TED｜為什麼舒適會毁掉你的生活 (上) Why Comfort will Ruin your Life

TED

為什麼舒適會毁掉你的生活 (上) 

Why Comfort will Ruin your Life

演講者：Bill Eckstrom

Source: いらすとや

。決定金魚大小的是它的環境

。讓你感到舒適的事會毁了你，只有感到不舒服的狀態下你才能持續茁壯

。即使這件事讓我感到前所未有的不舒服，正正就是這種不舒服、脫軌的生活，才讓人生變得更好

。提及「成長環」（Growth Rings）這個概念

> 「停滯」是因為需要遵循太多步驟、權限及細節，從而扼殺了創造力、獨立思考和行動

> 「秩序」是知道你做的事或發生在你環境中的事會有可預測的結果，並在這預測中找到舒適感

> 當你感到不安、不舒服、「秩序」被破壞的時候，就表示你進入了「複雜」這一環

> 「混亂」的發生和結果是無法預測或控制的

# 逐字稿 Transcript （中英對照）

So, I was on a roll - I was an executive with a nice salary, annual bonuses and stock options, all the perks. Everything was on track... And on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at three o'clock in the afternoon, in a small conference room on the top floor of our building, the President of the company wanted to have a quick meeting with me which wasn't unusual since he was my boss, but the meeting turned out to be even more brief than expected.

我當時運勢當頭。身為高階主管，薪水也不錯，還有年終獎金、股票選擇權等等，該有的福利都有。一切都在軌道上。但在2008年1月7日星期一，下午3點，在一間頂樓的小會議室裡，公司的董事長希望跟我有一個短的小會議。畢竟他是我的老闆，這沒什麼不正常的。然而，這場會議出乎意料的短。

        。be on a roll 連連獲勝、好運連連

        。perk <n> 補貼、津貼、好處、額外待遇 

 

He fired me.

他把我辭退了。

And I'll never forget how his words just sucked the breath right out of me. And I left the conference room in a dazed state and I went home and curled up in my bed in the fetal position for three hours. And while I could go on in vivid detail about how I felt, what it did to my self-esteem, my finances and so on. What I now realize is while that event created the greatest amount of discomfort I had ever felt, it was that discomfort, the departure from my ordered life that forever changed it for the better.

我永遠也忘不了他當時的說的話是如何讓我喘不過氣來的。我迷茫地離開了會議室後，回到家在床上像嬰兒一樣蜷縮了三個小時。雖然我可以詳述這件事對我的感受、自尊心、財務狀況等等產生什麼變化，但是我現在暸解到，即使這件事讓我感到前所未有的不舒服，正正就是這種不舒服、脫軌的生活，才讓人生變得更好。

        。suck sth out of sb 把⋯吸乾、榨乾⋯價值

        。dazed <adj> 恍惚、眩暈、發懵

        。curl up <phrasal up> 蜷縮

        。fetal position <n> 胎位

        。vivid <adj> （描述、記憶等）栩栩如生的、生動地

        。depart from sth <phrasal v> 脫離、偏離

 

You see, friends, what makes you comfortable can ruin you, and what makes you uncomfortable is the only way to grow. Let me say that again.

朋友們，讓你感到舒適的事會毁了你，而讓你感到不舒服的事才是成長的唯一的途徑。讓我重申：

        。ruin <v> 毁掉、破壞

What makes you comfortable can ruin you, and only in a state of discomfort can you continually grow.

讓你感到舒適的事會毁了你，只有感到不舒服的狀態下你才能持續茁壯。

Now I suppose on January 8th had somebody come up and said "Gee Buddy, getting fired is a good thing because now you're really going to grow!" I probably would have smacked them. But pretty quickly I became motivated to start a new journey. And after a couple years of work with my new team and a PhD friend at the University of Nebraska we had this epiphany on how to illustrate and apply the science of discomfort and growth.

如果1月8日那天，有人對我說：「老兄，被辭退是件好事啊！這樣你才會成長啊！」我應該會打他一拳吧。幸運地，我很快地找到了開始新旅程的動力。在跟我的新團隊、Nebraska大學讀博士朋友合作幾年後，我們對如何說明和應用不舒服和成長之間的關聯有了頓悟。

        。smack <v> 打、掌摑

        。motivate <adj> 有積極性的、有動機的

        。epiphany <n> （對重要事物的）頓悟

        。illustrate <v> 說明、闡明

We call the concept "The Growth Rings".

我們稱這個概念為「成長環」。

The Growth Rings represent living environments that promote or hinder growth, and that includes everything from your place of work, to even a fish bowl... you see, what dictates the size of a gold fish is its environment, and while this goldfish lives in a very safe environment it's also very limiting in most every way. And when placed in a more robust environment, like say a small pond, this can be the result - now it also means he could be eaten. But friends, this is you - the environments in which you work, live and play they're all are a proverbial fish bowl that indicates your growth.

「成長環」代表促進或阻礙成長的生活環境，這包括所有東西，不論是你工作的地方，甚至是小至一個魚缸⋯⋯你想想，決定金魚大小的是它的環境。雖然金魚是生活在一個非常安全的環境，但是它在大多數方面也有很多限制。如果換作時在競爭較大的環境時，像是小池塘，也許會有這樣的結果——可能被吃掉。但是，朋友啊，這就是你——你工作、生活、玩樂的環境就如同是那個魚缸，決定你的成長。

        。hinder <v> 阻礙、妨礙

        。dictate <v> 影響、決定、要求

        。robust <adj> 強壯的、堅固的、耐用的、結實的

        。pond <n> 池塘

        。proverbial <adj> 如同諺語的

        。indicate <v> 表示、顯示、暗示

So, the first Growth Ring represents a low performing, low growth environment called Stagnation. Stagnation is understood by having to follow too many steps, and permissions and minutia that stifles creativity, independent thought and action. To imagine an environment such as this, think no further than our state and federal governments.

所以第一個「成長環」代表低續效、低成長的環境，稱為「停滯」。「停滯」是因為需要遵循太多步驟、權限及細節，從而扼殺了創造力、獨立思考和行動。如要想像一個「停滯」的環境，不用多想了，我們的州政府和聯邦政府就是這樣的狀態。

        。stagnation <n> 停滯、不景氣、淤塞

        。minutia <n> 細節、小事、瑣事

        。stifles <v> 扼殺、抑制、阻止

        。look no further 別再找了，就在眼前 

  

Now the antithesis of stagnation is chaos, also low growth and low performing, chaos can be caused by internal or external events or conditions. We see chaos occur at times in business mergers, natural disasters, and horrific events like 9-11. Chaos is having zero predictability or control over inputs and outcomes.

接著，「停滯」的正相反就是「混亂」，同樣是會導致低成長和低績效。「混亂」可能是由內部、外部的事件或條件引起的。在企業合併、大自然災害和駭人事件（如911）發生的時候，我們會看到「混亂」出現。「混亂」的發生和結果是無法預測或控制的。

        。antithesis <n> 正相反、對立、對照

        。chaos <n> 混亂、無秩序狀態

        。horrific <adj> 極其可怕的、令人震驚的 

Coming back down the Growth Rings next to Stagnation is the most desirable environment, Order. Order is knowing that what you do or what is happening in your environment leads to a predictable outcome, and in predictability comfort is found. But comfort, is also what makes Order so dangerous, because science shows that any time you continually do something or even think about something the same way, you will eventually stop growing. And this applies to every living thing - even our dog.

再回到「成長環」，「停滯」旁邊的是「秩序」——最理想的環境。「秩序」是知道你做的事或發生在你環境中的事會有可預測的結果，並在這預測中找到舒適感。但是，舒適感亦是令「秩序」這麼危險的原因。因為科學表明，只要你持續以同樣的方法在做一件事，或者沿用同一種思考方式，那麼你終將停止成長。這適用於所有生物——甚至是小狗。

        。desirable <adj> 令人嚮往的、渴望獲得的

        。lead to <phrasal v> 導致、引起

        。predictable <adj> 可預計的、意料之中的

You see if Aspen had a chance she'd choose comfort six days a week and twice on Sundays. But, too much growth limiting Order would have prevented her from becoming a therapy dog, and had this been allowed, think of the lives this gentle soul would not be touching today.

如果Aspen（講者的狗狗）有選擇權，牠會選擇一週六天、週日兩次都處於舒適的狀態。但是，太多限制成長的「秩序」會讓牠成為不了治療犬。如果牠真的可以做選擇的話，那麼牠今天就無法撫慰他人的心靈。

So, before your Oder continues to limit the way you think and act, remember what I said earlier ...

所以，在你的「秩序」繼續限制你的思想和行動前，請再想想我之前所說的⋯⋯

Growth ONLY occurs in a state of discomfort.

成長只會發生在不舒適的狀態下。

Now think about the power of that phrase: Growth only occurs in a state of discomfort. I can unequivocally state I wouldn't be standing on this stage today without my uncomfortable, Order disrupting day nine years ago. By the way, I'm not recommending you go get fired to see if it leads to a TED Talk, but when you feel discomfort hit, that means you've entered - the Complexity ring.

再想想這句話的力量：成長只會發生在不舒適的狀態下。我可以清晰地告訴你，若沒有九年前那個令我感到不安、破壞了原有「秩序」的一天，我今天就不會站在這個台上。順便說一下，我不是在建議說，你們要故意讓自己被開除，然後看會不會可以在TED Talk的台上演講。但是，當你感到不安、不舒服的時候，就表示你進入了「複雜」這一環。

        。unequivocal <adj> 完全的、表達明確的、毫不含糊的

        。disrupt <v> 打斷、中斷、擾亂

        。by the way 順便說一下／問一下

        。recommend <v> 推薦、介紹、建議

Complexity is nothing more than changed Order, but when your Order is changed outcomes are no longer predictable, and it's unpredictability that makes you uncomfortable. And while most times your visceral response to discomfort is not just "no", but "hell no", you can actually learn how empowering it is to consciously acknowledge discomfort. And then when appropriate, choose Complexity over Order. And I know seeking discomfort sounds odd and not many people do it, but you have to learn to embrace it, because it's the only environment where sustained or exponential growth can occur.

「複雜」只不過就是改變「秩序」，但是當「秩序」被收變時，結果就不再是可預測的，正是這種無法預測讓你感到不舒服。大部分的時候，你對不舒服的本能反應不只是「不」，而是「絕不」。你其實可以發現有意識地去感受不舒適是有多重要。然後在適當的時候，選擇「複雜」而不是「秩序」。我知道主動去尋找不舒適是一件奇怪的事，而且沒有很多人會這樣做，但是你要學會接受它，因為這是唯一讓你維持成長或是成長越快的環境。

        。visceral <adj> 發自內心的、發自肺腑的

        。empower <v> 給某人做⋯的權力、授權、使自主

        。consciously <adv> 有意識地、自覺地

        。embrace <v> 接受、擁抱

        。sustain <v> 維持、支持、忍受

        。exponential <adj> 越來越快的、指數的

英文逐字稿來源：Ecsell Institute

譯者：本部落格作者（藍色小樹熊）

＊翻譯只供參考

# 詞彙 Vocab （詳解, 3D筆記術）

1. no further than

        = 再也不、不超過、沒有比

        e.g. If you are looking for miracles, you need to look no further than nature.

                如果你在找奇蹟，眼前的大自然就是（無需捨近求遠、再也不用找）

        > 常見配搭： verb ＋ no further than 

        > 其他：go further / take sth further 推進、促進

                        例句．go any further with the project 推進這個計劃

                              ．take the matter further 採取進一步行動

2. dazed <adj> /day．s．d/

        = 發懵的、恍惚的、眩暈的、very confused and unable to think clearly

        e.g. 恍惚的神情 a dazed expression

        > 常見配搭： appear / be / feel / look / seem / sound + dazed

                           leave sb dazed

                           a bit / a little / slightly + dazed

                           dazed + look / expression / condition/ state / way

3. vivid <adj> /vi．vi．d/

        = 詳細的、生動的、very clear, powerful and detailed images

        > 常見配搭：be / remain + vivid

                            extraordinarily / extremely / very / wonderfully + vivid

        = 鮮艷的、明亮的、very brightly coloured

        > 常見配搭：extraordinarily / extremely / very / quite / really + vivid

        e.g. remain vivid in my mind/memory, remain vivid for the rest of my life

                very vivid picture / imagination / description / memory of

                a vivid [colour]

        

4. hinder <v> /hin．der/

        = 阻礙、防礙、to limit the ability of someone to do sth / limit the development of sth

        > 常見配搭：greatly / seriously + hinder

                            be likely to / tend to + hinder

                            help or hinder you in sth

        e.g. greatly hinder the development/progress/ability/growth of

                more likely to hinder than to help/assist

5. robust <adj> /ro．bus．s．t/

        = 強壯的、堅固的、耐用的、strong & healthy (person/animal), strong & unlikely to break/fail (object/system)

        > 常見配搭：robust design of, a robust economy

                            the [patient, elderly woman] is in robust health

                            has robust faith in [others, the human race, God]

                            had a robust [debate, argument] [about, over]

6. proverbial <adj> /pro．verb．bi．oh/

        = 像諺語中的、如同俗話所說的、as used in a proverb/other phrase

        = 眾所周知的、well known

        e.g. the tip of the proverbial iceberg 冰山一角

                as the proverbial crow flies 烏鴉會一直線飛到想到的地方，不拐彎抹角

                look for/search for/find the proverbial needle in the haystack 大海撈針

                the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back 壓垮駱駝的最後一根稻草

            *常與諺語一起配搭

7. minutia （複數：minutiae）<n> /min．nu．si．a/

        = 細枝末節、瑣事、小事、small & often not important details

        e.g. the minutiae of the report 研究報告的具體細節

                the minutiae of everyday life 日常生活中的瑣事

                fascinating minutiae of, detailed minutiae of 

8. stifle <v> /s．die．ful/

        = 窒息、喘不上氣、unable to breathe because you have no air

        = 阻止、壓制、to prevent sth from happening, being expressed, continuing

        e.g. stifle a [giggle, laugh, chuckle]

                stifle the [development, growth] of

                to stifle free speech/criticism of/the voice/freedom of

9. chaos [U] /k．os/

        = 混亂、無秩序狀態、a state of total confusion with no order

        > 常見配搭：in [mass, huge, great, enormous] chaos

                            [administrative, domestic, economic, political, traffic] chaos

                            [absolute, complete, total, utter] chaos

                            [bring, cause, create, lead to, end in, result in] chaos

                            [be plunged/thrown into, descend/slide into] chaos

                            [out of, reign of, edge of, state of, scene of] chaos

                            on / to the brink of chaos

                            order out of chaos 亂中有序

        e.g. Chaos broke out when the fire started.

        We muddled up the name labels and chaos ensued. 弄亂姓名牌，結果一片混亂

10. unequivocal <adj> /un．e．q．va．musical/

        = 完全的、表達明確的、毫不含糊的、total, or expressed in a clear & certain way

        e.g. an unequivocal answer to the question

                an unequivocal statement of the result

                unequivocal [support, sign, message, expression, evidence]

參考字典：Cambridge Dictionary、Netspeak、Ozdic、英漢字典（app）、WordReference (English Collocations)