The happy secret to better work | Shawn Achor

譯者: Regina Chu 審譯者: Lin Su-Wei(林書暐)

When I was seven years old and my sister was just five years old,

在我七歲，我妹妹才五歲時

we were playing on top of a bunk bed.

有一天我們在雙層床的上舖玩

I was two years older than my sister at the time --

那時候我比我妹妹大兩歲 --

我想，我現在還是比她大兩歲 --

I mean, I'm two years older than her now --

but at the time it meant she had to do everything that I wanted to do,

也就是說在當時 她要跟著我做我想做的事

and I wanted to play war.

而我想玩打仗

So we were up on top of our bunk beds.

所以我們爬到上舖

And on one side of the bunk bed,

在雙層床的這一邊

I had put out all of my G.I. Joe soldiers and weaponry.

放著我所有的特種部隊士兵及武器

在另一邊則是我妹妹的各式彩虹小馬

And on the other side were all my sister's My Little Ponies

準備好要衝鋒陷陣

ready for a cavalry charge.

There are differing accounts of what actually happened that afternoon,

那天下午到底發生了 什麼事其實是各說各話

但是既然我妹妹不在場

but since my sister is not here with us today,

就讓我告訴你真實的情況

let me tell you the true story --

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

which is my sister's a little on the clumsy side.

當時我妹妹正節節敗退

Somehow, without any help or push from her older brother at all,

不知為何，她哥哥我 既沒幫她也沒有推她

Amy disappeared off of the top of the bunk bed

愛咪突然就從上舖消失了

砰的一聲摔在地板上

and landed with this crash on the floor.

我很緊張的探頭往下看

I nervously peered over the side of the bed

到底是什麼東西 讓我妹妹成了墜落天使

to see what had befallen my fallen sister

and saw that she had landed painfully on her hands and knees

我看到我妹妹趴在地上，五體投地的樣子

痛的不得了

on all fours on the ground.

I was nervous because my parents had charged me

我好緊張，因為我的父母才命令我

一定要確保我妹妹及我

with making sure that my sister and I

played as safely and as quietly as possible.

在玩耍時盡量保持安全、安靜

And seeing as how I had accidentally broken Amy's arm

因為我上星期才不小心

just one week before --

摔斷了愛咪的手臂 ...

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Laughter ends)

... 因為我耍英雄把她推開

heroically pushing her out of the way of an oncoming imaginary sniper bullet,

為了要閃一顆想像的狙擊手子彈

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

她還沒為這件事道謝過

for which I have yet to be thanked, I was trying as hard as I could --

我盡全力 --

她根本沒看到那顆子彈 --

she didn't even see it coming --

I was trying hard to be on my best behavior.

我盡全力要當乖小孩

所以我看到我妹妹

And I saw my sister's face,

this wail of pain and suffering and surprise

又驚又痛哭喪著臉

threatening to erupt from her mouth and wake my parents

威脅著要嚎啕大哭，把爸媽

從深冬的午睡吵醒，他們才剛剛睡著

from the long winter's nap for which they had settled.

所以我試圖用我慌亂的七歲小腦袋

So I did the only thing

my frantic seven year-old brain could think to do to avert this tragedy.

能想到的唯一方法來扭轉情勢

And if you have children, you've seen this hundreds of times.

如果你有孩子，你一定 看過幾百次這種場面

我說：「愛咪，愛咪，等等，不哭，不哭，

I said, "Amy, wait. Don't cry. Did you see how you landed?

妳知道妳怎麼著地的嗎？

No human lands on all fours like that.

沒有人是四腳著地的喔！

Amy, I think this means you're a unicorn."

愛咪，我想你一定是獨角獸。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, that was cheating,

那當然是哄騙，因為在這世界上我妹妹

because there was nothing she would want more

than not to be Amy the hurt five year-old little sister,

絕不想做痛痛的五歲小妹妹愛咪

寧願當特別的獨角獸愛咪

but Amy the special unicorn.

當然，之前她從沒想過這個選擇

Of course, this option was open to her brain

at no point in the past.

然後你想像一下 我可憐又被耍了的妹妹一臉掙扎

And you could see how my poor, manipulated sister faced conflict,

她的小腦袋一方面要處理

as her little brain attempted to devote resources

她剛剛才經歷的

to feeling the pain and suffering and surprise she just experienced,

疼痛與驚嚇

又要思索著她剛剛 才發現的獨角獸新身分

or contemplating her new-found identity as a unicorn.

而後者贏了

And the latter won.

Instead of crying or ceasing our play,

所以她不但沒哭，沒有停止玩耍

instead of waking my parents,

也沒有吵醒我的父母

with all the negative consequences for me,

所有可能發生在我身上的 負面後果都沒有發生

a smile spread across her face

反而臉上展開微笑

and she scrambled back up onto the bunk bed

然後以小獨角獸的 翩翩姿態爬回雙層床去 ...

with all the grace of a baby unicorn --

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

... 用她摔斷的腿

with one broken leg.

在我們五歲及七歲這樣的稚齡

What we stumbled across

at this tender age of just five and seven --

所經歷到的這個偶發事件 --

we had no idea at the time --

我們那時並不了解 --

was was going be at the vanguard of a scientific revolution

其實是科學革命的先鋒

occurring two decades later in the way that we look at the human brain.

二十年後人類 的確以這種方法探討腦部

這個偶然的經歷被稱作正向心理學

We had stumbled across something called positive psychology,

這是我今天站在這裡的原因

which is the reason I'm here today

and the reason that I wake up every morning.

也是我每天早上能醒來的原因

當我第一次對著非學術機構

When I started talking about this research

就是對公司及學校談論這個研究主題時

outside of academia, with companies and schools,

大家都說絕對不要

the first thing they said to never do is to start with a graph.

一開始就分析圖表

The first thing I want to do is start with a graph.

但我還是要從一張圖表開始這個主題

This graph looks boring,

這張圖看起來很枯燥乏味

but it is the reason I get excited and wake up every morning.

但這張圖正是我每天 早上能興奮的起床的原因

這張表沒有任何意義；上面的數據是假的

And this graph doesn't even mean anything; it's fake data.

我們發現 --

What we found is --

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

If I got this data studying you, I would be thrilled,

如果這張圖是我研究 在場各位的結果，我會很激動

because there's a trend there,

因為這張圖的趨勢非常明顯

and that means that I can get published,

代表著我可以發表這個研究結果

which is all that really matters.

而發表結果是我做研究最主要的原因

There is one weird red dot above the curve,

但有一個怪怪的小紅點在曲線的上方

there's one weirdo in the room --

也就是說這個講座裡有個怪胎 --

I know who you are, I saw you earlier --

我知道你是誰，我剛剛看到你了 --

that's no problem.

但沒關係

That's no problem, as most of you know, because I can just delete that dot.

真的沒關係，大部份的人都知道這不影響

因為我只要把這個點刪去就好

I can delete that dot because that's clearly a measurement error.

我可以刪掉它，很明顯它是個測量偏誤

它會被判讀是個測量偏誤

And we know that's a measurement error because it's messing up my data.

歸因於它讓我的數據很難看

(Laughter)

So one of the first things we teach people

所以在經濟學、統計學、商業學

及心理學課程裡 我們教大家的第一件事

in economics, statistics, business and psychology courses

is how, in a statistically valid way, do we eliminate the weirdos.

就是如何在統計容許範圍內 把怪怪的數據刪掉

如何刪去範圍外的數據

How do we eliminate the outliers so we can find the line of best fit?

讓我們找到一條最好的曲線？

Which is fantastic if I'm trying to find out

這個方法非常神奇 因為我能藉此方法研究得知

how many Advil the average person should be taking -- two.

一個人吃Advil止痛藥的劑量是兩顆為最佳

But if I'm interested in your potential,

但如果我想研究的是人的潛力

或是幸福程度、生產力、

or for happiness or productivity or energy or creativity,

活力、創造力

we're creating the cult of the average with science.

這種科學方法創造出 我們對平均數的一種迷思

If I asked a question like,

如果我想研究：

"How fast can a child learn how to read in a classroom?"

「在課堂裡，一個學童多快可以學會閱讀？」

scientists change the answer to

科學家會把問題改成「在課堂裡，平均一個學童

"How fast does the average child learn how to read in that classroom?"

多快可以學會閱讀？」

然後我們會盡力研究出一個平均值

and we tailor the class towards the average.

如果你的學習速度在平均數以下

If you fall below the average,

心理學家會很興奮

then psychologists get thrilled,

因為那意味著，你要麼患有憂鬱症，或是某種障礙

because that means you're depressed or have a disorder,

或最好是兩者都有

or hopefully both.

We're hoping for both because our business model is,

我們希望看到兩者都有 因為我們的商業模式是

if you come into a therapy session with one problem,

如果你因為某種問題去找心理師治療

我們確定你離開的時候 知道自己的病情非常嚴重

we want to make sure you leave knowing you have ten,

這樣你才會一直回診

so you keep coming back.

We'll go back into your childhood if necessary,

如果有必要，我們會追溯到你的童年，

不過最終目的，是要讓你再恢復正常

but eventually we want to make you normal again.

但所謂的正常，就是回到平均值

But normal is merely average.

And positive psychology posits that if we study what is merely average,

而從正向心理學的角度來看

如果我們一直研究平均現象

we will remain merely average.

我們就會一直維持在平均現象裡

Then instead of deleting those positive outliers,

所以我沒有刪去那些平均線上方的值

我盡量在取樣時找平均線之上的人

what I intentionally do is come into a population like this one

而且問為什麼？

and say, why?

為什麼有些人他們的

Why are some of you high above the curve

智力、運動力、音感

in terms of intellectual, athletic, musical ability,

創造力、活動力

creativity, energy levels,

resiliency in the face of challenge, sense of humor?

面對挑戰的恢復力、甚至 幽默感都能遠高於一般平均？

不管這人在哪一方面很強 我就想研究這種人，而不是刪去這個數據

Whatever it is, instead of deleting you, what I want to do is study you.

因為也許我們可以 從這些數據中發現一些東西

Because maybe we can glean information,

我們應該想，該如何把人往平均值以上推升

not just how to move people up to the average,

甚至該想，要如何把全球的

but move the entire average up in our companies and schools worldwide.

學校或企業都往上提高一個檔次。

The reason this graph is important to me

這張圖對我之所以很重要

is, on the news, the majority of the information is not positive.

是因為當我打開電視看新聞，似乎大部份的資訊

都不是正面的報導，實際是負面居多

in fact it's negative.

Most of it's about murder, corruption, diseases, natural disasters.

大多在報謀殺、貪腐、疾病、天災

And very quickly, my brain starts to think

很快地，我的腦袋就會認為

這就是目前世界上負面與正面事件的比例

that's the accurate ratio of negative to positive in the world.

這種現象就是

This creates "the medical school syndrome."

所謂醫學院症候群

During the first year of medical training,

就是如果你認識在讀醫學院的人

as you read through a list of all the symptoms and diseases,

通常在他們實習的第一年

讀遍了所有醫學症狀及疾病的清單後

suddenly you realize you have all of them.

會突然發現自己每個症狀都有

(Laughter)

我的妹夫名叫布波– 這個名字的來源可以另外講一個故事

I have a brother in-law named Bobo, which is a whole other story.

布波娶了我的獨角獸妹妹愛咪

Bobo married Amy the unicorn.

Bobo called me on the phone --

有一天布波從耶魯的醫學院

(Laughter)

打電話給我

from Yale Medical School,

and Bobo said, "Shawn, I have leprosy."

布波說：「紹恩，我得了痲瘋病。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Which, even at Yale, is extraordinarily rare.

這個病在耶魯也很罕見

But I had no idea how to console poor Bobo

但是我真不知道要怎麼安慰布波

because he had just gotten over an entire week of menopause.

因為他才從一整個星期的 停經症狀中恢復過來

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

We're finding it's not necessarily the reality that shapes us,

我們發現，我們並不盡然由事實所塑造

but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality.

塑造我們的其實是那副 「你的腦子如何看世界」的鏡片

如果我們能換掉這個鏡片 我們不但能對快樂的定義改觀

And if we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness,

同時我們還可以改變 每一個學校及企業的績效

we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time.

當我申請哈佛就讀時，我其實是冒險一試

I applied to Harvard on a dare.

我不期望他們會接受我 我家也沒錢讓我讀大學

I didn't expect to get in, and my family had no money for college.

直到二個星期後我得到了 軍方的獎學金，他們就讓我去了

When I got a military scholarship two weeks later, they let me go.

突然，一件原本不可能的事成真了

Something that wasn't even a possibility became a reality.

當我入學時，我以為我的同學 都會把能進哈佛當成殊榮

I assumed everyone there would see it as a privilege as well,

他們應該會很高興能入學

that they'd be excited to be there.

即使你整班的同學都比你聰明

Even in a classroom full of people smarter than you,

你都該為了能在這個班而高興 至少我是這麼覺得的

I felt you'd be happy just to be in that classroom.

但是我發現

雖然有些人的確這麼想

But what I found is, while some people experience that,

四年後當我大學畢業

when I graduated after my four years

然後又花了八年的時間 跟學生們住在宿舍 --

and then spent the next eight years living in the dorms with the students --

是哈佛要我住的；我不是那個郵包炸彈客

Harvard asked me to; I wasn't that guy.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

I was an officer to counsel students through the difficult four years.

哈佛聘雇我當指導老師 幫助學生度過這困難的四年

And in my research and my teaching,

我在我的研究及教學中發現

I found that these students, no matter how happy they were

不管這些學生原本

對能成功入學這件事有多高興

with their original success of getting into the school,

two weeks later their brains were focused, not on the privilege of being there,

入學二個星期後他們腦子專注的事 既不是這件殊榮

也不是哲學課或物理課

nor on their philosophy or physics,

他們的腦子專注於競爭、工作量

but on the competition, the workload,

麻煩、壓力、抱怨

the hassles, stresses, complaints.

When I first went in there, I walked into the freshmen dining hall,

當我第一次到那裡 我走進大一宿舍的餐廳

那時從我老家德州維克市來的朋友們---

which is where my friends from Waco, Texas, which is where I grew up --

也許有些人聽過這事

I know some of you know this.

他們到餐廳來找我，並環顧著餐廳

When they'd visit, they'd look around,

他們說：「這個大一餐廳看起來好像

and say, "This dining hall looks like something out of Hogwart's."

電影哈利波特的霍格華茲。」的確如此。

這是電影哈利波特的霍格華茲，而這是哈佛

It does, because that was Hogwart's and that's Harvard.

我的朋友看看這個地方

And when they see this,

they say, "Why do you waste your time studying happiness at Harvard?

都說，「紹恩，你為什麼要在哈佛浪費時間研究快樂？

說真的，有什麼事會讓這些哈佛學生

What does a Harvard student possibly have to be unhappy about?"

不快樂啊？」

這個問題隱藏著

Embedded within that question

is the key to understanding the science of happiness.

瞭解快樂這門科學的關鍵

因為這個問題預設了某個前提

Because what that question assumes

就是我們幸福的程度 可以由我們的外在環境來預測

is that our external world is predictive of our happiness levels,

可是事實是，就算我知道你外在環境的一切

when in reality, if I know everything about your external world,

我也只能預測你10%的長期幸福程度

I can only predict 10% of your long-term happiness.

另外的90%

90 percent of your long-term happiness is predicted not by the external world,

不能以外在環境預測

是取決於你的腦子如何看待這個環境

but by the way your brain processes the world.

如果我們改變它

And if we change it,

if we change our formula for happiness and success,

如果我們改變幸福及成功的公式

改變思考方式

we can change the way that we can then affect reality.

就可以改變現實

What we found is that only 25% of job successes are predicted by IQ,

我們發現只有25%的工作成就

可以用智商來預測

75 percent of job successes

另外要預測75%的工作成就

are predicted by your optimism levels, your social support

就看你的樂觀程度，你的社交圈

and your ability to see stress as a challenge instead of as a threat.

還有你能不能把壓力當作挑戰，而不是威脅

I talked to a New England boarding school, probably the most prestigious one,

我跟新英格蘭州的一間寄宿學校談過 這所學校大概是最有名的寄宿學校

他們說：「我們早就知道了

and they said, "We already know that.

所以每年我們除了教學外，還有一個健康周活動

So every year, instead of just teaching our students, we have a wellness week.

我們非常興奮。星期一晚上 我們請了世界領先的專家

And we're so excited. Monday night we have the world's leading expert

來談談青少年期的憂鬱

will speak about adolescent depression.

星期二晚上是有關 學校暴力及罷凌的問題

Tuesday night it's school violence and bullying.

星期三晚上則是飲食障礙

Wednesday night is eating disorders.

星期四晚上談毒品誘惑

Thursday night is illicit drug use.

星期五晚上討論危險性行為與快樂的抉擇。」

And Friday night we're trying to decide between risky sex or happiness."

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

I said, "That's most people's Friday nights."

我說：「大部份人的星期五晚上都是這樣的。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Which I'm glad you liked, but they did not like that at all.

我很高興你們喜歡這個笑話，但是他們不喜歡

電話的那一頭默不作聲

Silence on the phone.

And into the silence, I said, "I'd be happy to speak at your school,

為了打破僵局，我說： 「我很高興能在你的學校演講

不過你知道，那不是健康週，那簡直是疾病週

but that's not a wellness week, that's a sickness week.

你所做的其實是強調所有可能發生的負面東西

You've outlined all the negative things that can happen,

但是都沒有提到正向的東西。」

but not talked about the positive."

沒有病並不代表健康

The absence of disease is not health.

以下是我們得到健康的方法

Here's how we get to health:

We need to reverse the formula for happiness and success.

我們必須把幸福及成功的公式反過來寫

In the last three years, I've traveled to 45 countries,

過去三年，經濟正不景氣的時候

我到過45個不同的國家

working with schools and companies in the midst of an economic downturn.

跟學校及公司合作

And I found that most companies and schools

我發現大部份的公司及學校

follow a formula for success, which is this:

都遵照一個成功公式，就是

如果我更努力工作，我就會更成功

If I work harder, I'll be more successful.

如果我更成功，我就會更快樂

And if I'm more successful, then I'll be happier.

That undergirds most of our parenting and managing styles,

這是我們的教養態度及管理模式的根本

是我們激勵自己表現更好的方法

the way that we motivate our behavior.

問題是，這不合科學且倒行逆施，兩個理由

And the problem is it's scientifically broken and backwards for two reasons.

第一，你的腦子每經歷一次成功

Every time your brain has a success,

you just changed the goalpost of what success looked like.

你就把你期望的成功目標更改一次

你過去成績不錯，現在你要更好

You got good grades, now you have to get better grades,

你進了一所好學校，下一所學校就要更好

you got into a good school and after you get into a better one,

你得了一個好工作，下一個工作要更好

你銷售成績亮點，我們就要提高你的銷售額目標

you got a good job, now you have to get a better job,

如果幸福快樂是在成功的另一端 你的腦子永遠得不到這個感覺

you hit your sales target, we're going to change it.

我們的社會集體意識，把幸福快樂

And if happiness is on the opposite side of success, your brain never gets there.

推到認知水平線的另一端

We've pushed happiness over the cognitive horizon, as a society.

因為我們以為必須先成功

才會比較幸福

And that's because we think we have to be successful,

但其實我們的腦子是以相反的方式在運作的

then we'll be happier.

But our brains work in the opposite order.

如果你可以提升一個人目前的積極程度

If you can raise somebody's level of positivity in the present,

那麼他的腦子會經歷 我們稱之為"快樂優勢"的感覺

then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage,

就是當你的腦部處於積極狀態

會比消極時、中立時或者處在壓力時

which is your brain at positive performs significantly better

顯著表現更好

than at negative, neutral or stressed.

你的理解力提升，你的創造力增加，你的活動力也升高

Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise.

事實上我們發現

In fact, we've found that every single business outcome improves.

每一種業務成效都進步了

你的創造力在你的腦部處於積極狀態時，

Your brain at positive is 31% more productive

會比處於消極、中立，或者有壓力時，提高31%

than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed.

銷售量提高37%

You're 37% better at sales.

Doctors are 19 percent faster, more accurate

醫師如果感覺積極時，

at coming up with the correct diagnosis

會比處於消極、中立，或者有壓力時，

when positive instead of negative, neutral or stressed.

看診速度快19%，接下來的診斷也更精準

所以說我們要把公式反過來寫

Which means we can reverse the formula.

如果我們可以找到讓當下就很積極的方法

If we can find a way of becoming positive in the present,

那麼我們的腦子就會更靈活

then our brains work even more successfully

我們就可以更努力、更快的工作，而且更明智

as we're able to work harder, faster and more intelligently.

我們需要想辦法把公式反過來寫

We need to be able to reverse this formula

so we can start to see what our brains are actually capable of.

我們才能開始想像我們的腦子 到底能做到什麼地步

因為在你感覺積極時 多巴胺會大量湧入你的身體裡

Because dopamine, which floods into your system when you're positive,

而多巴胺有兩種功能

has two functions.

它不但讓你感覺更快樂

Not only does it make you happier,

它還會把你腦內所有的學習中心打開

it turns on all of the learning centers in your brain

讓你能以不同的方法適應這個世界

allowing you to adapt to the world in a different way.

我們發現有方法可以訓練你的腦部

We've found there are ways that you can train your brain

讓它能變的更積極

to be able to become more positive.

只要每天兩分鐘連續做21天

In just a two-minute span of time done for 21 days in a row,

我們確實可以讓你的腦子重新連結

we can actually rewire your brain,

讓你的腦部運作

allowing your brain to actually work more optimistically and more successfully.

更樂觀更成功

目前我們在每一個與我合作的公司

We've done these things in research now

以練習這件事做研究

in every company that I've worked with,

讓他們的員工寫下3件他們感激的事

getting them to write down three new things that they're grateful for

每天3件新事，連續21天

計劃終了時

for 21 days in a row, three new things each day.

他們的腦部開始記住這個模式

And at the end of that,

their brain starts to retain a pattern

先從正面掃描世界，而不是先看負面

of scanning the world not for the negative, but for the positive first.

回想一下過去24小時 你所經歷的一件正面的事

Journaling about one positive experience you've had over the past 24 hours

讓你的腦子重溫一次這種感覺

就像運動讓你的腦子知道你的行為很重要

allows your brain to relive it.

我們發現沈思會讓你的腦部

Exercise teaches your brain that your behavior matters.

克服我們創造的文化過動症

We find that meditation allows your brain

to get over the cultural ADHD that we've been creating

就是試著在同一時間內多工

沉思讓我們的腦子每次只專注一件工作

by trying to do multiple tasks at once

and allows our brains to focus on the task at hand.

然後最後，偶行小善就變成隨時行善

And finally, random acts of kindness are conscious acts of kindness.

有些人一打開電子信箱

就會寫一封充滿正面話語的電子信

We get people, when they open up their inbox,

讚美或是謝謝在他們社交群中的某人

to write one positive email

藉由做這些活動

praising or thanking somebody in their support network.

藉由訓練你的腦子 就像我們訓練我們的身體

And by doing these activities

我們發現我們可以讓 幸福與成功關係的公式倒著寫

and by training your brain just like we train our bodies,

這麼做不但會激起正面的漣漪

what we've found is we can reverse the formula for happiness and success,

還能創造真正的革命

and in doing so, not only create ripples of positivity,

謝謝各位

but a real revolution.

（鼓掌）

Thank you very much.

(Applause)