Secrets of Stress Management

压力管理的秘密

While explaining stress management to an audience, the lecturer raised a glass of water and asked "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

当向听众解释压力管理的时候，讲师举起了一杯水，然后问道:“这杯水有多重?”高喊出的答案从20克一直到500克。

The lecturer replied, "The absolute¹ weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’II have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’II have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

讲师回答说:“实际的重量有多少其实并不重要，它有多重完全取决于你打算拿着它坚持多长时间。如果我只拿一分钟，那一点儿问题也没有;如果我拿一小时呢，我的右臂就会疼痛。假如再进一步，拿一天，恐怕你们就该给我叫救护车了。事实上，每种情况下杯子的重量都是相同的，只是我拿得越久，它就显得越沉。”

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly² heavy, we won’t be able to carry on."

他继续说道:“这其实就是压力管理方式。如果我们时刻都将负担扛在肩上，那随着压力越来越大，我们迟早会崩溃掉。”

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed³, we can carry on with the burden.”

“就像是这杯水一样，你需要把它放下来，休息一会儿，当我们将自身的状态调整好，那就再背起负担继续前行。”

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.”

“所以，各位在今晚回家之前，放下工作上的负担，不要带着它回家。你可以明天再将它捡起来。此刻无论你背负了怎样的负担，如果有可能，就暂时忘掉它们。”

Here are 5 simple ways to increase your peace of mind:

这里有5个简单的方法，能为你带来平静的心情。

1. Do your most daunting⁴ task first thing in the morning

1.将你最艰巨的任务放在早晨。

It's tempting⁵ to start your day with easy tasks. Don’t. Pushing a daunting task back is like holding a glass of water in an outstretched arm. At first nothing happens, but if you do it for hours or even days, you will soon feel the stress. Do the most annoying task first thing in the morning, and enjoy increased productivity⁶ and peace of mind for the rest of the day.

用简单的任务来开始你一天的工作，的确是种诱惑，不过别这样做。将艰巨的任务拖到后面就像你伸开手臂举着一杯水。起初你不觉什么，但如果数个小时甚至每天都如此，你会很快感觉到压力。将最艰巨的任务放在早晨完成，这样你不仅能提高工作效率，还能享受一天中剩下时间所带来的惬意的平静。

2. Let go of things you don't control

2.放开你不能控制的事情。

You make plans to go outside with friends. But at the last minute, it starts raining.What’s your reaction?

你和朋友计划好了外出，但是到了最后的关头下雨了，这时你会有怎样的反应?

Some people upset and angry, and find the nearest person and start complaining to them. "It’s not fair that it’s raining. This always happens to me!…”

有些人会因此而失望、愤怒，并且会跟周围的人抱怨:“现在才下雨，这太不公平，为什么这种事总是让我遇到!”

That's not going to accomplish anything一the rain won't stop just because you throw a tantrum'. The rain doesn't care. So make the best of the situation. What I do in such situation is go for a quick walk in the park (because rain has its own awesomeness), or just lie in bed reading a good Terry Pratchett book, listening to the rain beating on my window.

一切都于事无补—雨不会仅仅因为你发怒了就停止不下了的，雨可不在乎任何人的情绪。因此，此时不妨恰如其分地利用一下这个环境。在这种天气下，我会到公园里散步(因为雨也很有魅力)，或者躺在床上一边读特里·普莱切特的作品，一边听着雨滴打在窗权上的声音。

Make the most of what you do control, and don't worry about what you don't.

所以，将你能掌控的事情做到最好，而且无需太在意你不能左右的事情。

3. Don't worry about what others are thinking

3.不必担心别人的想法。

I used to be very self-conscious about my dancing. I would rarely go out with my friends, and even if I did, I wouldn't dance, instead just standing⁷ awkwardly⁸ by the side, because I was worried of what others would think

对于自己的舞技，一直以来我都很有自知之明;因此我很少与朋友外出，即使出去了，我也不跳舞，只是笨拙地站在一边，因为我非常担心别人会怎么看我。

Then，one day in high school, I decided⁹ that enough was enough. So the next time I went out with my friends, I just went to the dance floor, and danced like nobody was watching. And the funny thing was nobody cared. In fact, people only liked me more, because I was having fun.

然后，中学的某一天，我重重地下定了决心改变这一现状。于是，下一次和朋友们出去的时候，我走进了舞池，旁若无人地跳起了舞。有意思的是—并没有人注意到我。事实上，他们还想看我再跳，因为觉得我有意思。

Don't worry about what others are thinking of you一most likely they're too busy wondering what others are thinking of them.

所以，不要担心别人会怎么看你—很有可能他们还在担心其他人会怎么看他们呢。

4. List 3 things you love about your situation right now

4.列出3件你现在喜欢的事情。

I first shared this technique with the Positivity Blog readers in my post The Plague¹⁰ of Happiness Ever After (it’s gat a dragon and everything in it, read it!).

我是在Positivity博客中的一篇《一直以来的幸福苦恼》的文章中第一次和读者分享这个技巧的(其内容包含龙等很多事，可以找来读读)。

Just list 3 simple things about any part of your life that you love. Like " 3 simple things I love about the room I'm in right now", or "3 simple things I love about this week", or anything else.

仅仅是列出你生活中所喜爱的任何3件简单的事情，如:“此刻在这个屋子里我最喜欢的3件事”，或“这个星期我最喜欢的3件事”，抑或是其他的什么。

This is a great technique if you’re ever bored while stuck in traffic, or waiting in the grocery store checkout¹¹ lane¹². You can immediately transform boredom¹³ into happiness and peace of mind!

假如你遇到了堵车或排队的情况，在感到百无聊赖的时候，这个技巧就会显得尤为有用，你能立即把无聊的感觉一扫而光，取而代之的是幸福和平静。

5. Walk to a window, look outside, and take a single deep breath

5.走到窗前，望向外面，然后做一个深呼吸。

I got this technique from the Zen master Mary Jaksch. Just walk to a window,look outside, and then take a single deep breath, focusing only on that breath and nothing else in the whole world. This technique sounds extremely simple, but you won’t believe how much it can instantaneously¹⁴ increase your peace of mind.

我从禅师玛丽·雅克什那里学到的这个技巧。仅仅是走到窗前，望向外面，然后做一个深呼吸，并将注意力集中到这次呼吸上并忘掉其他的一切。这听起来极其简单，但是你肯定不会想到这样做能瞬间带给你怎样平静的心情。

And because this is the last tip, you can try it immediately when you finish reading this blog post. Just walk to a window, look outside, and take a single deep breath, focusing on the air going in and out of your lungs, and nothing else.

这也是最后一个技巧，你可以在读完这篇文章后马上试一试。仅仅需要走到窗前，看向外边的世界，然后做一个深呼吸，用心感受空气在肺里的进出，除此之外，一切忘记。