TED演讲:你真的知道你行为背后的动机吗(8)

 And this is of course important in your professional¹ life, as well, or it could be. 当然这在你的职业生涯中也很重要，或可能很重要。

If, say, you design something and then you ask people, "Why do you think this is good or bad?" 比如你设计了一样东西，然后问人们，“你为什么说它好，或者坏？”

Or if you're a journalist asking a politician², "So, why did you make this decision?" 或者如果你是一个记者，你问一个政治家，“你为什么要做这个决定？”

Or if indeed you are a politician and try to explain why a certain decision was made. 或者你就是一个政治家，并且尝试解释做出某一决定的原因。

So this may all seem a bit disturbing. 这一切看起来会有些让人不安。

But if you want to look at it from a positive direction, it could be seen as showing, 但是如果你从一个正面的角度来看，这可能就表明，

OK, so we're actually a little bit more flexible³ than we think. 好吧，我们实际上比自己想的要更灵活些。

We can change our minds. Our attitudes are not set in stone. 我们可以改变我们的想法。我们的态度也不是一成不变的。

And we can also change the minds of others, 并且我们也可以改变其他人的想法，

if we can only get them to engage⁴ with the issue⁵ and see it from the opposite view. 只要让他们深入讨论问题，并从对立的角度来看。

And in my own personal life, since starting with this research 在我个人的生活中，自从我开始这个实验。

So my partner and I, we've always had the rule that you're allowed to take things back. 我和我的合作者，我们一直遵守一项原则，就是你可以反悔。

Just because I said I liked something a year ago, doesn't mean I have to like it still. 就像我说的，一年前我喜欢的东西，并不意味着我现在还要喜欢它。

And getting rid of the need to stay consistent⁶ is actually a huge relief and makes relational life so mush easier to live. 摆脱对维持一致性的需要，其实是一个巨大的解脱，并且可以让我们更好的经营人际关系。

Anyway, so the conclusion must be: know that you don't know yourself. 总之，结论就是：要明白你不懂你自己。

Or at least not as well as you think you do. Thanks. 或者，至少不像你想的那么了解自己。谢谢。

 

1 professional   

adj.专业的；职业的；n.专业人员；职业运动员

参考例句：

• He is a professional tennis player.他是一名职业网球运动员。
• I need a professional to sort out my finances.我需要专业人士为我管理财务。

2 politician   

n.政客，政治人物，政治家

参考例句：

• The job of a politician is to serve the whole community.政治家的职责是为全体大众服务。
• You need to be a bit of a politician to succeed.你要获得成功，就需要有一点政客的手腕。

3 flexible   

adj.易曲的，灵活的，柔软的，能变形的，可通融的

参考例句：

• We need a foreign policy that is more flexible.我们需要一种更灵活的外交政策。
• We should stick to the principles and be flexible as well.我们既要有原则性，也要有灵活性。

4 engage   

vt.使从事于，使忙着；使订婚；雇用，聘；接合，啮合；vi. 从事于，参加

参考例句：

• I have no time to engage in the debate.我没时间参加辩论。
• It is difficult to engage teachers of quality.很难招聘到优秀教师。

5 issue   

n.出版，发行，（报刊等）期、号，论点，问题，结果， （水，血等的）流出；vt.使流出，放出，发行（钞票等），发布（命令），出版（书等）发给；vi.发行，流出，造成...结果，进行辩护，传下

参考例句：

• I bought the book the day after its issue.这书出版后的第一天，我就去买了它。
• I'll support her down the line on that issue.在那个问题上我将全力支持她。

6 consistent   

adj.坚持的，一贯的，一致的，符合的

参考例句：

• He has been a consistent friend to the Chinese people.他是中国人民始终如一的朋友。
• His action is always consistent with his words.他始终言行一致。