My journey to thank all the people responsible for my morning coffee | A.J. Jacobs

翻译人员: psjmz mz 校对人员: Hanlin Wang

So, I don't like to boast,

我不喜欢自吹自擂，

but I am very good at finding things to be annoyed about.

但我非常擅长发现 令人烦恼的东西。

It is a real specialty of mine.

我对此非常在行。

I can hear 100 compliments and a single insult,

在听到 100 句赞美和 1 句侮辱后，

and what do I remember?

我会记住什么？

The insult.

那句侮辱。

And according to the research, I'm not alone.

研究表明，不是只有我一个人这样。

Unfortunately, the human brain is wired to focus on the negative.

不幸的是，人类大脑天生就会 关注消极的事情。

Now, this might have been helpful when we were cave people,

当我们居住在洞穴时， 这可能会帮助

trying to avoid predators,

我们躲开捕食者，

but now it's a terrible way to go through life.

但如今这却是很糟糕的生活方式。

It is a real major component of anxiety and depression.

它是焦虑和抑郁的主要组成部分。

So how can we fight the brain's negative bias?

那我们如何跟大脑 的负面偏见做斗争呢？

According to a lot of research, one of the best weapons is gratitude.

大量的研究认为， 最好的武器之一是感恩。

So knowing this, I started a new tradition in our house a couple of years ago.

知道这点后，几年前 我在家养成了一个新的习惯。

Before a meal with my wife and kids,

在与妻子和儿女开始吃饭前，

I would say a prayer of thanksgiving.

我会做感恩祈祷。

Prayer is not quite the right word.

祈祷也许不是非常准确的词。

I'm agnostic, so instead of thanking God,

我是不可知论者， 所以我的感谢对象不是上帝，

I would thank some of the people who helped make my food a reality.

而是那些帮助把食品 送到餐桌上的人们。

I'd say, "I'd like to thank the farmer who grew these tomatoes,

我会说：“我感谢 种这些西红柿的农民，

and the trucker who drove these tomatoes to the store,

感谢把西红柿送到商店的司机，

and the cashier who rang these tomatoes up."

还有把西红柿包装起来的收银员。”

And I thought it was going pretty well, this tradition.

我觉得这个习惯挺好的。

Then one day, my 10-year-old son said,

之后有一天，我 10 岁的儿子说，

"You know, Dad, those people aren't in our apartment.

“你知道吗，爸爸， 这些人不在我们家里。

They can't hear you.

他们听不到你的感恩。

If you really cared, you would go and thank them in person."

如果你发自真心， 你应该当面感谢他们。”

And I thought, "Hmm. That's an interesting idea."

我想，“嗯，这是个有趣的主意。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now I'm a writer, and for my books I like to go on adventures.

我现在是个作家， 我为了写书愿意去冒险。

Go on quests.

完成任务。

So I decided I'm going to take my son up on his challenge.

于是我决定带上我儿子去挑战。

It seemed simple enough.

这似乎很简单。

And to make it even simpler,

为了更精简，

I decided to focus on just one item.

我决定专注在一件事物上。

An item I can't live without:

这个在我的生活中必不可缺的事物：

my morning cup of coffee.

我早上喝的咖啡。

Well, it turned out to be not so simple at all.

结果这场冒险一点都不简单。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This quest took me months.

这个任务花了我几个月的时间

It took me around the world.

环游世界。

Because I discovered that my coffee would not be possible

因为我发现如果没有那几百个 我本认为理应各司其职的人，

without hundreds of people I take for granted.

咖啡就不可能被送到我手中。

So I would thank the trucker

所以我感谢卡车司机，

who drove the coffee beans to the coffee shop.

因为他把咖啡豆运到咖啡店。

But he couldn't have done his job without the road.

但如果没有道路，他的工作就没法完成。

So I would thank the people who paved the road.

所以我会感谢铺路的人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And then I would thank the people who made the asphalt for the pavement.

然后我会感谢那些 为路制造沥青的人。

And I came to realize that my coffee,

我开始意识到，咖啡

like so much else in the world,

就像世界其他事物一样，

requires the combined work

需要来自各行各业众多的人

of a shocking number of people from all walks of life.

协力合作，才能送到我手中。

Architects, biologists, designers, miners, goat herds,

建筑师，生物学家， 设计师，矿工，牧羊人，

you name it.

凡是你能说出的所有职业。

I decided to call my project

我决定把我的项目叫做

"Thanks a Thousand."

“感谢千人”。

Because I ended up thanking over a thousand people.

因为我最后感谢了一千人。

And it was overwhelming, but it was also wonderful.

这个项目让人精疲力尽， 但也非常美妙。

Because it allowed me to focus

因为它让我开始关注

on the hundreds of things that go right every day,

每天数百个正常运转的事情，

as opposed to the three or four that go wrong.

而不是三四个出错的事情。

And it reminded me of the astounding interconnectedness or our world.

它提醒我这个世界中惊人的互联性。

I learned dozens of lessons during this project,

我在这项任务中学到了很多东西，

but let me just focus on five today.

但今天我想给你们讲其中五点。

The first is: look up.

第一点是：抬头看。

I started my trail of gratitude

我首先感谢了

by thanking the barista at my local coffee shop,

我家附近咖啡店的咖啡师，

Joe Coffee in New York.

纽约的乔咖啡。

Her name is Chung,

她的名字叫钟，

and Chung is one of the most upbeat people you will ever meet.

钟是你能遇到的最乐观的人之一。

Big smiler, enthusiastic hugger.

笑容灿烂，热情四射。

But even for Chung, being a barista is hard.

但即使对她来说，做咖啡师也不容易。

And that's because you are encountering people in a very dangerous state.

因为你遇到的人都处于 非常危险的状态。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You know what it is -- precaffeination.

你们知道这是什么意思—— 咖啡因摄入前。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So, Chung has had people yell at her until she cried,

钟曾遇到对她大喊大叫， 直到把她弄哭的人，

including a nine-year-old girl,

其中包括一位9岁的小女孩，

who didn't like the whipped cream design that Chung did on her hot chocolate.

她不喜欢钟在热巧克力上 做的奶油设计。

So I thanked Chung,

所以我感谢了钟，

and she thanked me for thanking her.

她也感谢了我对她的感恩。

I cut it off there.

我从这里打住了。

I didn't want to go into an infinite thanking loop.

我不想进入无休止的感谢循环。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But Chung said that the hardest part

但钟说最困难的时候是

is when people don't even treat her like a human being.

当人们不把她当人类看时。

They treat her like a vending machine.

他们把她看作自动售货机。

So, they'll hand her their credit card

人们递给她信用卡时，

without even looking up from their phone.

甚至眼睛都不离开手机。

And while she's saying this, I'm realizing I've done that.

当她说到这儿时， 我意识到我也这样做过。

I've been that a-hole.

我就是那个混蛋。

And at that moment, I pledged:

在那一刻，我发誓：

when dealing with people, I'm going to take those two seconds

和人打交道时，我会用两秒钟

and look at them, make eye contact.

看着他们，做眼神接触。

Because it reminds you, you're dealing with a human being

因为这提醒你，你是在与人打交道，

who has family and aspirations

对方也有家人，有梦想，

and embarrassing high school memories.

有高中时期的尴尬回忆。

And that little moment of connection

这一片刻的连接

is so important to both people's humanity and happiness.

对人性和幸福感都非常重要。

Alright, second lesson was:

第二点是：

smell the roses. And the dirt. And the fertilizer.

闻一闻玫瑰花香，泥土和肥料。

After Chung, I thanked this man.

在钟之后，我感谢了这位男士。

This is Ed Kaufmann.

他叫埃德·考夫曼。

And Ed is the one who chooses which coffee they serve at my local coffee shop.

埃德是负责挑选哪种咖啡能在 本地咖啡店出售的人。

He goes around the world, to South America, to Africa,

他环游全球，从南美，到非洲，

finding the best coffee beans.

只为寻找最好的咖啡豆。

So I thanked Ed.

所以我感谢了埃德。

And in return, Ed showed me how to taste coffee like a pro.

作为回报，埃德向我展示了 如何像专家一样品尝咖啡。

And it is quite a ritual.

这就好像是一种仪式。

You take your spoon and you dip it in the coffee

你拿起勺子，将它浸在咖啡中，

and then you take a big, loud slurp.

然后声音响亮地喝一口。

Almost cartoonishly loud.

就像卡通片里面那样响亮。

This is because you want to spray the coffee all over your mouth.

这是因为你需要让口腔内充满咖啡。

You have taste buds in the side of your cheeks,

你的脸颊两侧有味蕾，

in the roof of your mouth,

在口腔顶部，

you've got to get them all.

你要让它们都尝到。

So Ed would do this

所以埃德会这样品尝咖啡，

and he would --

然后——

his face would light up and he would say,

他的神情会明亮起来，他会说，

"This coffee tastes of Honeycrisp apple

“这种咖啡有甜脆苹果，

and notes of soil and maple syrup."

还有泥土和枫糖浆的味道。”

And I would take a sip and I'd say,

而我会喝一小口就说，

"I'm picking up coffee.

“我尝到了咖啡的味道，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It tastes to me like coffee."

它喝起来就像咖啡。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But inspired by Ed, I decided to really

受埃德启发，我决定

let the coffee sit on my tongue for five seconds --

让咖啡在我的舌尖萦绕5秒——

we're all busy, but I could spare five seconds,

我们都很忙，但我可以空出 5 秒，

and really think about the texture and the acidity and the sweetness.

仔细体会它的质地，酸度和甜度。

And I started to do it with other foods.

然后我开始在其他食物上 也做这样的尝试。

And this idea of savoring is so important to gratitude.

这种品尝的想法对于感恩 是非常重要的。

Psychologists talk about how gratitude

心理学家所认为的感恩就是

is about taking a moment and holding on to it as long as possible.

花点时间，尽可能长时间地保持，

And slowing down time.

然后放慢时间。

So that life doesn't go by in one big blur, as it often does.

这样生活就不会 像往常一样糊涂度过。

Number three is:

第三点是：

find the hidden masterpieces all around you.

发现隐藏在你周围的杰作。

Now, one of my favorite conversations during this year

我今年最喜爱的一次交谈

was with the guy who invented my coffee cup lid.

是与咖啡杯盖的发明者的谈话。

And until this point,

在那之前，

I had given approximately zero thought to coffee cup lids.

我几乎从没考虑过咖啡杯盖。

But I loved talking to this inventor, Doug Fleming,

但我喜欢和发明它 的道格·弗莱明交谈，

because he was so passionate.

因为他充满激情。

And the blood and sweat and tears he put into this lid,

他倾注在这个盖子上 的热血，汗水和泪水，

and that I had never even considered.

而在之前我从没有考虑到。

He says a bad lid can ruin your coffee.

他说一个糟糕的杯盖 可能会毁掉你的咖啡。

That it can block the aroma,

它能阻隔气味，

which is so important to the experience.

而气味对体验是非常重要的。

So he -- he's very innovative.

他非常有创新精神。

He's like the Elon Musk of coffee lids.

他对于咖啡杯盖来说 就是埃隆·马斯克。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So he designed this lid that's got an upside-down hexagon

他设计了一个倒置六边形的盖子，

so you can get your nose right in there and get maximum aroma.

这样你的鼻子就能凑过去 最大程度地闻到香气。

And so I was delighted talking to him,

我很高兴和他交谈，

and it made me realize there are hundreds of masterpieces all around us

这让我意识到我们周围 存在着数百个杰作，

that we totally take for granted.

而我们根本没意识到 它们的伟大之处。

Like the on-off switch on my desk lamp has a little indentation for my thumb

就像桌上的台灯开关 有个小小的凹痕，

that perfectly fits my thumb.

正好能贴合我的拇指。

And when something is done well,

当事情完美运作时，

the process behind it is largely invisible.

背后的付出几乎是不可见的。

But paying attention to it

但关注这些细节

can tap into that sense of wonder and enrich our lives.

可以产生一种奇妙的感觉 能够丰富我们的生活。

Number four is: fake it till you feel it.

第四点是：在真正感受到之前 仍要假装感受到。

By the end of the project, I was just in a thanking frenzy.

在这个项目结束时， 我只是在疯狂地感谢。

So I was -- I would get up and spend a couple hours,

我会花上几个小时，

I'd write emails, send notes,

发邮件，邮便笺，

make phone calls, visit people

打电话，拜访人们，

to thank them for their role in my coffee.

以感谢他们为我的咖啡 所做的贡献。

And some of them, quite honestly --

他们中一些人，非常诚实——

not that into it.

没那么喜欢这种形式。

They would be like, "What is this?

他们的反应是，“这是什么？

Is this a pyramid scheme, what do you want, what are you selling?"

这是传销吗，你想要什么， 你想卖什么东西？”

But most people were surprisingly moved.

但多数人还是被惊喜感动了。

I remember, I called the woman who does the pest control

我记得我打电话给那位 咖啡仓库里

for the warehouse where my coffee is served --

做害虫防控的女士——

I'm sorry -- where my coffee is stored.

抱歉——存放咖啡的仓库。

And I said,

我说，

"This may sound strange,

“这听来有点奇怪，

but I want to thank you for keeping the bugs out of my coffee."

但我想要谢谢你 没让害虫吃掉我的咖啡。”

And she said, "Well, that does sound strange,

她说，“好吧，这确实听着奇怪，

but you just made my day."

但你让我很开心。”

And it was like an anti-crank phone call.

这有点像防诈骗电话。

And it didn't just affect her, it affected me.

这不仅感染了她，也感染了我自己。

Because I would wake up every morning in my default mood, which is grumpiness,

因为我每天早上都会在 默认情绪中醒来，那就是暴躁，

but I would force myself to write a thank-you note

但我会强迫自己写下感谢纸条，

and then another and then another.

一条接着一条。

And what I found was that if you act as if you're grateful,

我发现如果你表现得很感激，

you eventually become grateful for real.

你最终真的会变得感激。

The power of our actions to change our mind is astounding.

行动改变思想的力量非常惊人。

So, often we think that thought changes behavior,

我们往往认为思想改变行动，

but behavior very often changes our thought.

但行为往往也能改变我们的思想。

And finally, the last lesson I want to tell you about is:

最后，我学到的一点是：

practice six degrees of gratitude.

实践六度感恩。

And every place, every stop on this gratitude trail

在这条感恩之路的 每一个地方，每一站，

would give birth to 100 other people that I could thank.

都会出现另外 100个 我可以感谢的人。

So I went down to Colombia to thank the farmers who grow my coffee beans.

我来到哥伦比亚 去感谢种咖啡豆的农民。

And it was in a small mountain town,

目的地位于一座小山城中，

and I was driven there along these curvy, cliffside roads.

我乘车沿着很多弯曲， 陡峭的山路前进。

And every time we went around a hairpin turn

每次我们碰到急转弯，

the driver would do the sign of the cross.

司机都会做食指中指交叉的手势。

And I was like, "Thank you for that.

而我的反应是，“谢谢”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But can you do that while keeping your hands on the wheel?

“但你能不能同时两手放在方向盘上？

Because I am terrified."

因为我被吓到了。”

But we made it.

但我们顺利到达了。

And I met the farmers, the Guarnizo brothers.

我见到了那里的农民， 戈阿尼佐兄弟。

It's a small farm, they make great coffee,

这是一个小农场，他们的咖啡非常棒，

they're paid above fair-trade prices for it.

人们会用高于市价的价格 购买他们的咖啡。

And they showed me how the coffee is grown.

他们向我展示了咖啡是如何种植的。

The bean is actually inside this fruit called the coffee cherry.

咖啡豆其实是在一种 叫咖啡果的水果里面长的。

And I thanked them.

我感谢了他们。

And they said, "Well, we couldn't do our job

他们说，“如果没有另外 100 个人，

without 100 other people."

我们也做不了我们的工作。”

The machine that depulps the fruit is made in Brazil,

分离果实的机器是巴西制造的，

and the pickup truck they drive around the farm,

他们在农场开的载货小卡车，

that is made from parts from all over the world.

是由来自世界各地的零件制造的。

In fact, the US exports steel to Colombia.

事实上，美国也向 哥伦比亚出口了钢铁。

So I went to Indiana, and I thanked the steel makers.

所以我来到印第安纳， 我感谢了钢铁制造商。

And it just drove home

而这还让我了解到了

that it doesn't take a village to make a cup of coffee.

制作一杯咖啡不止需要一个村庄。

It takes the world to make a cup of coffee.

需要全世界的力量 才能做出一杯咖啡。

And this global economy, this globalization,

这种全球经济，全球化，

it does have downsides.

它确实有不足。

But I believe the long-term upsides are far greater,

但我相信，长期的好处要大得多，

that progress is real.

这种进步是真实的。

We have made improvements in the last 50 years,

我们在过去50年间取得了进步，

poverty worldwide has gone down.

全球贫困水平下降了。

And that we should resist the temptation

我们应该遏制退回到

to retreat into our silos.

固步自封的诱惑。

And we should resist this upsurge

我们应该抵制这种孤立主义

in isolationism and jingoism.

和沙文主义的高涨。

Which brings me to my final point.

这就引出了我最后一个观点。

Which is my hope that we use gratitude as a spark to action.

我希望我们可以 使用感恩来激励行动。

Some people worry that gratitude has a downside.

有些人担心感恩有负面作用。

That we'll be so grateful, that we'll be complacent.

我们太感恩，就会变得自满。

We'll be so, "Oh, everything's wonderful, I'm so grateful."

我们会说，“哦，一切都很好， 我满怀感激。”

Well, it turns out, the opposite is true.

事实证明，恰恰相反。

The research shows

研究显示

that the more grateful you are, the more likely you are to help others.

你越感恩，你越可能帮助别人。

When you're in a bad state,

当你身处糟糕的境地，

you're often more focused on your own needs.

你往往更关注你自己的需求。

But gratitude makes you want to pay it forward.

但感恩之情会让你继续下去。

And I experienced this personally.

我个人亲身体验过。

I mean, I'm not Mother Teresa,

我意思是，我不是特蕾莎修女，

I'm still a selfish bastard a huge amount of the time.

很多时候我还是个自私的混蛋。

But I'm better than I was before this project.

但我比开始这个项目前好多了。

And that's because it made me aware

因为它让我认识到

of the exploitation on the supply chain.

供应链的开发。

It reminded me that what I take for granted

它提醒我那些我认为理所当然的东西

is not available to millions of people around the world.

如果没有全球上百万人就不可能存在。

Like water.

比如水。

Coffee is 98.8 percent water.

咖啡 98.8% 的成分是水。

So I figured I should go and thank the people at the New York reservoir,

所以我想我应该去感谢 在纽约水库工作的人们，

hundreds of them, who provide me water,

为我们提供水的数百个人，

and this miracle that I can turn a lever and get safe water.

还有扭转水龙头就能得到 安全的水的奇迹。

And that millions of people around the world don't have this luxury

全球数百万人并没有这种奢侈，

and have to walk hours to get safe water.

他们要走上几个小时 才能获得安全的水。

It inspired me to see what I could do to help people get more access,

这启发我思考，能做些什么 去给人们提供更多饮水途径，

and I did research and found a wonderful group

我研究了一下 并找到了一个很棒的组织，

called Dispensers for Safe Water.

叫做安全水配送员。

And I got involved.

我参与了其中。

And I'm not expecting the Nobel Prize committee

我不期待诺贝尔评审员

to knock down my door,

敲我的门，

but it's a baby step, it's a little something.

但这是个开始， 这是件有意义的小事。

And it's all because of gratitude.

这全是因为感恩。

And it's why I encourage people, friends, family,

这也是我为什么鼓励 大家，朋友，家人，

to follow gratitude trails of their own.

去追寻他们自己的感恩之路。

Because it's a life-transforming experience.

因为这是一次改变人生的体验。

And it doesn't have to be coffee.

它不一定是咖啡。

It could be anything.

它可以是任何事情。

It could be a pair of socks, it could be a light bulb.

它可以是一双袜子，一个灯泡。

And you don't have to go around the world, you can just do a little gesture,

你不需要环球旅行， 你只需要一个小小的动作，

like make eye contact or send a note to the designer of a logo you love.

比如做眼神接触， 给你喜爱的标志设计师发个邮件。

It's more about a mindset.

这更关乎心态，

意识到有数百人参与进 我们的每一件小事中。

Being aware of the thousands of people involved in every little thing we do.

Remembering that there's someone in a factory

记住，是工厂里的某个人

who made the fabric for the chairs you're sitting in right now.

制作了你的椅垫，

That someone went into a mine and got the copper for this microphone

是某人开采的铜 制作了这个话筒。

so that I could say my final thank you,

我最后的一声谢谢，

which is to thank you.

是要送给你们。

Thank you a thousand for listening to my story.

谢谢你们听我的故事。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

(Cheering)

（欢呼）