How to Reclaim Your Life From Work | Simone Stolzoff | TED

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 穎君 紀

I once met this Chilean guy at a hostel.

我有次在旅舍裡遇到了一個智利人。

"So what do you do?" I asked him.

我問他：「所以，你是做什麼的？」

"You mean for work?"

「你是指做什麼工作嗎？」

he responded as if I had just asked the color of his underwear.

他的回應就好像我剛才 是在問他內褲的顏色。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

In the US, “What do you do?” is often the first question

在美國，當我們剛認識一個人時，

通常首先就會問： 「你是做什麼的？」

we ask when we meet someone new.

This is drilled into us from an early age.

小孩從小就被灌輸這種觀念。

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

我們會問孩子： 「你長大後想做什麼？」

we ask our kids,

already conflating who we are with what we do,

已經把我們是什麼人 和我們做什麼混為一談，

as if our jobs and identities were one and the same.

彷彿我們的工作和身份 是一體的、相同的。

I think about this a lot.

我常思考這點。

I'm a labor journalist, and I wrote a book called "The Good Enough Job,"

我是勞工記者，我寫了一本書， 書名是《夠好的工作》，

in which I spoke to over 100 people

為了這本書，我和超過一百個人 聊了他們的工作和身分之間的關係。

about the relationship between their work and their identity.

But before I was a professional writer,

但在我成為職業作家之前，

I was a 22-year-old poetry student

我是主修詩歌的二十二歲學生，

trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

試圖弄清楚自己長大後想做什麼。

It was around this time that I had the opportunity

大約在這時期，我有個機會可以 訪問全世界我最喜歡的作家，

to interview my favorite writer in the entire world,

the poet Anis Mojgani.

詩人厄尼斯‧莫吉加尼。

And so I asked him,

我問他：「厄尼斯， 你對這句座右銘有何想法：

"Anis, how do you feel about the mantra,

do what you love and never work a day in your life?"

『做你熱愛的事， 你就一輩子不用工作？』」

And I'll never forget what he told me.

我永遠不會忘記他的回答。

He said, "You know, Simone,

他說：「席莫內，你知道嗎，

I think some people do what they love for work,

我認為有些人把興趣變成了工作，

and others do what they have to

其他人則是不得不工作， 才能在不工作時從事自己的興趣。

so they can do what they love when they're not working.

And neither is more noble."

兩者沒有高低之分。」

I think that last part is key.

我認為關鍵在最後一句。

We live in a society that loves to revere people

我們所處的社會很敬仰 工作和身分非常相符的人。

whose jobs and identities neatly align.

And here was my idol, a professional poet no less,

而我的偶像—還是位職業詩人—

telling me that it's OK to have a day job.

告訴我擁有一份日常工作 是沒什麼問題的。

If we want to develop a healthier relationship to work,

如果我們想和工作建立更健康的關係，

we can't just think about work-life balance

那我們就不能只從時間分配的角度 來思考工作—生活的平衡。

in terms of how we spend our time.

We have to think about how we construct our identity.

我們還得思考如何建立我們的身分。

What we do is part of but not the entirety of who we are.

「我們做什麼」是「我們是 什麼人」的一部分，不是全部。

Let me be clear.

讓我說清楚。我不認為 把興趣變成工作有什麼問題。

I don't think there's anything wrong with doing what you love for work.

We work more than we do just about anything else,

我們花在工作上的時間 多於其他所有事情。

and how we spend those hours matters.

如何善用這些時間就很重要。

And yet, our current relationship to work isn't quite working.

然而，目前我們與工作的關係

實在不太行。

A recent study found

最近有項研究發現全球 有 48% 的工作者都感到倦怠。

that 48 percent of workers around the globe are burnt out.

48 percent.

百分之 48 。

That's half this room.

就是在座一半的人。

Actually, in this room, probably more than half.

事實上，在座可能 不只一半的人感到倦怠。

And yet, the way that we commonly talk about burnout

然而，我們一般談論倦怠的方式 沒有解決到問題的根源。

doesn't address its root cause.

度假一週無法神奇地 治癒我們，這是有原因的。

There's a reason why a one-week vacation doesn't magically cure us.

There's a reason why our intentions to practice self-care

我們即使有意實踐自我照顧 和設下更好的界線，

and set better boundaries

還是會失敗，這也是有原因的。

inevitably break down.

It's like we're shielding ourselves from the sun with a cocktail umbrella.

那就像是我們用雞尾酒裝飾小傘 來幫自己遮擋太陽。

If we want to actually change our relationship to work,

如果我們想真正改變 我們與工作的關係，

we have to go deeper.

我們得更深入。

It starts with our identity.

首先，從我們的身分開始。

Certainly, we are all more than just workers.

當然，我們都不只是工作者。

We’re parents and friends and citizens

我們是父母、朋友、公民、

and artists and travelers and neighbors.

藝術家、旅人，和鄰居。

Much like an investor benefits

這就很像投資者可以從來源 多元化的股票投資組合中獲益，

from diversifying the sources of stocks in their portfolio,

we, too, benefit from diversifying the sources

我們也能從人生中來源 多元化的意義和身分獲益。

of meaning and identity in our lives.

But how do you actually go about doing so?

但是實際上要怎麼做？

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel described Shabbat,

拉比亞伯拉罕‧約書亞‧赫雪

把安息日—一週戒絕 工作一次的猶太傳統—

the weekly Jewish practice of abstaining from work,

as a sanctuary in time.

形容成時間中的聖殿。

I love this image.

我喜歡這個意象。

Rather than a physical sanctuary, like a synagogue,

不是像猶太教堂一樣的實體聖殿，

Shabbat is a time sanctuary.

安息日是時間的聖殿。

So the first step to diversifying your identity

因此，讓身分多元化的第一步

is to create those time sanctuaries,

就是創建那些時間聖殿，

spaces in your days, in your weeks,

在每日、每週生活、在整個人生中創造

in your life where work is not an option.

沒有「工作」的空間。

Unlike mere intentions to work less or set better boundaries,

不像減少工作或設下更好的界線 這些粗淺的目標，

time sanctuaries require infrastructure.

時間聖殿需要基礎建設。

Putting time on the calendar to learn a new language,

在日曆上安排時間學習新語言、

putting your phone in airplane mode while you play with your kids

跟你小孩一起玩時 打開手機的飛航模式，

so that work doesn't expand like a gas and fill all of your unoccupied space.

這樣工作才不會像氣體一樣擴散，

填滿你所有的空閒時間。

The second step is to fill those time sanctuaries

第二步是用活動填滿你的時間聖殿，

with activities that reinforce

一些能強化你希望培養的 其他身分的活動。

the other identities you hope to cultivate.

The present father, the community gardener,

陪伴孩子的父親、社區的園丁、

the amateur musician.

業餘音樂家。

It may sound simple,

聽起來可能很簡單，

but if we want to derive meaning from aspects of our life other than work,

但如果我們想從工作以外的 所有生活面向汲取意義，

we have to do things other than work.

我們就得做工作以外的事。

Now these don't have to be grand gestures.

不一定要是偉大的壯舉。

In the reporting in my book,

我書中的報告有提到， 我和一些極具雄心的工作狂交談，

I spoke to all of these hyperambitious workaholics,

and they'd say things like, "Diversify my identity. Got it.

他們會說：

「讓我的身分更多元化，收到， 今年我要讀五十二本書。」

I’m going to read 52 books this year.

Or I’m going to run an ultramarathon.”

或「我要去跑超級馬拉松。」

We even convert our leisure into other forms of labor.

我們甚至會把休閒活動 轉化為其他形式的勞動。

My advice is to start small.

我的建議是從小事做起。

How about a weekly walk with your best friend?

和最好的朋友每週去散步一次如何？

Or ten minutes practicing the piano after dinner.

或是在晚餐後花十分鐘練習鋼琴。

The third step is to reinforce these identities

第三步是強化這些身分，

by joining communities

做法是去加入完全不在乎 你做什麼工作的群體。

who couldn't care less about what you do for work.

For example, I love to play pickup basketball,

例如，我喜歡打籃球友誼賽，

and one of the benefits of my weekly game is that the people I play with

我每週打球的好處之一 就是和我一起打球的人

don't care how many words I've written or how many books I've sold.

不在乎我寫了多少個字 或賣了多少本書。

They care that I show up on time and that I'm a good teammate.

他們在乎的是我準時出現， 以及我是個好隊友。

It’s a weekly reminder that I exist on this Earth

每週，這都會提醒我，我在世上 存在的目的不只是產生經濟價值。

to do more than just produce economic value.

The irony is that diversifying our identity

諷刺的是，多元化的身分 對事業也有助益。

can be great for business too.

Research shows that people with varied interests

研究指出，有多種不同興趣的人

tend to be more creative problem solvers and more innovative.

通常是較具創意的問題 解決者，也更能創新。

Hobbies are one of the best ways to recharge

嗜好是最佳的充電方式之一， 讓你在回到工作崗位上時

so that you can be more productive when you're back on the clock.

會更有生產力。

And a diverse identity can come in handy in the face of a stressful event

遇到壓力極大的事件時， 多元化的身分也會很有用，

like a recession or a layoff.

比如面對經濟蕭條或裁員的時候。

I spoke to all of these folks for my book who treated their work like their family

我為了寫書訪談了許多人， 他們都把工作當家人一樣，

and then were unceremoniously let go during the pandemic.

在疫情期間卻被草率地解僱。

If you are what you do and you lose your job,

如果你的工作定義你的身分，

而你丟了工作，

who are you?

那你是什麼人？

But in addition to the business case,

但除了商業層面的理由外，

there's also the moral case.

還有道德層面的理由。

If we want to develop more well-rounded versions of ourselves,

如果我們想讓自己變得更加全能，

if we want to build robust relationships

如果我們想建立穩健的關係，

and live in robust communities

生活在穩健的群體中，

and have a robust society at large,

並擁有穩健的整體社會，

we all must invest in aspects of our lives beyond work.

我們必須投資工作外的其他生活層面。

We shouldn't just work less because it makes us better workers.

我們不該只是為了成為 更好的工作者而減少工作。

We should work less because it makes us better people.

我們應該為了成為 更好的人而減少工作。

This isn't just about you and me.

這不只和你我有關。

This is about teaching our kids

這也是在教育我們的孩子，

that their self-worth is not determined by their job title.

讓他們了解自己的價值 不是用工作職稱來決定的。

This is about reinforcing the fact

這也是要強調一項事實：

that not all noble work neatly translates to a line on a resume.

並非所有高貴的工作都能俐落地 轉化成履歷上的一行文字。

This is about setting the example

這也是在樹立榜樣，

that we all have a responsibility to contribute to the world

示範我們都有責任 要為世界貢獻一己之力，

in a way beyond contributing to one organization's bottom line.

不只是為組織的收益做出貢獻。

So the next time you're at a party,

所以，下次你去參加派對時，

instead of asking someone, "What do you do?"

別再問別人「你是做什麼的？」

I encourage you to add two small words to your question.

我鼓勵各位把這個問題 稍稍修改一下，

Instead, ask them,

改問他們「你喜歡做什麼？」

"What do you like to do?"

Maybe you like to cook.

也許你喜歡烹飪，

Maybe you like to write.

也許你喜歡寫作，

Maybe you do some of those things for work.

你也許把這些事變成了你的工作，

Or maybe you don't.

也許沒有。

But “What do you like to do”

但「你喜歡做什麼？」這個問題

is a question that allows each of us to define ourselves on our own terms.

能讓我們每個人 以自己的方式定義自己。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）