Christine Carter: The 1-minute secret to forming a new habit | TED

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez

翻译人员: Meredith Law 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

I don't know about you,

我不了解各位的情况，

but when our family got the stay-at-home order in March of 2020,

但当我们家在 2020 年 3 月 收到居家令时，

I came out of the gates pretty darn hot.

我很快就进入状态了。

"Embrace not being so busy," I wrote.

“拥抱没那么忙的生活”，我写道。

"Take this time at home to get into a new happiness habit."

“趁着这段时间在家里的时间 养成新的幸福习惯。”

That seems hilarious to me now.

现在的我觉得那很好笑。

My pre-coronavirus routines fell apart hard and fast.

我新冠疫情的日常生活已全盘打乱。

Some days I would realize at dinnertime

有些天我会在晚餐的时候才意识到

that not only had I not showered or gotten dressed that day,

我一整天都没有洗澡或穿好衣，

but I hadn't even brushed my teeth.

而且我甚至没有刷牙。

Even though I have coached people for a very long time

虽然我一直都在教别人如何

in an effective, science-based method of habit formation,

养成既有效又科学的生活习惯，

I struggled.

我自己却做不到。

Truth be told, for the first few months of the pandemic,

说实话，在新冠疫情的头几个月，

I more or less refused to follow my own best advice.

我或多或少没在遵守我自己的好建议。

This is because I love to set ambitious goals.

这是因为我喜欢设定 雄心勃勃的目标。

Getting into a good little habit

对我来说，养成一个小的好习惯

is just so much less exciting to me

比起达成一个大的、 卓有成效的、大胆的目标

than embracing a big, juicy, audacious goal.

无趣多了。

Take exercise, for example.

以运动为例，

When the coronavirus hit,

当新冠疫情来袭时，

I optimistically embraced the idea

我乐观地接受了一个想法：

that I could get back into running outside.

我一定可以回到外面跑步的。

I picked a half-marathon to train for

我选择用一个半程马拉松来锻炼，

and spent a week or so meticulously devising

并花了大概一周左右的时间

a very detailed training plan.

精心制定了一个非常详细的训练计划。

But then I actually only stuck to my ambitious training schedule

但最终我坚持跟着 这个雄心勃勃的训练计划

for a few weeks.

只跟了几个星期。

All that planning and preparation

那些策划和准备

led only to a spectacular failure to exercise.

结果变成一场壮观的不运动现实。

I skipped my training runs,

我跳过了我的跑步训练，

despite feeling like the importance of exercise

虽然感觉到运动的重要性

and the good health that it brings

而它带来的健康

从未如此清晰明了。

has never been more bracingly clear.

The truth is that our ability to follow through on our best intentions,

事实上，我们能服从自己 最好意图的能力，

to get into a new habit like exercise

来养成一个新的习惯，如运动，

or to change our behavior in any way, really,

或真的在某一方面改变行为，

doesn't actually depend on the reasons we might do it

不能依靠我们想这么做的原因

or on the depth of our convictions that we should do so.

或我们对于自己 该做这件事的信念程度。

It doesn't depend on our understanding of the benefits

这并不在于我们对特定行为

of our particular behavior

所带来的好处的了解，

or even on the strength of our willpower.

甚至我们意志的力量。

It depends on our willingness to be bad at our desired behavior.

这在于我们是否愿意 搞砸我们期望的行为，

And I hate being bad at stuff.

而我讨厌搞砸事情。

I am a go-big-or-go-home kind of a gal.

我就是这种 “要么做大，要么回家”的人。

I like being good at things,

我喜欢擅长做事情，

and I quit exercising

而我放弃运动

because I wasn't willing to be bad at it.

是因为我不想在运动方面表现糟糕。

Here's why we need to be willing to be bad:

这是我们要接受表现差的原因：

being good requires that our effort and our motivation

做好一件事需要 我们的努力和我们的动力

be in proportion to each other.

是相互成正比的。

The harder something is for us to do,

一件事情越难做，

the more motivation we need to do that thing.

我们做那件事的动力需要更强。

And you might have noticed,

你可能已经发现了，

but motivation isn't something that we can always muster on command.

但是动力不是一个 我们每次说有就有的东西。

Whether we like it or not,

不管我们喜不喜欢，

motivation comes and motivation goes.

动力来来去去。

When motivation wanes,

当动力减弱时，

plenty of research shows that we human beings

很多的研究显示我们人类

tend to follow the law of the least effort,

趋向于跟随需要最少努力的规律，

meaning we just do the easiest thing.

意思是我们会做最容易的事。

New behaviors tend to require a lot of effort,

新的行为通常需要很多的努力，

because change is really hard.

因为改变真的很难。

To establish an exercise routine,

要建立一个运动的习惯，

I needed to let myself be kind of half-assed about it.

我需要自己对运动 有点半途而废的样子。

I needed to stop trying to be an actual athlete.

我不能再想当 一名真正的运动员了。

I started exercising again

我又开始运动了，

by running for only one minute at a time.

通过一次跑一分钟。

Every morning, after I brushed my teeth,

每天早上，我刷完牙后，

I'd change out of my pajamas and walk out the door,

我就会换掉睡衣走出门，

my only goal, to run for one full minute.

我唯一的目标：跑一整个分钟。

These days, usually I actually do run for 15 or 20 minutes,

这些日子， 我其实通常会跑 15 到 20 分钟，

but on the days that I'm totally lacking in motivation

但是那些我没有动力的时候

or I just feel like I have no time,

或者我感觉我没有空的时候，

I still do that one minute.

我只会跑一分钟。

And this minimal effort always turns out to be way better than if I did nothing.

这个最小的努力结果 比完全没有做事来得强多了。

Maybe you relate.

可能你能够了解。

Maybe you've also failed

可能你也在

in one of your attempts to change yourself for the better.

一个想把自己 变得更好的过程中失败过。

Perhaps you want to use less plastic

或许你想要少用塑料产品，

or meditate more

或多冥想，

or be a better anti-racist.

或成为一个反种族歧视的人。

Maybe you want to write a book

也许你想写一本书，

or eat more leafy greens.

或者吃多一点青菜。

I have great news for you.

我有好消息要告诉你。

You can do and be those things,

你可以实现那些事情，

starting right now.

就从现在开始。

The only requirement is that you stop trying to be so good.

唯一的要求就是你不要尝试 在这件事情上做得完美。

You'll need to abandon your grand plans,

你需要抛开你的大计划，

at least temporarily.

至少暂时这样。

You'll need to consider doing something so minuscule

你需要考虑做一件很小的事情，

that it would be better than not doing anything at all.

而这件事情比没有做任何事来的好。

So right now, ask yourself:

所以，现在问你自己：

How you can strip that thing that you have been meaning to do

你如何把你想做的那件事拆解开来，

into something so easy you could do it every day with barely a thought?

成为一件容易且每天都可以 轻易完成的事情？

It might be eating one piece of lettuce on your sandwich at lunch

可能是在午餐的时候 在三文治里多加一片生菜，

or going for a one-minute walk outside.

或者在外面走一分钟。

Don't worry -- you'll get to do more.

别担心—— 你会有机会做得更多的。

This better-than-nothing behavior is not your ultimate goal.

这种“好过没有”的行为 不是你最终的目标。

But for now, what could you do that is ridiculous easy

而今，你可以做什么非常容易的事情，

that you can do even when nothing is going as planned?

即使在没有任何计划的情况下， 你也能做到的事？

Even though you ultimately might want to do more and be more,

虽然你最终可能要 做得更多而成为更好的，

remember that we humans are often too tired

记得我们人类时常太累，

and too stressed

也有太多压力，

and too distracted

也太容易分心，

to do the things that we really do intend to do

所以难以做我们想做的事情，

and to be the people that we most intend to be.

并成为我们成为的人。

On those days,

那些时候，

our wildly ambitious behaviors really are better than nothing.

我们非野心勃勃的行动 真的比什么都不做强。

A one-minute meditation is relaxing and restful.

一分钟的冥想能让人放松和休息。

A single leaf of romaine lettuce happens to have a half a gram of fiber

一片莴苣刚好有半公克的纤维

and loads of nutrients.

和大量的营养。

A one-minute walk gets us outside and moving around,

步行一分钟就能到外面 并四处走动，

which our bodies really need.

这就是我们的身体所需要的。

So try doing one better-than-nothing behavior.

所以尝试做一个“好过没有”的行为。

See how it goes.

看看进展如何。

The goal, remember, is repetition,

记住了，我们的目标是不断重复，

not high achievement.

而不是高成就。

So let yourself be mediocre at whatever you're trying to do,

所以让你自己在 你想做的事情上做得平庸，

but be mediocre every day.

但是每天都要做得平庸。

Take only one step,

只踏出一步，

but take that step every day.

但是每天都踏出那一步。

If your better-than-nothing habit

如果你“好过没有”的习惯

doesn't actually seem better than doing nothing,

实际上看起来不如放空，

consider that you're getting started at something

那就想想，你刚在这件事上开始，

and that initiating a behavior is often the hardest part.

而万事经常开头难。

By getting started,

通过开始做，

we're establishing the neural pathway in our brain

我们正在为一个新的习惯

for a new habit,

在大脑中建立神经通路，

which makes it much more likely that we'll succeed with something

这让我们将来更有可能在某些方面

more ambitious down the line.

获得成果。

Why is this?

为什么呢？

Well, it's because once we hard wire a habit into our brains,

这是因为一旦一个习惯 在我们的大脑中变得习以为常，

we can do it without thinking,

我们不用想就会去做了，

and therefore without needing much willpower or effort.

因此不需要什么意志力或努力。

A better-than-nothing habit

一个”好过没有“的习惯

turns out to be incredibly easy to repeat again and again

将会变得很容易去反复做到，

until it's on autopilot.

直到习惯成自然。

This is because we can do it even if we aren't motivated,

这是因为即使我们 没有动力时也能做到，

even if we're tired,

甚至如果我们累了，

even if we have no time whatsoever.

甚至哪怕我们没有时间。

And once we start acting on autopilot,

当我们的习惯成为自然之时，

that's the golden moment

那就是个黄金的时刻

that our habit can begin to expand organically.

而我们的习惯可以自由地发展。

After only a few days of running for just one minute,

一天跑一分钟的几天后，

I started feeling a real desire to keep on running,

我开始有了真正想继续跑的欲望，

not because I felt like I should be exercising more,

不是因为我觉得我应该多运动，

or because I felt like I needed to impress my neighbors or something,

或者因为我觉得我想给我的邻居 留下深刻印象什么的，

but because it felt more natural to keep running

而是因为继续跑比停下来

than it felt to stop.

感觉更自然。

Now, I of all people know that it can be incredibly tempting,

现在，对我所有认识的人 特别有吸引力的一点，

especially for the overachievers among us --

尤其是对我们中表现超群之人——

you know who you are --

你知道自己的——

to encourage ourselves to do more

鼓励自己做得更多

than our designated better-than-nothing habit.

比我们“好过没有”的习惯还要多。

So I must warn you:

所以我一定要警告你：

the moment in which you are no longer willing to do something unambitious

你不再愿意去做 没有野心的事情的那一刻，

is the moment in which you are risking everything.

就是你冒着一切风险的时刻。

It's the moment you end up checking your phone

这是你开始看手机

instead of whatever it is that you intended to do.

却不去做你想做的事那一刻。

It's the moment in which you stay on the couch

这是你坐在沙发上

binge-watching TikTok videos or Netflix.

狂看抖音视频或网飞的那一刻。

The moment you think you "should" do more

你想你“应该”做得更多的那一刻，

is the moment you introduce difficulty and force

就是你在用困难和压力

and negotiation with yourself.

和自己谈判的那一刻。

It's the moment you eliminate the possibility that it will be easy

正是在那一刻你已经毁掉了 这件事情可能会容易，

and even enjoyable.

甚至还会很享受的可能性。

So that's also the moment

所以也是那一刻

that will require a lot more motivation,

需要你更多的动力，

而如果没有动力，

and if the motivation isn't there,

failure will be.

就会失败。

Fortunately, the whole idea behind the better-than-nothing habit

幸好“好过没有”习惯背后的主意

is that it doesn't depend on motivation,

就是它不依赖动力，

which we may or may not muster.

而这是我们可能会， 也可能不会的东西。

It's not reliant on having a lot of energy.

这个习惯也不依赖你有很多的精力，

You do not have to be good at this.

你不需要擅长于此，

You need only to be willing

你只需要愿意去做

to do something that is wildly unambitious,

一件特别没有野心的事情，

to do something that is just a smidge better than nothing.

就做一件做了比没做 稍微好一点点的事情。

But again, don't do more if you feel any form of resistance.

但话说回来，不要因为 任何心理抵抗而去做得更多。

I'm happy to report that after months of struggle,

我很开心告诉各位， 经过几个月的奋斗，

I am now a runner.

我现在是一名跑步者。

I became one simply by allowing myself to be bad at it.

我成为一名跑步者是因为 我允许自己表现差。

You definitely could not call me an athlete;

你肯定不能称我为一名运动员；

there are no half-marathons in my future.

我的未来没打算跑半程马拉松，

But I am consistent.

但是我一直坚持跑步。

To paraphrase the Dalai Lama,

就像达赖喇嘛说的，

the goal is not to be better than other people

我们的目标不是比别人更好，

but rather to be better than our previous selves.

而是比以前的自己更好。

And that, I definitely am.

而我绝对是如此。

When we abandon our grand plans and great ambitions

当抛开我们宏伟的计划和远大的志向

in favor of taking that first step,

反而去踏出第一步，

we shift.

我们改变了。

And paradoxically,

而奇妙的是，

it's only in that tiny shift

只有在那个小小的改变里，

that our grand plans and great ambitions

我们的宏伟的计划和远大的志向

are truly born.

才会真正地诞生。

Thank you.

谢谢。