Unit 1
Text A Are You Training Yourself to Fail？
Peter Bregman1
“Did you get done what you wanted to get done today?”Eleanor,my wife,asked me.
“Not really,”I said.
She laughed.“Didn't you write the book on getting done what you want to get done?”
Some people are naturally pre-disposed to being highly productive.They start their days with a clear and reasonable intention of what they plan to do,and then they work diligently throughout the day,sticking to their plans,focused on accomplishing their most important priorities,until the day ends and they've achieved precisely what they had expected.Each day moves them one day closer to what they intend to accomplish over the year.
I am,unfortunately,not one of those people.Left to my own devices,I rarely end my day with the satisfaction of a plan well executed.My natural inclination is to start my morning with a long and overly ambitious list of what I hope to accomplish and push myself with sheer will to accomplish it.I'm prone to be so busy—answering emails,multitasking,taking phone calls,taking care of errands—that,without intervention,I would get very little of importance done.
And then,exhausted by my busyness,but unsatisfied by how little of importance I'd accomplished,I would distract myself further by doing things that made me feel better in the moment,if not accomplished—like browsing the Internet or eating something sweet.
I've created a quiz that you can access here to test how well you manage complexity.The quiz is based,in large part,on my own failures.In other words,left to my own devices,I would not score well.
Here's the thing:the odds are against us getting our most important priorities accomplished.Our instincts most often drive us toward instant gratification.And the world around us conspires to lure us off task.Given total freedom,most of us would spend far too much time browsing websites and eating sweets.And being totally responsive to our environments would just have us running around like crazy catering to other people's agendas.
For me,the allure of accomplishing lots of little details would often override my focus on the big things I value.Each morning I would try to change my natural tendency by exerting self-control.I would talk to myself about how,starting this morning,I would be more focused,psych myself up to have a productive day,and commit to myself that I wouldn't do any errands until the important work was done.
It almost never worked.Certainly not reliably.
And so,without understanding it at the time,I was teaching myself to fail.People talk about failure—I talk about failure—as critical to learning.But what if we don't learn？What if we do the same things,repeatedly,hoping for different results but not changing our behavior？
Then we are training ourselves to fail repeatedly.
Because the more we continue to make the same mistakes,the more we ingrain the ineffective behaviors into our lives.Our failures become our rituals,our rituals become our habits,and our habits become our identity.We no longer experience an unproductive day;we become unproductive people.
You can't get out of this pattern by telling yourself you're a productive person.You're smarter than that;you won't believe yourself and the data won't support the illusion.
You have to climb out the same way you climbed in:with new rituals.
For me,the best way to discover the most effective rituals to help me achieve my most important priorities was through trial and error.Every evening I looked at what worked and repeated it the next.I looked at what didn't and stopped it.
What I found is that rather than trying to develop super-human discipline and focus,I needed to rely on a process to make it more likely that I would be focused and productive and less likely that I would be scattered and ineffective.
Rituals like these:Spending five minutes in the morning to place my most important work onto my calendar,stopping every hour to ask myself whether I'm sticking to my plan,and spending five minutes in the evening to learn from my successes and failures.Answering my emails in chunks at predetermined times during the day instead of whenever they come in.And never letting anything stay on my to-do-list for more than three days(after which I either do it immediately,schedule it in my calendar,or delete it).
It doesn't take long for these rituals to become habits and for the habits to become your identity.And then,you become a productive person.
The trick then is to stay productive.Once your identity changes,you are at risk of letting go of your rituals.You don't need them anymore,you think to yourself,because you are now a productive person.You no longer suffer from the problem the rituals saved you from.
But that's a mistake.Rituals don't change us.They simply modify our behavior as long as we practice them.Once we stop,we lose their benefit.In other words,being productive—forever more—requires that you maintain the rituals that keep you productive—forever more.
I would love to say that I am now one of those people who is naturally pre-disposed to being highly productive.But I'm not.There's nothing natural about productivity for me.
But when Eleanor joked about my writing the book on getting our most important priorities accomplished,she reminded me that,while it may not be natural to me,I could be highly productive.
And the next day,following a few simple rituals,I was.
Note to the Text
1.About the author:Peter Bregman is a strategic advisor to CEOs and their leadership teams.His latest book is 18 Minutes:Find Your Focus,Master Distraction,and Get the Right Things Done.
Words and Expressions
allure[ə'ljuə] n. the pleasing or exciting quality诱惑力，魅力
commit[kə'mit]vt. to say that one will definitely do something承诺，保证(做)
complexity[kəm'pleksəti]n. the quality of being intricate and compounded复杂，复杂性
conspire[kən'spaiə]v. to make a secret agreement to do something illegal or harmful阴谋策划
distract[dis'trækt]vt. to take one's attention from使分心，使混乱
exert[ig'zə:t]vt. to use influence,authority,or pressure in a strong or determined way发挥，运用
illusion[i'lju:ʒən]n. a false idea or belief错觉，幻想
inclination[,inklə'nei∫ən]n. an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others倾向，爱好
ineffective[,ini'fektiv]adj. not producing an intended effect无效的，不起作用的
ingrain[in'ɡrein]vt. to firmly fix or establish(a habit,belief,or attitude)in a person使(习惯，信仰，态度)根深蒂固
instinct['instiŋkt]n. the natural tendency to behave or react in a particular way本能，天性
intervention[,intə'ven∫n]n. the act of intervening介入，干涉
lure[luə]vt. to trick into doing something诱惑，吸引
modify['mɔdifai]vt. to change something slightly,usually in order to improve it稍微修改；调整，使更合适
pre-dispose[,pri:di'spə
z]vt. to make someone liable or inclined to a specified attitude,action,or condition使倾向于
priority[prai'ɔriti]n. status established in order of importance or urgency优先，优先权
productive[prə'dʌktiv]adj. yielding positive results多产的，富有成效的
prone[prəun]adj. having a tendency(to)有……倾向的，易于……的
psych[saik]vt. to mentally prepare(someone)for a testing task or occasion使(某人)心理上作准备
ritual['ritʃuəl]n. stereotyped behavior or customary observance or practice仪式，固定程序
scatter['skætə]v. to spread over an area in an untidy or irregular way分散
Exercises
Ⅰ.Read the text carefully and answer the following questions.
1.How do people,who are“pre-disposed to being highly productive”,spend their days？
2.Are the author and other people usually pre-disposed to being highly productive？
3.Given total freedom,what would most people do？
4.Does the author work to psych himself up to be productive？
5.According to the text,why do people repeat their failures again and again？
6.What is the author's recommended path to become an effective person？
7.What are rituals of productivity？
8.How can one stay productive？
Ⅱ.Paraphrase the following sentences,paying special attention to the italicized part.
1.Some people are naturally pre-disposed to being highly productive.
2.In other words,left to my own devices,I would not score well.
3.Here's the thing:the odds are against us getting our most important priorities accomplished.
4.And the world around us conspires to lure us off task.
5.Our instincts most often drive us toward instant gratification.
6.I would be more focused,psych myself up to have a productive day,and commit to myself that I wouldn't do any errands until the important work was done.
7.You have to climb out the same way you climbed in:with new rituals.
8.Answering my emails in chunks at predetermined times,during the day instead of whenever they come in.
Ⅲ.Complete each of the following sentences with an answer from the four choices given.
1.If you can't do a half hour of yoga in one sitting,try doing it______.How about 15 minutes after you get up and 15 minutes before bed？
A.in pieces B.in chunks C.in turn D.in chunk
2.British researchers found that people genetically______to colon cancer can lower their risk about sixty percent by taking two aspirin a day.
A.inclined B.willing C.ready D.pre-disposed
3.An eventual loan of cash from the bank,at a moment of financial hardship,can change a poor family's difficulties over making ends meet into______impossibility.
A.sheer B.purely C.utterly D.mere
4.They are the most injury-______riders on the circuit.
A.apt B.inclined C.prone D.tending
5.This is one of the ways that science and the law______to make the world a safer and better place to live.
A.conspire B.connive C.scheme D.collaborate
6.Now,Orlando is trying to______Brazilians,who prefer the city's outlet malls,over to its theme parks.
A.decoy B.tempt C.deduce D.lure
7.What a change from the days where I had to______myself up for at least a week before I could cope with a meeting with another human being.
A.prepare B.psych C.put D.talk
8.If you can't commit yourself to at least two or three practice sessions a week for the two months following the school term,you probably won't______much improvement into your game.
A.ingrain B.generate C.grain D.perforate
9.Of course,the dinner party is a social______，but according to the designers,who met in 1982 at a nightclub and founded their fashion empire three years later,it's also about appeasing appetites.
A.rule B.ritual C.action D.performance
10.These latest findings support the thesis that sexuality is______by nature rather than choice.
A.decided B.predestined C.foreordained D.predetermined
Ⅳ.Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the word or phrase given in the box.
survive beyond endure in truth avoid
derive in common thorough ensure reward
What do all people who achieve true excellence and consistently high performance have(1)______？
The answer isn't great genes,although they're nice to have.It's the willingness to push themselves(2)______their current limits day in and day out,despite the discomfort that creates,the sacrifice of more immediate gratification,and the uncertainty they'll be(3)______for their efforts.
The first way I've seen this is physically,my(4)______body.I work out regularly with weights.I do push myself to discomfort,and I've grown considerably stronger over the years.At 60，I'm stronger than I was at 30.
But(5)______，I rarely push myself to exhaustion.If I did,the evidence suggests I would get significantly stronger than I already am.The key here is intensity,not duration.If I was willing to push hard,I could do fewer repetitions,and(6)______more benefit in way less time than I invest now.
So why don't I do it？The answer,I'm slightly embarrassed to admit，is that I'm not prepared to(7)______more discomfort than I already do.The mind tricks us into thinking we've hit our limits long before we actually have.
Human beings have two powerful primal instincts.One is to(8)______pain,an instinct that helped us to(9)______when we were vulnerable to predators in the savanna.The other is to move towards pleasure,an instinct that once kept us foraging for food,which was scarce,and still helps to(10)______that we pass on our genes.
Ⅴ.Complete each of the following blanks with one of the four choices given.
The unavoidable truth is that the willingness to endure discomfort and sacrifice instant gratification is the only way to get better at(1)______，and to achieve true excellence.There are three keys to strengthening this counterintuitive(2)______:
1.Minimize temptation,which operates the same way the house does in a casino.It will always defeat you if you(3)______yourself to it for too long.Think about cake or cookies at an office party.If they sit there in front of you,you're eventually going to succumb.The same is true of incoming email.If you don't turn it off entirely at times,the ongoing pings will inevitably prove(4)______.
2.Push yourself to discomfort only for relatively short and specific periods of time.Interval training is(5)______on short bursts of high intensity exercise offset by rest and recovery.It's harder than aerobic training,(6)______it's also a more efficient,less time-consuming way to increase fitness.
3.Build energy(7)______—specific behaviors done at precise times—for your most difficult challenges.
Try beginning the day by focusing(8)______interruption on the most important challenge in front of you,for no more than 90 minutes,and then take a real renewal break.It's much easier to tolerate discomfort in short doses.Choose one area of your life and(9)______yourself just a little harder than you think is possible every day.You'll feel better about yourself,and over time,you'll get better at(10)______it is you're doing.
1.A.nothing B.something C.anything D.everything
2.A.capacity B.intelligence C.function D.role
3.A.disclose B.expose C.reveal D.prove
4.A.irresistible B.compelling C.attractive D.forcible
5.A.made B.built C.composed D.established
6.A.expect B.nevertheless C.but D.yet
7.A.ceremony B.formality C.beliefs D.rituals
8.A.within B.with C.on D.without
9.A.push B.force C.pull D.drive
10.A.however B.whatever C.anything D.no matter
Ⅵ.Translate the following sentences into Chinese.
1.They start their days with a clear and reasonable intention of what they plan to do,and then they work diligently throughout the day.
2.Here's the thing:the odds are against us getting our most important priorities accomplished.
3.For me,the allure of accomplishing lots of little details would often override my focus on the big things I value.
4.Because the more we continue to make the same mistakes,the more we ingrain the ineffective behaviors into our lives.
5.We no longer experience an unproductive day;we become unproductive people.
6.Given total freedom,most of us would spend far too much time browsing websites and eating sweets.
7.And being totally responsive to our environments would just have us running around like crazy catering to other people's agendas.
8.They simply modify our behavior as long as we practice them.Once we stop,we lose their benefit.
9.Once your identity changes,you are at risk of letting go of your rituals.
10.Our failures become our rituals,our rituals become our habits,and our habits become our identity.
Ⅶ.Translate the following sentences into English,using the words given in the parentheses.
1.一旦许诺，你就要遵守诺言。(stick to)
2.政府将重点发展公共租赁住房。(priority)
3.青春期少年在做决定和采取行动时往往欠缺考虑，不会预见可能发生的后果。(be prone to)
4.亚洲各国央行一直在增加市场干预，以抑制货币升值，从而为这些企业提供帮助。(intervention)
5.由于受到城市生活的诱惑，她离开了家。(lure)
6.中国政府正着力减少汽车尾气排放，汽车制造商为了迎合环境友好汽车这种需要而积极努力。(cater to)
7.信贷市场紧缩、消费者信心下滑以及油价高涨等因素交织在一起，降低了需求。(conspire)
8.在小公司，这种激励措施可能会简单而有效地使公司环保使命深入人心。(ingrain)
9.时间管理也需要成为我们的一种仪式。(ritual)
10.数十年来，心理学家们都有帮助高危人群的意愿。(at risk)