轻松背单词新浪微博 轻松背单词腾讯微博
轻松背单词微信服务号
当前位置:首页 -> 9级英语阅读 - > Quora:为什么我们难以克服自己的缺点
Quora:为什么我们难以克服自己的缺点
添加时间:2018-08-09 08:52:10 浏览次数: 作者:未知
Tip:点击数字可快速查看单词解释  
  • Q: I am aware of my weakness, but I am not able to overcome it. Why is this?

    A by Srinath Srinivasa:

    It is first important to understand what is meant by "weakness".

    In our minds, there are two cognitive1 "engines" -- the rational engine and the emotional engine. The rational engine is what we employ for conscious and deliberate decision-making. The emotional engine is what typically drives our actions and impulses.

    The emotional engine is usually overridden2 by our rational engine. However, the emotional engine is far more powerful than the rational engine.

    The cognitive psychologist Jonathan Haidt compares this to a man (rational engine) riding on an elephant (emotional engine). The elephant is tame and usually obeys the man, but if the elephant goes wild, the man is practically powerless in front of it.

    What we call as a "weakness" is basically the inability of the rational engine to control or regulate the emotional engine.

    Typically the way we go about addressing our weakness is to either start fighting it head-long, or try to distract ourselves hoping that it would go away.

    Both of these approaches are bound to fail. If a man starts to fight a wild elephant, well the result is already known. Similarly, just ignoring the wild elephant will not make it go away -- it will continue with its rampage.

    To address our weaknesses, we need to look at how we can manage an unruly animal. Let us look at a more common example of managing street dogs. A street dog for instance, can be overpowered and tamed. But this process is painful and damaging to the dog as well as to ourselves.

    A much better way is to treat the street dog with empathy, make friends with it and allow it to be itself. Let the dog cooperate with you out of its own free will, rather than make it "obey" your will. Let you and the dog live in harmony instead of a power struggle.

    The same thing applies to the rational and the emotional engines. If we pit them against each other in a one-up power game, we will end up severely3 damaging ourselves.

    Instead, think of your rational engine as the wise, sensible, human and the emotional engine as the impulsive4 animal which means no harm, and which just wants to live. Now let this "wise" rational engine enter into a dialogue with the "impulsive" emotional engine, in a calm, nurturing5, non-judgmental fashion. Much like how a parent would converse6 with a child.

    Let the emotional engine speak what it wants to say and express itself. Listen to it without passing moral judgments7 and without acting8 on its words. Just soothe9 it back (like say, the "All is well" dialogue of 3-idiots or something) till it calms down.

    Our "weakness" or the impulses of our emotional engine never completely goes away -- it is part of who we are, our identity. But once we enter into a dialogue with our emotional self, the weakness ceases to be a weakness any longer. What appears as emotional impulses may well be a deep-rooted personality trait that was the result of our evolutionary10 history, trying to tell us something. We may end up becoming a whole lot wiser, just by listening impassively to what our emotions are saying..

     9级    双语 


    点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

    1 cognitive [ˈkɒgnətɪv] Uqwz0   第7级
    adj.认知的,认识的,有感知的
    参考例句:
    • As children grow older, their cognitive processes become sharper. 孩子们越长越大,他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
    • The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works. 认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。
    2 overridden [ˌəʊvə'rɪdn] 3ea029046b4ce545504601a0be429279   第9级
    越控( override的过去分词 ); (以权力)否决; 优先于; 比…更重要
    参考例句:
    • The chairman's veto was overridden by the committee. 主席的否决被委员会推翻了。
    • Property '{0}' is not declarable, and cannot be overridden. 属性“{0}”是不可声明的,不能被重写。
    3 severely [sə'vɪrlɪ] SiCzmk   第7级
    adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
    参考例句:
    • He was severely criticized and removed from his post. 他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
    • He is severely put down for his careless work. 他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
    4 impulsive [ɪmˈpʌlsɪv] M9zxc   第9级
    adj.冲动的,刺激的;有推动力的
    参考例句:
    • She is impulsive in her actions. 她的行为常出于冲动。
    • He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man, but a very honest and sincere one. 他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人,也不多愁善感, 他为人十分正直、诚恳。
    5 nurturing [ˈnə:tʃərɪŋ] d35e8f9c6b6b0f1c54ced7de730a6241   第7级
    养育( nurture的现在分词 ); 培育; 滋长; 助长
    参考例句:
    • These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
    • The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。
    6 converse [kənˈvɜ:s] 7ZwyI   第7级
    vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反
    参考例句:
    • He can converse in three languages. 他可以用3种语言谈话。
    • I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression. 我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。
    7 judgments [d'ʒʌdʒmənts] 2a483d435ecb48acb69a6f4c4dd1a836   第7级
    判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判
    参考例句:
    • A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
    • He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。
    8 acting [ˈæktɪŋ] czRzoc   第7级
    n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
    参考例句:
    • Ignore her, she's just acting. 别理她,她只是假装的。
    • During the seventies, her acting career was in eclipse. 在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
    9 soothe [su:ð] qwKwF   第7级
    vt.安慰;使平静;使减轻;缓和;奉承;vi.起抚慰作用
    参考例句:
    • I've managed to soothe him down a bit. 我想方设法使他平静了一点。
    • This medicine should soothe your sore throat. 这种药会减轻你的喉痛。
    10 evolutionary [ˌi:vəˈlu:ʃənri] Ctqz7m   第9级
    adj.进化的;演化的,演变的;[生]进化论的
    参考例句:
    • Life has its own evolutionary process. 生命有其自身的进化过程。
    • These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants. 这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

    文章评论 共有评论 0查看全部

      会员登陆
      热门单词标签
    我的单词印象
    我的理解: