英语美文朗读 第319期 Discomfort Is Your Friend

Smoking that cigarette on your work breaks causes your brain to associate that habit with freedom and relaxation. Drinking alcohol may be associated with relieving some tension after a hard week. The thought of exercising and making some kind of effort is overridden in the brain by the easier thought of sitting on the couch and binge watching your favorite show. So, you can see how easily the habit is connected with the reward.

 

你在工作间隙吸的那根烟，让你把吸烟这个习惯跟自由和放松联系起来。喝酒可能会跟工作一周后的减压联系起来。运动，努力，这些积极的想法，已经被那些更安逸的想法取代了，比如瘫在沙发上看电视。所以，你也看到了，把坏习惯和安逸的奖励联系起来，是非常容易的。

 

We also tend to rationalize our bad behaviors, if society as a whole finds it acceptable. If a vast amount of people are doing the same thing, then it must be ok for us to do it too. It's not difficult to find socially acceptable bad habits. Snacking, skipping exercises, getting blackout drunk, and even chain-smoking are things that lots of people do. This causes an inward rationalization when it comes to unhealthy habits, such as, just one more won't hurt, or I'll do better next week. But these in-the-moment justifications only provide a brief escape from stress.

如果社会接受我们的不良行为，那么我们就会认为它们是合理的。一件事，如果很多人都在做，那么我们做也没问题。在我们生活的社会中，有很多坏习惯是可以接受的，比如吃零食，偷懒不运动，喝得烂醉，吸烟上瘾，这些是很多人都在做的事。在我们的潜意识中，这让我们认为那些不健康的习惯是合理的，比如，我们会想，再抽一根也没事，下周我会做得更好。但是，这些理由只不过是我们逃避压力的借口而已。

 

It's important to remember that bad habits only give temporary comfort. An alcoholic beverage can only numb you to stress, and after a buzz wears off, the stressful reality returns. Ironically the long-term solution to break bad habits is in fact discomfort. The only way you grow is by stepping into the unknown. This is why so many people have break down before breakthrough moments. The more discomfort you experience, the greater the long-term benefit will be. The simplest analogy is exercise, the more you push yourself during a workout the more sweat, burn, fatigue, exhaustion you feel, the more strength, endurance, and longevity you gain.

我们要记住，坏习惯只会带来暂时的舒服。灌下一瓶酒，只能让你麻痹自己，逃避压力，等到酒醒之后，压力又回来了。有意思的是，摆脱坏习惯的长久之计，其实就是不舒服。如果想成长，唯一的办法就是走向未知。从长远看，你经历的不舒适越多，你得到的好处就越多。最好的例子就是运动，在健身的时候，你越是逼自己，流汗越多，燃烧的脂肪越多，身体越累，你的力量和耐力就会更强，你就能更长寿。

 

However, most people don't change until not changing is the less comfortable option. Powerful transformation happens when you truly get out of your comfort zone. Familiar discomfort is a form of comfort. This is why people are addicted to toxic relationships. Comfort is nothing more than an illusion. There's no such thing as real comfort. There's only the idea of what safe. This one is a big one to swallow, but there's really no such thing as comfort, which is why comfortable things don't last, and why the most well-adjusted people are most comfortable in discomfort. Comfortable is just an idea. You choose what you want to base yours on. Discomfort is your friend.

然而，除非改变是不得已的选择，否则大多数人不会改变。当你真正走出舒适区的时候，你身上就会发生影响深远的改变。熟悉的不舒适，也是一种舒适，所以很多人沉迷于有害的人际关系。舒适只是一种幻觉，根本没有真正的舒适，只有我们自认为的安全而已。这可能很难接受，然而事实就是，舒适是不存在的，所以那些令人舒适的东西并不持久，而那些适应力很强的人，反而喜欢不舒适。舒适，只是一种想法而已。什么才能让你感到舒适，你自己说了算。不舒适，才是你真正的朋友。