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And if you change your mind-from pessimism to optimism -you can change your life
如果你改變想法--從悲觀變為樂觀--你就可以改變自己的生活
1. Do you see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty? Do you keep your eye upon the doughnut, not upon the hole? Suddenly these cliches are scientific questions, as researchers scrutinize the power of positive thinking.
1. 你看酒杯是裝了半杯酒而不是半杯沒裝酒嗎？你的眼睛就是盯著炸面圈而不是它中間的孔嗎？當研究者們仔細觀察(scrutinize)積極思維的作用時，這些陳詞濫調(cliche)突然間成了科學問題。
2. A fast-growing body of research-104 studies so far, involving some 15,000 people-is proving that optimism can help you to be happier, healthier and more successful. Pessimism leads, by contrast, to hopelessness, sickness and failure, and is linked to depression, loneliness and painful shyness. "If we could teach people to think more positively," says psychologist Craig A. Anderson of Rice University in Houston, "it would be like inoculating them against these mental ills."
2. 迅速增長的（fast-growing）大量研究工作--迄今已有104項研究項目，涉及15，000人--證明樂觀可以使你更快樂、更健康、更成功。與此相反(by contrast)，悲觀則導致(lead to + n.)絕望、疾病以及失敗，它與沮喪孤獨、令人痛苦的靦腆密切相關，休斯頓賴斯大學的心理學家Craig·A·Anderson說：“如果我們能夠教會人們更積極地思考，那就像為他們注射了預防這些心理疾病的疫苗。”
3."Your abilities count," explains psychologist Michael F. Scheier of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, "but the belief that you can succeed affects whether or not you will." In part, that's because optimists and pessimists deal with the same challenges and disappointments in very different ways.
3. “你的能力固然重要(count，偏意，vi.有重要意義)。”匹茲堡的卡內基-梅隆大學的心理學家邁克爾·F·沙伊爾說，“但你成功的信念影響（affect）到你是否(whether or not)真能成功。”在某種程度上(in part)，這是由于樂觀者和悲觀者以截然不同的方式（in very different ways）對待(deal with)同樣的挑戰和失望。
4. Take for example your job. In a major study, psychologist Martin E. P. Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania and colleague Peter Schulman surveyed sales representatives at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.. They found that the positive thinkers among long-time representatives sold 37 percent more insurance than did the negative thinkers. Of newly hired representatives, optimists sold 20 percent more.
4. 以你的工作為例。賓夕法尼亞大學的心理學家馬丁·E·P·塞利格曼與同事彼得·舒爾曼在一項重要研究中調查了大都市人壽保險公司的推銷員(sales representative n. 商品經銷代理; 營業代表)，他們發現工齡較長的推銷員中的積極思考者比消極思考著要多推銷37%的保險額，在新雇傭的推銷員中，樂觀主義者則多銷了20%。
5. Impressed, the company hired 100 people who had failed the standard industry test but had scored high on optimism. These people, who might never have been hired, sold 10 percent more insurance than did the average representative.
5. 公司受到了啟發，便雇傭(hire)了100名雖未通過標準企業測試但態度樂觀一項得分很高的人。這些本來可能根本不會被雇傭的人售出的保險額比推銷員的平均銷售額高出10%。
6. How did they do it? The secret to an optimist's success, according to Seligman, is in his "explanatory style". When things go wrong the pessimist tends to blame himself. "I'm not good at this," he says. "I always fail." The optimist looks for other explanations. He blames the weather, the phone connection, even the other person. That customer was in a bad mood, he thinks. When things go right, the optimist takes credit while me pessimist thinks success is due to luck.
6. 他們是如何做的呢？據塞利格曼說，樂觀主義者成功的秘訣就在于他的“解釋方式”(explanatory style)，出了問題之后，悲觀主義者傾向于自責。他說：“我不善于做這種事，我總是失敗。”樂觀主義者則尋找漏洞，他責怪天氣、抱怨電話線路、或者甚至責怪對方。他認為，是那個客戶當時情緒不好(be in a mood)。當一切順利時，樂觀主義者把一切功勞都歸于自己(take credit while me)而悲觀主義者只把成功視為僥幸。
7. Craig Anderson had a group of students phone strangers and ask them to donate blood to the Red Cross. When they failed on the first call or two, pessimists said, "I can't do this." Optimists told themselves, "I need to try a different approach."
7. 克雷格·安德森讓一組學生給陌生人打電話，請他們為紅十字會(the Red Cross)獻血（to donate bolld）。當他們的第一個、二個電話未能得到對方的同意時，悲觀者說：“我干這是不行。”樂觀主義者則對自己說：“我需要試試另一種方法。"
8. Negative or positive, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. "If people feel hopeless," says Anderson, "they don't bother to acquire the skills they need to succeed."
8. 無論是消極還是積極的看法，都是一種本身會成為事實的語言。安德森說：“如果人們感到沒有希望，他們就不會費事去獲得成功所需的技能。”
9. A sense of control, according to Anderson, is the litmus test for success. The optimist feels in control of his own life. If things are going badly, he acts quickly, looking for solutions, forming a new plan of action, and reaching out for advice. The pessimist feels like a toy of fate and moves slowly. He doesn't seek advice, since he assumes nothing can be done.
9. 據安德森看來，有無控制感是成功的試金石(the litmus test)，樂觀者能夠掌握自己的命運。如果事情不順利，他立刻做出反應，尋找解決辦法，制定新的行動計劃，并且主動尋求（reach out）忠告。悲觀者則感到自己只能由命運擺布(like a toy of fate)，行動拖拉。既然認為毫無辦法(nothing can be done)，他便不去尋求忠告。
10. Optimists may think they are better than the facts would justify-and sometimes that's what keeps them alive. Dr. Sandra Levy of the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute studied women with advanced breast cancer. For the women who were generally optimistic, there was a longer disease-free interval, the best predictor of survival. In a pilot study of women in the early stages of breast cancer, Dr. Levy found the disease recurred sooner among the pessimists.
10. 樂觀主義者也許認為自己比事實能夠證明的要強--有時正是這一點使他們充滿生機(alive)。匹茲堡腫瘤研究所的桑德拉·利維博士對患乳腺癌的婦女進行了研究。對那些通常持樂觀態度的婦女說，兩次發病間隔的時間比較長，而這是生存下去的好預兆(the best predictor )。在一次對早期乳腺癌婦女的小規模試驗性研究中，利維博士發現這一疾病在悲觀病人身上復發更早。
11. Optimism won't cure the incurable, but it may prevent illness. In a long-term study, researchers examined the health histories of a group of Harvard graduates, all of whom were in the top half of their class and in fine physical condition. Yet some were positive thinkers, and some negative. Twenty years later, there were more middle-age diseases among the pessimists than the optimists.
11.樂觀態度不會使不治之癥（the incurable）痊愈，卻有可能預防疾病。在一項長期研究中，研究人員跟蹤觀察了一組哈佛大學畢業生的健康史(the health history)。所有這些人(all of whom)都是班上較好的學生并且健康狀況良好。他們之中有的是積極思考者(positive thinkers)，有的是消極思考者(negative thinkers)。20年后，悲觀者中病的人數耍比樂觀者多。(悲觀者比樂觀者有很多的中年疾病)
12. Many studies suggest that the pessimist's feeling of helplessness undermines the body's natural defenses,the immune system. Dr Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan has found that the pessimist doesn't take good care of himself. Feeling passive and unable to dodge life's blows, he expects ill health and other misfortunes, no matter what he does. He eats unhealthy food, avoids exercise, ignores the doctor, and has another drink.
12. 許多研究顯示，悲觀者的無助感會損害（undermine）人體的自然防御體系(the body’s natural defenses)，叫免疫系統。密執安大學的克電斯托弗·彼德森博士發現悲觀主義者不能很好地照顧自己。他消極被動，不會避開（dodge）生活中的打擊，無論做什么(no matter what he does)都會擔心(expect,vt.認為（某事）會發生)身體不好或其它災難降臨。他吃著不利于健康的營養價值低的食品，逃避體育鍛煉，不聽醫生的勸告，總是要再貪一杯。
13. Most people are a mix of optimism and pessimism, but are inclined in one direction or the other. It is a pattern of thinking learned "at your mother's knee," says Seligman. It grows out of thousands of cautions or encouragements, negative statements, or positive ones. Too many "don'ts" and warnings of danger can make a child feel incompetent, fearful-and pessimistic.
13. 在多數人身上，樂觀主義和悲觀主義兼而有之，但總是更傾向于(incline)其中之一。塞利格曼說，這是一種所謂“早在母親膝下”就開始形成的思維模式(a pattern of thinking)，來自(grow out of)千萬次警告(cautions)或鼓勵，肯定的或否定的話語(statements)。過多的“不許”及危險警告會使一個孩子感到無能(incompetent)、恐懼以及悲觀。
14. As they grow, children experience small triumphs, such as learning to tie shoelaces. Parents can help turn these successes into a sense of control, and that breeds optimism.
14. 隨著年齡的增長，兒童會體味到許多小小的成就感（triumphs），如學會系鞋帶(to tie shoelaces)等。家長可以促使這類成功轉變成控制感，從而培養出樂觀主義。
15. Pessimism is a hard habit to break-but it can be done. In a series of studies, Dr. Carol Dweck of the University of Illinois has been working with children in the early grades of school. As she helps students to change the explanations for their failures-from "I must be dumb" to "I didn't study hard enough" -their academic performance improves.
15. 悲觀是一種很難克服的習慣，但并非不能克服。在一系列具有重大突破的研究中，伊利諾大學的卡羅爾·德韋克博士對小學低年級兒童做了一些工作。在她幫助那些屢屢出錯的困難學生改變他們對失敗原因的解釋時--從“我準是很笨”變成“我學習還不夠努力”--他們的學習成績(academic performance)也提高了。
16. Pittsburgh's Dr. Levy wondered if turning patients into optimists would lengthen their lives. In a pilot study, two groups of colon-cancer patients were given the same medical treatment, but some were also given psychological help to encourage optimism. Results showed that this worked. Now a major study is planned to determine whether this psychological change can alter the course of the disease.
16. 匹茲堡的利維博士想知道把病人變成樂觀主義者是否會延長他們的生命。在一次試驗性研究中，兩組結腸癌病人受到了同樣方式的治療。但其中一些人還得到了鼓勵樂觀態度的心理幫助。試驗結果表明這一作法有一定的效果。現在已在計劃實施一項重大研究(a major study)以確定(to determine)這一心理變化是否會改變病情進展。
17. So, if you're a pessimist, there's reason for optimism. You can change. Here's how, says Steve Hollon, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University:
17. 因此，如果你是個悲觀主義者，你完全有理由樂觀起來。你能改變自己。以下就是范德比爾特大學的心理學家史蒂夫·霍朗指出的方法：
18. Pay careful attention to your thoughts when bad things happen. Write down the first thing that comes to mind, without any changes or corrections.
18. 當糟糕的事情發生時，仔細留意（pay careful attention to）你的想法，寫下你頭腦中最先出現的想法，不要改變或者更正它。
19. Now try an experiment. Do something that's contrary to any negative reactions. Let's say something has gone wrong at work. Do you think, I hate my job, but I could never get a better one? Act as if that weren't so. Send out resumes. Go to interviews. Look into training and check job information.
19. 現在來做個試驗，做一和消極應對相反的事情。比如說，你的工作有些問題（something has gone wrong at work），你是不是在想：“我恨我的工作，但是我找不到一個更好的。”采取一些行動，就好像事實并非如你想的那樣。(Act as if that weren’t so.)寄出簡歷(resume)，參加面試，瀏覽查找培訓和工作的信息。
20. Keep track of what happens. Were your first thoughts right or wrong? "If your thoughts are holding your back, change them," says Hollon. "It's trial and error, not guarantees, but give yourself a chance."
20. 看看然后發生了什么，你最初的想法是對的還是錯的。“如果你的想法正在阻止(hold back)你前行，那就改變它。”霍朗說，“這是個反復嘗試(trial and error)的過程，未必有成功的保證，但是會給你一個機會。”
21. Positive thinking leads to positive action-and reaction. What you expect from the world, the evidence suggests, is what you're likely to get.
21. 積極的思想導致（lead to）積極的行動和反應。證據表明，你對外界期望些什么，你就很可能得到什么。
