?或许我们应该包容他们。
WILLPOWER EXPERIMENT: ACCEPT THOSE CRAVINGS —J UST DON’T ACT ON THEM 意志力实验:直面自身欲望,但不要付诸行动
A CHOCOHOLIC TAKES INSPIRATION FROM HERSHEY ’ S KISSES 好时巧克力带来的灵感
THE NO-DIETING DIET 远离节食的减肥
WILLPOWER EXPERIMENT: TURN YOUR “I WON’T” INTO “I WILL” 意志力实验: 把“我不要”变成“我想要”
Can you redefine the “I won’t” challenge so that it becomes an “I will” challenge?Sometimes the very same behavior can be thought of in two different ways. For example, one of my students redefined “not being late” as “being the first person there” or “arriving five minutes early.” This may not sound like much of a difference, but he found himself far more motivated—and less likely to be late-when he turned being on time into a race he could win. If you focus on what you want to do, instead of what you don't want to do, you sidestep the dangers of ironic rebound.
可以通过重新定义"我不要"的挑战,把它变为“我想要”的挑战吗?有时,同样的行为会被两种截然不同的思想支配。举个例子来说,我的一个学生把“不要迟到”重新定义为“做第一个到的人”或“提前五分钟到”。这或许听起来没有太大的不同,但他发现,自己变得更有动力了,也没有那么容易迟到了。因为,他把按时到达变成了一场他能获胜的比赛。如果你关注自己在做什么,而不是自己不想做什么,你就可以避免“反弹”效应带来的危害。
NO SMOKING, PLEASE 请勿吸烟
Instead of distracting themselves from the urge or hoping that it would just go away, they should really get a good look at it. What thoughts were going through their mind? What did the urge feel like in the body? Was there nausea, or a gnawing in their stomach? Did they feel tension in their lungs or throat?他们既不需要从冲动上转移注意力,也不需要寄希望于它自己消失,只需要好好地观察自己,看看当时自己在想什么,有什么样的冲动,自己的肚子,肺部,喉咙会不会感覺不适。
WILLPOWER EXPERIMENT: SURF THE URGE 意志力实验: 驾驭冲动
SURFING THE URGE TO COMPLAIN 驾驭抱怨的冲动
INNER ACCEPTANCE, OUTER CONTROL 对内控制自我,对外控制行为
THE LAST WORD 写在本章最后
Trying to control our thoughts and feelings has the opposite effect of what most people expect. And yet rather than catch on to this, most of us respond to our failures with more commitment to this misguided strategy. We try even harder to push away thoughts and feelings we don't want to have in a vain attempt to keep our minds safe from danger. If we truly want peace of mind and better self-control, we need to accept that it is impossible to control what comes into our mind. All we can do is choose what we believe and what we act on.试着控制自己的思想和感受,反而会对我们原先的目标产生反面效果。但是我们大多数人在犯下这个战略性错误后,并不会在反省失败时认识到这一点。我们反倒会认为自己控制力不够,从而会定下更多下次一定要控制住自己的目标。为了让我们的头脑远离有害的思想和感受,我们努力去摆脱它们,但往往事半功倍。相反,如果我们想要获得心理的平静和足够的控制力,我们就需要认识到,控制自己的思想是不可能的事情。我们能够做的就是,选择自己相信什么,选择自己做什么。
启发:
生活中感受最深的经历:因为胃不好,曾经试着一段时间不吃辣。可是最终只忍住了一个星期。作为一个湖北的妹子,家里从小就是各种辣椒,不吃辣的日子简直觉得整个人生都是灰暗的。后面就会一发不可收拾,比不抑制自己吃辣的时候吃了更多的辣,一个小份的福鼎肉片就要放4大勺辣椒。常常使得吃完之后胃就很难受。这样的情形反复过很多次。
后来痛定思痛,仔细的想了这个问题。就像文章中说的,我后来换了一个方式,既然我不能戒掉自己吃辣的这个习惯,那我就继续吃辣,想吃的时候就吃,不要约束自己的欲望,只不过不像以前那样吃的那么狠,辣椒少放一点或者想想自己那可怜的胃的承受能力。后面反而吃的相对少了很多。
很多事情都有两面性,既对立又统一。当你不能做到"你不要"的时候(我发现生活中还是有很少一部分人能够做到的,就像我师兄,简直是一个意志力执行力超强的人),停下来好好想一想,是否可以用其他的方式代替但是效果差不多的。
summary
This part talks about suppression--thought suppression, but it is impossible that we can control what comes into our mind, the harder we push away our thoughts, the more carvings we want. What only we can do is to learn to accept it and turns the “I won't” power challenge into the “I will” power challenge. Remembering three skills—self-awareness, self-care, and what matters most-are the foundation for self-control.