Day 320: On Change as a Cold Bath

第320天：关于 将“改变”视为冷水浴

A great change in life is like a cold bath in winter — we all hesitate at the first plunge.

生活中的巨大改变就像冬天里的冷水浴——我们都会在第一次下水前犹豫不决。

—Letitia Elizabeth Landon

Hesitation is normal when you face a big change in life. After all, you’re facing the unknown, and what’s unknown is scary. In the end, though, the longer you stare into the abyss, the more frightening it appears, and the more difficult it is to jump into it.

当面对人生中的重大改变时，犹豫是正常的。

毕竟，你面对的是未知，而未知是令人恐惧的。

然而，最终，你凝视深渊的时间越长，它看起来就越可怕，跳进去就越困难。

For this reason, it might be useful to think of a great change as being similar to taking a cold bath — the less time you give yourself to worry about how cold it might be, the more likely you are to actually jump into it.

正因如此，把重大改变想象成冷水浴可能会有所帮助——你给自己担心可能会有多冷的时间越少，你就越有可能真的跳进去。

For example, instead of wondering how tiring and uncomfortable it will be to go running, just put on your sports shoes and get out of the house. The more time you spend meditating on how unpleasant it might possibly be, the more likely it is that hesitation will kill any remnants of willpower you still have inside of you.

例如，与其纠结去跑步会有多累和多不舒服，不如直接穿上运动鞋走出家门。

你花在思考它可能有多不愉快上的时间越多，这种犹豫就越有可能扼杀你体内残存的意志力。

When decluttering your house, the same strategy can help you resist the temptation to keep things out of sentiment. Some old items are indeed so valuable that it might be worth it to keep them, but more often than not, people who tend to accumulate things use this rationalization for every piece of junk. Give yourself three seconds. During those three seconds, if you can’t come up with any powerful memory that the item gives you, throw it away.

在清理房屋时，同样的策略可以帮助你抵御出于情感保留物品的诱惑。

有些旧物品确实非常有价值，值得保留，但往往那些倾向于囤积物品的人会对每一件垃圾都用这种理由来解释保留。

给自己三秒钟。

在这三秒钟内，如果想不出这件物品能够给你带来的任何深刻记忆，就扔掉它。

If you need to make a difficult phone call or have an uncomfortable conversation, hesitation will make it even scarier. By taking the plunge as quickly as possible, you’ll prevent your anxiety from growing and probably resolve the situation more effectively than if you were to wait.

如果你需要打一个困难的电话或进行一次不愉快的谈话，犹豫不决会让事情变得更加可怕。

如果你能尽快做出决定，就能避免焦虑情绪的加剧，并可能比等待更有效地解决这种情况。