如何使难题变简单？“为什么我还在拖拖拉拉？”，你们大概知道我要说什么了—— 这些可怕的任务让你忽略了现实。它只是被你列在准备要做的事情的清单里，随时等待解决。但是由于某些原因你还在检查电子邮件，而5分钟前你刚刚检查过，你想也许现在有一个重要的电子邮件需要留意。
Does this sound like somebody you know? 你是否觉得这人挺熟悉？ This is a common theme throughout many of our work days. We keep avoiding a difficult task because we are afraid to face it. 这是贯穿在我们工作中的共同点：我们一直回避困难的任务，因为我们害怕面对它。 The questions of… 问题是： What if I **** it up? 如果我...，...会怎么样？ What if I can’t do it by myself? 如果我自己完不成怎么办? What if I look stupid? 如果我挺笨的怎么办？ These debilitating questions can kill the motivation of even the strongest person, especially if these questions are left to fester. Once the wound is open, it’s hard to ignore it. Worry creeps in and it won’t let go. 这些打击人积极性的问题甚至可以扼杀掉最坚强的人的动力。如果任由它像脓包一样溃烂，情况会更糟。一旦有了一丝这样的想法，人们便很难忽略它。我们开始焦虑，而且挥之不去。 Here are some of the concepts that I use to overcome my dread of a difficult task: 我常用以下的方法来克服对艰巨任务的恐惧： Start now 从现在开始 When you let your molehill turn into a mountain, the fear only builds and builds until you face it. That means you just have to jump in and get started. Once you start, you will begin to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Breaking down the task in parts will make it seem possible and actually enjoyable to do. 当你将那些琐事堆积成山，对它们恐惧只会与日俱增，直到你面对它。这意味着你只能快马加鞭，重新开始。在开始时，你要找出自己的长处和弱点。把任务分解，这会使它看起来更可行甚至有趣。 Separate the hard parts from the easy parts 分解成难和易两部分 Every task has its hard and easy parts. When you can separate the two, you can pick the type of work that fits your mood. Let’s say you work best in the late morning. You can then choose to pick the hardest tasks for this time period. If your energy dips in the late afternoon, you can choose to do work that is easier and uses less brain power during this time. 每一项工作都有其难易部分。分开后，就可以选择做适合你当前状态的那部分。比方说，你在半上午时工作状态最好。然后，在这个时候，可以选择最难的那部分。如果在傍晚精力达到低谷，在此期间，可以选择做比较容易的用脑力较少的工作。 Enjoy the emotional challenge 享受情绪挑战 Difficult tasks are usually avoided because of the suffering that they may cause. You worry about how you might become frustrated, angry or sad. Acknowledging these feelings is a great first step in building your emotional strength. 避免困难的任务通常是因为它们可能造成的痛苦。你担心你可能会沮丧、生气或难过。承认这些情绪是锻炼情绪承受能力的第一步。 A friend of mine told me that before she had kids, her patience was minimal. After having two kids, she has the patience of a saint. I’m always impressed with her calm demeanor when she is telling her kids to stop screaming while she is talking on the phone. She has this calm quality of a Zen master. 一个朋友告诉我，在有孩子前，她很没耐心。但是有两个孩子后，她几乎有了圣人所有的耐心。当她边打电话边让孩子停止尖叫时，她所表现的平和的态度给我留下深刻的印象。她甚至有禅师般的平和。 You can use a difficult challenge to become more patient, more relaxed, or just quicker to release frustration when you engage your emotional development at work. 你可以利用艰巨的挑战使自己变得更有耐心，更放松，或者是更快地发泄控制工作情绪时产生的挫折感。 Figure out how this task will help the future you 让任务有助于你以后的发展 When I was an assistant teacher, I dreaded the days when the head teacher was sick. It meant that I had to be the disciplinarian, time keeper, leader and so many other roles. It was easier to just follow the head teacher’s lead. I kept thinking these thoughts until I realized that I could use the experience to my advantage, because I wanted to be a teacher some day (little did I know I would be a teacher of work happiness). 当我还是一名助教时，我最害怕班主任生病。这意味着我必须是纪律委员、计时员、班长还有许多其他的角色。按照班主任的指导，工作变得容易得多。当时，我一直在想这些指导，直到我意识到，这些丰富的经验将是我的优势，因为将来我想成为一名老师（那时还不知道我将是一名幸福工作着的老师）。 I embraced the work as a way to become stronger instead of trying to avoid it. 我开始喜欢这份工作并以此来增强实力，而不是努力回避。 Chip away everyday 逐日瓦解 You may look back at the end of the busy day and realize you didn’t get half of what you wanted accomplished. This usually happens because you did the light work instead of the heavy lifting. The way to feel fulfilled at the end of the day is to tackle the difficult tasks early so you can ease up when your energy wanes. 在忙碌的一天结束时，回顾一下，会发现你没有完成之前准备完成的事情的一半。这通常是因为你只做了简单工作，而不是繁重的部分。在一天工作结束时，有成就感的方法就是尽早解决难题，这样在精力不济时就可以放松了。 You’ll be impressed at the end of the week at how much you really were able to accomplish. 在周末时，你会发现自己能完成多少工作，这会使你印象深刻。 Find someone that wants to help you 找想要帮助你的人帮忙 A difficult task is dreaded because of all the work that lies before you. You feel like you can’t do it all by yourself. And you shouldn’t. That’s why finding someone to help you is very important to your emotional health. This person can be a creative sounding board as well as someone you can complain to when things don’t go quite right. 棘手的任务可怕是因为你要面对所有的工作。你觉得靠你自己无法完成。但你也不该只靠自己完成这些棘手的任务。这也是为什么找人帮忙对你的情绪健康非常重要的原因。你寻求帮助的这个人可以是一个可以征询意见的有创意的人，也可以是一个当事情进展不顺时可以倾诉的人。 Find someone who doesn’t have all the same strengths as you. Try to match yourself with a person who can make up for your weaknesses and complement your strengths. 找那些和你的优势不同的人。试着对比自己与那些能够弥补你的缺点补充你的优点的人。 Ask yourself, “Am I the right person for the job?” 问问自己：“这个职位适不适合我？” There are some jobs that just don’t fit with your strengths. Heck, you can’t be good at everything. When working for someone, you may not have the power to turn down a project. That is why #6 is even more important. Adding people to your team will allow you to work on tasks that are aligned with your strengths. 有一些工作，就是不符合自己的长处。因为你不可能把所有事都做得很好。为他人工作时，你可能没有权力拒绝一个项目。这就是第6点为什么重要的原因了。加入其它人到你的团队中，你就可以去完成项目中与自己优势相关的工作了。 If you are repeatedly given work that you don’t like, then you may need to make a change. You have an obligation to yourself to do work that makes you feel successful. 如果分配给你的工作总是你不喜欢的，那么你可能需要调整下。你有权利做让自己感到成功的工作。 Share your insights with others 与他人分享见解 The bonus to working on a difficult task is the knowledge that you will gain. It’s a great feeling to have this knowledge, but you need to take it to the next level. Try sharing it with others via blog, newsletter, over the phone or in person. You’ll love the reaction from your audience. 你将获得奖励是从棘手问题中学到的知识。能了解有这方面的知识是一种美妙的感觉，但你必须把这种感觉提高到一个新的水平。尝试通过博客、邮件、电话或者面对面地与人分享。你会喜欢听众们的反应的。 And that’s the best part of teaching. Teachers learn as much as their students. 教师和学生学习得一样多。这是教学中最美妙的事。 |
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