英语流利说level7.docx

英语流利说level7.docx

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英语流利说level7

1.Unit1part1Onprocrastination

Soincollege,Iwasagovernmentmajor,whichmeansIhadtowritealotofpapers.Now,whenanormalstudentwritesapaper,theymightspreadtheworkoutalittlelikethis.So,youknow--yougetstartedmaybealittleslowly,butyougetenoughdoneinthefirstweekthat,withsomeheavierdayslateron,everythinggetsdone,thingsstaycivil.AndIwouldwanttodothatlikethat.Thatwouldbetheplan.Iwouldhaveitallreadytogo,butthen,actually,thepaperwouldcomealong,andthenIwouldkindofdothis.

Andthatwouldhappeneverysinglepaper.Butthencamemy90-pageseniorthesis,apaperyou'resupposedtospendayearon.AndIknewforapaperlikethat,mynormalworkflowwasnotanoption.Itwaswaytoobigaproject.SoIplannedthingsout,andIdecidedIkindofhadtogosomethinglikethis.Thisishowtheyearwouldgo.SoI'dstartofflight,andI'dbumpitupinthemiddlemonths,andthenattheend,Iwouldkickitupintohighgearjustlikealittlestaircase.Howhardcoulditbetowalkupthestairs?

Nobigdeal,right?

Butthen,thefunniestthinghappened.Thosefirstfewmonths?

Theycameandwent,andIcouldn'tquitedostuff.Sowehadanawesomenewrevisedplan.

Andthen--Butthenthosemiddlemonthsactuallywentby,andIdidn'treallywritewords,andsowewerehere.Andthentwomonthsturnedintoonemonth,whichturnedintotwoweeks.

AndonedayIwokeupwiththreedaysuntilthedeadline,stillnothavingwrittenaword,andsoIdidtheonlythingIcould:

Iwrote90pagesover72hours,pullingnotonebuttwoall-nighters--humansarenotsupposedtopulltwoall-nighters--sprintedacrosscampus,doveinslowmotion,andgotitinjustatthedeadline.

Ithoughtthatwastheendofeverything.ButaweeklaterIgetacall,andit'stheschool.Andtheysay,"IsthisTimUrban?

"AndIsay,"Yeah."Andtheysay,"Weneedtotalkaboutyourthesis."AndIsay,"OK."Andtheysay,"It'sthebestonewe'veeverseen."Thatdidnot HappenS.r.l.OfficialWebSiteNEW wasavery,verybadthesis.Ijustwantedtoenjoythatonemomentwhenallofyouthought,"Thisguyisamazing!

"No,no,itwasvery,verybad.

Anyway,todayI'mawriter-bloggerguy.IwritetheblogWaitButWhy.Andacoupleofyearsago,Idecidedtowriteaboutprocrastination.Mybehaviorhasalwaysperplexedthenon-procrastinatorsaroundme,andIwantedtoexplaintothenon-procrastinatorsoftheworldwhatgoesonintheheadsofprocrastinators,andwhywearethewayweare.

Now,Ihadahypothesisthatthebrainsofprocrastinatorswereactuallydifferentthanthebrainsofotherpeople.Andtotestthis,IfoundanMRIlabthatactuallyletmescanbothmybrainandthebrainofaprovennon-procrastinator,soIcouldcomparethem.Iactuallybroughtthemheretoshowyoutoday.Iwantyoutotakealookcarefullytoseeifyoucannoticeadifference.Iknowthatifyou'renotatrainedbrainexpert,it'snotthatobvious,butjusttakealook,OK?

Sohere'sthebrainofanon-procrastinator.Now...here'smybrain.

Thereisadifference.BothbrainshaveaRationalDecision-Makerinthem,buttheprocrastinator'sbrainalsohasanInstantGratificationMonkey.Now,whatdoesthismeanfortheprocrastinator?

Well,itmeanseverything'sfineuntilthishappens.[Thisisaperfecttimetogetsomeworkdone.][Nope!

]SotheRationalDecision-Makerwillmaketherationaldecisiontodosomethingproductive,buttheMonkeydoesn'tlikethatplan,soheactuallytakesthewheel,andhesays,"Actually,let'sreadtheentireWikipediapageoftheNancyKerrigan/TonyaHardingscandal,becauseIjustrememberedthatthathappened.

Then--Thenwe'regoingtogoovertothefridge,toseeifthere'sanythingnewintheresince10minutesago.Afterthat,we'regoingtogoonaYouTubespiralthatstartswithvideosofRichardFeynmantalkingaboutmagnetsandendsmuch,muchlaterwithuswatchinginterviewswithJustinBieber'smom.Allofthat'sgoingtotakeawhile,sowe'renotgoingtoreallyhaveroomonthescheduleforanyworktoday.Sorry!

Now,whatisgoingonhere?

TheInstantGratificationMonkeydoesnotseemlikeaguyyouwantbehindthewheel.Helivesentirelyinthepresentmoment.Hehasnomemoryofthepast,noknowledgeofthefuture,andheonlycaresabouttwothings:

easyandfun.Now,intheanimalworld,thatworksfine.Ifyou'readogandyouspendyourwholelifedoingnothingotherthaneasyandfunthings,you'reahugesuccess!

AndtotheMonkey,humansarejustanotheranimalspecies.Youhavetokeepwell-slept,well-fedandpropagatingintothenextgeneration,whichintribaltimesmighthaveworkedOK.But,ifyouhaven'tnoticed,nowwe'renotintribaltimes.We'reinanadvancedcivilization,andtheMonkeydoesnotknowwhatthatis.Whichiswhywehaveanotherguyinourbrain,theRationalDecision-Maker,whogivesustheabilitytodothingsnootheranimalcando.Wecanvisualizethefuture.Wecanseethebigpicture.Wecanmakelong-termplans.Andhewantstotakeallofthatintoaccount.Andhewantstojusthaveusdowhatevermakessensetobedoingrightnow.

Now,sometimesitmakessensetobedoingthingsthatareeasyandfun,likewhenyou'rehavingdinnerorgoingtobedorenjoyingwell-earnedleisuretime.That'swhythere'sanoverlap.Sometimestheyagree.Butothertimes,itmakesmuchmoresensetobedoingthingsthatareharderandlesspleasant,forthesakeofthebigpicture.Andthat'swhenwehaveaconflict.Andfortheprocrastinator,thatconflicttendstoendacertainwayeverytime,leavinghimspendingalotoftimeinthisorangezone,aneasyandfunplacethat'sentirelyoutoftheMakesSensecircle.IcallittheDarkPlayground.

Now,theDarkPlaygroundisaplacethatallofyouprocrastinatorsoutthereknowverywell.It'swhereleisureactivitieshappenattimeswhenleisureactivitiesarenotsupposedtobehappening.ThefunyouhaveintheDarkPlaygroundisn'tactuallyfun,becauseit'scompletelyunearned,andtheairisfilledwithguilt,dread,anxiety,self-hatred--allofthosegoodprocrastinatorfeelings.Andthequestionis,inthissituation,withtheMonkeybehindthewheel,howdoestheprocrastinatorevergethimselfoverheretothisbluezone,alesspleasantplace,butwherereallyimportantthingshappen?

Well,turnsouttheprocrastinatorhasaguardianangel,someonewho'salwayslookingdownonhimandwatchingoverhiminhisdarkestmoments--someonecalledthePanicMonster.Now,thePanicMonsterisdormantmostofthetime,buthesuddenlywakesupanytimeadeadlinegetstoocloseorthere'sdangerofpublicembarrassment,acareerdisasterorsomeotherscaryconsequence.Andimportantly,he'stheonlythingtheMonkeyisterrifiedof.

Now,hebecameveryrelevantinmylifeprettyrecently,becausethepeopleofTEDreachedouttomeaboutsixmonthsagoandinvitedmetodoaTEDTalk.Now,ofcourse,Isaidyes.It'salwaysbeenadreamofminetohavedoneaTEDTalkinthepast.Butinthemiddleofallthisexcitement,theRationalDecision-Makerseemedtohavesomethingelseonhismind.

Hewassaying,"Areweclearonwhatwejustaccepted?

Dowegetwhat'sgoingtobenowhappeningonedayinthefuture?

Weneedtositdownandworkonthisrightnow."AndtheMonkeysaid,"Totallyagree,butlet'sjustopenGoogleEarthandzoomintothebottomofIndia,like200feetabovetheground,andscrollupfortwoandahalfhourstilwegettothetopofthecountry,sowecangetabetterfeelforIndia."Sothat'swhatwedidthatday.

Assixmonthsturnedintofourandthentwoandthenone,thepeopleofTEDdecidedtoreleasethespeakers.AndIopenedupthewebsite,andtherewasmyfacestaringrightbackatme.Andguesswhowokeup?

SothePanicMonsterstartslosinghismind,andafewsecondslater,thewholesystem'sinmayhem.AndtheMonkey--remember,he'sterrifiedofthePanicMonster--boom,he'supthetree!

Andfinally,finally,theRationalDecision-MakercantakethewheelandIcanstartworkingonthetalk.

Now,thePanicMonsterexplainsallkindsofprettyinsaneprocrastinatorbehavior,likehowsomeonelikemecouldspendtwoweeksunabletostarttheopeningsentenceofapaper,andthenmiraculouslyfindtheunbelievableworkethictostayupallnightandwriteeightpages.Andthisentiresituation,withthethreecharacters--thisistheprocrastinator'ssystem.It'snotpretty,butintheend,itworks.ThisiswhatIdecidedtowriteaboutontheblogacoupleofyearsago.

Andtheywereallwriting,sayingthesamething:

"Ihavethisproblemtoo."Butwhatstruckmewasthecontrastbetweenthelighttoneofthepostandtheheavinessoftheseemails.Thesepeoplewerewritingwithintensefrustrationaboutwhatprocrastinationhaddonetotheirlives,aboutwhatthisMonkeyhaddonetothem.AndIthoughtaboutthis,andIsaid,well,iftheprocrastinator'ssystemworks,thenwhat'sgoingon?

Whyareallofthesepeopleinsuchadarkplace?

WhenIdid,Iwasamazedbytheresponse.Literallythousandsofemailscamein,fromalldifferentkindsofpeoplefromallovertheworld,doingalldifferentkindsofthings.Thesearepeoplewhowerenurses,bankers,painters,engineersandlotsandlotsofPhDstudents.Andtheywereallwriting,sayingthesamething:

"Ihavethisproblemtoo."Butwhatstruckmewasthecontrastbetweenthelighttoneofthepostandtheheavinessoftheseemails.Thesepeoplewerewritingwithintensefrustrationaboutwhatprocrastinationhaddonetotheirlives,aboutwhatthisMonkeyhaddonetothem.AndIthoughtaboutthis,andIsaid,well,iftheprocrastinator'ssystemworks,thenwhat'sgoing