tedious枯燥乏味的;冗⻓的

Text A
Background Information
Hayden Finch is a licensed clinical psychologist and behavior change expert. She owns
a mental health clinic, where she offers research-based therapy to help anxious and
overwhelmed high-achievers discover self-acceptance, confidence, and fulfillment.
This text is extracted from her book The Psychology of Procrastination:Understand
Your Habits, Find Motivation and Get Things Done,which explores the psychology of
procrastination. It aims to help readers to apply that knowledge to making lasting
change by tackling specific issues like how to get motivated, follow through,and finish
what they start.

Finding Motivation
1 One of the biggest concerns I hear from my clients is,“I just can't find the
motivation to (insert task they've previously said they want to do).”We spend
much of our lives trying to motivate ourselves to do unpleasant but important
tasks, but that doesn't mean it's an easy thing to do.

2 If you're trying to overcome procrastination, motivating yourself to get started

and to choose a harder or more tedious task over an easier or more pleasant one
will be one of your greatest challenges. But that doesn't mean it's impossible.
Let's start by figuring out what motivation is and where it comes from; then
we'll take a look at evidence-based strategies for getting motivated.

What is motivation and where does it come from?

3 Motivation is what helps us change ourselves, our situation,or our environment.
All animals have motivation; it's what stimulates them to find food, a safe place
to sleep, and a mate.Contrary to popular belief, motivation isn't a static thing that
you either do or don't have. It comes and goes. All animals appear to be
motivated to secure food and safety, but basically,no one wants these things all
the time. As humans, we're

Sustaining Your Motivation 55

motivated by far more than basic survival needs, but even still,we don't pursue
social acceptance, fast cars, or fancy jewelry all the time. Motivation is, in part, a
specific drive to do a specific action at a specific time, and it's highly influenced
by what's going on right now. For example, people love eating, but when we've
just loaded up at the buffet, we're less motivated to seek out food than if we
haven't eaten in a while.

4 As with procrastination, motivation interacts with our emotions.For example, we're

motivated to avoid pain. When we feel pain, we're motivated to stop what we're
doing to end the pain.We're also motivated to increase comfort and happiness,
which influences us to choose simple, immediate pleasures instead of making
rational calculations that will help us pursue long-term goals. So, you might
experience motivation in situations that feel good or have the potential to feel good
but not in situations that don't feel so good in the moment.

Why do we lack motivation?

5 Motivation is critically important for animal survival, so it's hardwired into our
brains. Everyone’s got motivation, but we might not necessarily channel it in the
right direction. For example, we may feel motivated to learn the latest dance craze
but not how to hem a pair of pants.

6 This occurs because we experience multiple conflicting motivations at once. We

might be motivated to cook a healthy meal at the same time we're motivated to
walk the dog, and our brains must choose between these competing tasks because
we can only do one thing at any given time. Motivation is what helps us choose
among all the things we could be doing in any given moment.
craze ⻛靡⼀时的事物
7 Another reason we find ourselves lacking motivation is because it follows what we
hem 给…缝褶边 want. We tell ourselves we want to eat healthy; but when we're honest with
ourselves, we want to want to eat healthy. Big difference. Our motivation follows
what we actually want, not what we wish we wanted. This combination of having
to choose between multiple competing desires and being motivated by what we
actually want can make it really difficult for us to do necessary but unpleasant
tasks.
 regret,frustration, and annoyance) and unhealthy negative
emotions(such as panic, depression, rage, feelings of
worthlessness, and self-pity) when similar things go wrong.
6 How can you distinguish between healthy and unhealthy anxiety
and between rational and irrational fears? Firstly, by checking
reality and by using the laws of probability. When you ignore
what the known facts are – become convinced,for example, that
elevators are dangerous even though people who continually
ride them are practically never harmed or killed – you are going
to get into trouble. Facts are facts, but if something is truly
dangerous – like driving a car 100 miles an hour – there are
vigilant 警惕的;警戒的
almost always facts to show that it is.
7 Secondly, unrealistic fears are exaggerated or
overgeneralized.Because you may hear of one person who got
trapped in an elevator for three hours, you may wrongly think
that this could easily happen to anyone, including you. Because
a few people who got rejected by a love partner never found
another partner,you are sure that if you get rejected, it will lead
to a completely lonely life. You exaggerate and overgeneralize
about some risks and possibilities.
8 Thirdly, you see things as black and white, with no grays in
between. Thus, if you lose a fairly good job, you see its loss as
being completely bad, all black, when actually you may get obnoxious讨厌的;令⼈不愉快的
unemployment insurance for a while; you may use your out-of-
work time to get more job training; or you may even get an
alternative job that is better than the one you now have. ward off 避开;挡开

9 The fact that so many possible troubles may occur in your

life,and that they may easily interfere with your wants and your
pleasures, means that you are set up to be wary and that you
need anxiety as a form of protection. As a human person, you

Dealing with Negative Feelings 115

are presented with two major factors that make you prone
to anxiety: first, your biology, or your hereditary
tendencies to be cautious and vigilant; second, many
environmental factors in your life which t hwart and ba lk
your desires and that you need to be concerned about. As a
human, moreover, you are especially born and raised with
some degree of choice or will. You can make decisions and
decide between one form of activity or another. Although
you are partially restricted by your biology and your
environment, you are an agent in your own right and
therefore have choices.
10 Unfortunately, there is often not too much you can do
about these two important factors that lead to potential
anxiety.You cannot readily change your biology – the fact
that you are a special kind of human with various kinds of
traits,characteristics, and propensities. Still, you are not by
any means completely fixed by your heredity, and you can
(with much hard work) change some of the traits and ways
that you presumably“are.”But only to some extent, and
only with difficulty. Some of your characteristics –
your“nature”–you just have to live with and adjust to.
They are not very easily changed! As for the environment,
the people and the surroundings you grew up with and
with which you now live,you can only change them in
limited ways, too.
11 Fortunately, however, there are some major things you can
change that have enormous influence over whether you are
going to feel moderately concerned or terribly
overconcerned, or anxious. There are things, the same
things, that you can change to make yourself feel healthy
anxiety rather than unhealthy anxiety about any
predicament you face. These are your own thinking, your
own feeling, and your own behavior that largely lead to the
kind of anxiety you feel and whether it is healthy or
unhealthy. You may think, wrongly, that it is mainly your
 Dealing with Negative Feelings 119

Text A

Background Information
Alfred Adler was a psychiatrist who stressed the need to understand
individuals within their social context. Throughout his life, Adler
maintained a strong awareness of social problems,and this served as a
principal motivation in his work. This text is extracted from his book
What Life Could Mean to You, which explores the key issues that
influence the progress of our lives and our view of what life means.
propensity 倾向;习性

heredity 遗传

The Meaning of Life

1 Human beings live in the realm of meanings. We do not
experience pure circumstances; we always experience
circumstances in their significance for men. Even at its
source,our experience is qualified by our human purposes.
“Wood”means“wood in its relation to mankind,”and“stone”
means“stone as it can be a factor in human life.”If a man should
try to escape meanings and devote himself only to
circumstances,he would be very unfortunate: He would isolate
himself from others, and his actions would be useless to himself
or to any one; in a word, they would be meaningless. But no
human being can escape meanings. We experience reality always
through the meaning we give it; not in itself, but as something
interpreted.It will be natural to suppose, therefore, that this
meaning
predicament 困 境;尴尬的 is处always more or less unfinished, incomplete; and even
境
that it is never altogether right. The realm of meanings is the
realm of mistakes.
2 If we asked a man“What is the meaning of life?,”he would
perhaps be unable to answer. For the most part, people do not
bother themselves with the question or try to formulate replies.It
is true that the question is as old as human history and that in
our own time, young people – and older people as well – will
often break out with the cry,“But what is life for? What does life
mean?”
have a bear ing on
对…有影响

Exploring the Meaning of Life 171

116 Unit 7

mannerism
(某⼈所特有
的⾔谈举⽌
的)习性，习
⽓
 serviceable
可供使⽤的;
适⽤的

5 Every human being has three main ties, and it is of these

ties that he must take account. They make up reality for
him. All the problems which confront him are in direction
of these ties.He must always answer these problems
intervening variable
because they are always questioning him, and the answers
中介变量
will show us his individual conception of the meaning of
life.

6 The first of these ties is that we are living on the crust of

this poor planet, earth, and nowhere else. We must develop
under the restrictions and with the possibilities which our
place of habitation sets us. In body and mind alike, we
must develop so

172 Unit 10
that we can continue our personal lives on earth and help to insure the future
continuance of mankind. This is one problem which challenges every man for an
answer; which no individual can escape. Whatever we do, our actions are our own
answer to the situation of human life: They reveal what we think necessary, and fitting,
and possible, and desirable. Every answer must be conditioned by the fact that we
belong to mankind and that men are beings who inhabit this earth.

7 Now, if
obsess 使⼼神不宁;烦扰 we take account of the weakness of the human body and the insecurity in which
we are placed, we can see that for our own lives and for the welfare of mankind, we
must take pains to consolidate our answers, to make them far-seeing and coherent. It
is as if we stood before a problem in mathematics;we must work to find a solution. We
cannot work haphazard or by guesswork, but we must work consistently, using all the
means at our disposal. We shall not find an absolutely perfect answer, an answer
established once for all; nevertheless, we must use all our ability to find an
palpitation ⼼悸approximate answer. We must struggle always to find a better answer, and the answer
must always be directly applicable to the fact that we are tied to the crust of this poor
planet, earth, with all the advantages and disadvantages which our position brings.

8 Here we come to the second tie. We are not the only members of the human race. There
are others around us, and we are living in association with them. The weakness and
the limits of the individual human being make it impossible for him to ensure his own
aims in isolation. If he lived alone and tried to meet his problems by himself, he would
perish. He would not be able to continue his own life; he would not be able to continue
the life of mankind. He is always tied to other men; and he is tied because of his own
weaknesses and insufficiencies,and limits. The greatest step for his own welfare and
for the welfare of mankind is association. Every answer,therefore, to the problems of
life must take account of this tie:It must be an answer in the light of the fact that we
are living in association and that we would perish if we were alone. If we are to
survive, even our emotions must be harmonious with this greatest of problems and
purposes and goals – to continue
far-seeing有远⻅的

haphazard⽆计划地;随意地

guesswork猜测; 推测

at sb's disposal 供某⼈使⽤(⽀配)

once for all⼀劳永逸地

perish灭亡;消亡

insufficiency 不充⾜;不充分

Exploring the Meaning of Life 173

our personal life and to continue the life of mankind on this
planet which we inhabit, in cooperation with our fellow men.
9 There is a third tie in which we are bound. Human beings are
living in two sexes. The preservation of individual and of
common life must take account of this fact. The problem of
love and marriage belongs to this third tie. No man or woman
can escape giving an answer.
10 Whatever a human being does when confronted by this
problem, this is his answer. There are many different ways in
which human beings attempt to solve this problem: Their
actions always show their conception of the only way in which
the problem is soluble for themselves. These three
ties,therefore, set three problems: how to find an occupation