顯著改善生活的5件小事

福布斯 Forbes

Josh Linkner 2012年12月24日

忙碌的2012即將過去，假期裡花點時間認真想想會立即思如泉湧——有那麼多各異的理論指導你減肥、提高生產率以及改善家庭關系。外部因素固然重要，但自我提升的唯一正確方法是從源頭——你自己——著手。自我提升永無止境，對我們有些人來說，這一任務令人卻步。然而，今天——就是此刻——有幾件簡單小事可以一試，它們產生的影響將不可小覷。沒有理由非要等到元月一日才制定一份正式的“新年決心”，你可以利用今年的最後幾周做很多事情；這個假日季送自己一段平和的心緒做禮物吧。
宴會

重燃熱情。無論能夠激起你鬥志的火種是什麼，讓它熊熊燃燒吧。烹飪是你前進的動力？給一直想要好好了解的鄰居打個電話，給同事發封郵件，聯系上近來時間安排與你總不合拍的大學同學——告訴他們你打算舉辦一場晚餐派對。賽車令你感覺自己像一位百萬富翁？帶上兒子去看一場納斯卡（NASCAR）賽車吧，或者與他一起玩賽車游戲。做起其他重要事情來感到疲憊和不在狀態？重新激情吧！說真的。生活中你越有激情，就會越具有創造力。

多多閱讀。有那麼多驚艷的好書和文章等著我們大家去品讀。就像每晚都能與一位無與倫比的思想領袖促膝而談。真是一大樂事。每晚閱讀20分鐘就將使你的視野拓寬十倍，還免去了大量的時間投入。

寫一份感恩列表。越是對周圍所有的好都懷有深深的謝意，就越有助於戰勝我們面臨的所有挑戰。如果你正讀到此，就意味著你有有一台電腦（而且這個冬天，你可能有一片屋檐可以遮風擋雨，有幾件衣物可以溫暖自己）。有許多值得感激之事，把每一件都寫下來放在顯眼之處。

時不時地做點善事。給予的越多，將收獲的也越多。我知道這聽上去有點空洞寬泛，但確實管用。改善別人的一天也會令你自己的生活更加美好。如果你正帶著中午聚餐時打包的剩菜回辦公室上班，而有人祈求你的施舍，就盡數給他吧。他將有東西可以果腹，而你將通過提供幫助而得到心底的溫暖。

尋求誠實的反饋。有時我們對自己的弱點視而不見，而他人卻看得分外清楚。向他人征求點直接的建議，你將會發現要著手改進的最重要的事情是什麼。受到了批評，你可能就會意識到早上團隊例會時遲到會讓老板不滿。於是，讓每天的鬧鐘早響一會兒，問題就輕而易舉地解決了。

當一切都在爭分奪秒時很難跳出來統觀全局，但可以在一個休息日裡制定計劃改善自己的世界。從簡單小事開始——從那些不會令你破財、不會傷害你自尊、也不會花費你巨大時間的小事做起。妙就妙在不必奮力“抓住”點什麼——徑直開始就好。

5 Easy Things You Can Do Today That Will Noticeably Improve Your Life

As we wind down a busy 2012 and take time around the holidays to reflect, it can quickly become overwhelming, with so many differing theories on ways to lose weight, increase productivity and improve family relationships. While external factors have their place, the only true way to improve yourself is to start at the source: you. Self-improvement is never over, and for some of us, the task is daunting. However, there are few easy things you can do today – right now – that will have a noticeable impact. No reason to wait until January 1 to set an official “new year’s resolution” when you can do a few things with a couple of weeks of December left; this holiday season, give yourself the gift of peace of mind.

Reignite your passion. Whatever deeply moves you, set it on fire. Cooking gets you going? Call the neighbor you’ve been meaning to get to know better, email your colleagues, and call up your college buddy whose schedule just hasn’t matched yours lately – you’re hosting a dinner party. Car racing makes you feel like a million bucks? Take your son to a NASCAR race, or play his car/driver video game with him. Feeling frazzled and disconnected with your significant other? Rekindle the romance! Seriously. The more passion you have in your life, the more creative you’ll be.

 

Read more. There are so many amazing books and articles readily available for us all to consume. It’s like having the ability to sit down with an incredible thought leader every single night. What a joy. Dedicating 20 minutes nightly to reading will expand your horizons ten-fold, without a huge time commitment.

Write a gratitude list. The more we can connect with our deep appreciation for all the good around us will help us conquer all the challenges we face. If you’re reading this, it means you have a computer (and chances are, that means a roof over your head and clothes to keep you warm this winter). There’s a lot to be thankful for, and writing everything down makes it readily apparent.

Do a random act of kindness. The more you give, the more you will receive. I know it sounds fluffy and cosmic, but it actually works. Improving someone’s day makes yours better. If you’re walking back to the office with leftovers from your lunch meeting and someone asks if you can spare anything, give him your lunch. He’ll have a meal in his belly and you’ll have warmed your own heart by helping.

Seek honest feedback. ometimes our weaknesses are not as apparent to ourselves but very clear to others. Ask people for direct advice and you will find the most important things to work on. When confronted, you might realize that your tardiness to morning team meetings bothers your boss – it’s easy to set the alarm a bit earlier every morning, and voila – problem solved.
It’s hard to stay on top of things when everything is moving at breakneck speed, but on one of these days off from work, figure out a game plan to improve your world. It starts with baby steps – easy things you can do that won’t break the bank, hurt your ego or take a tremendous amount of time. The beauty is there’s no “catch”: just start!