Negative thinking is one of the biggest obstacles we face in experiencing more happiness, but there's hope. Here are two strategies based on cognitive¹ behavioral therapy to defeat your negative thinking.

负面思考是我们在获得更多幸福时所面对最大的阻碍之一，不过还是有解决办法。以下是根据认知行为治疗所提出的两种击退负面思考的方法。

 

The first is to distract. When you're heading into a social gathering² and you begin to wonder, What if I don't connect with anyone? Am I even likable? do something that lifts your mood. Generating a positive emotion will counteract³ the anxiety you feel— listen to a song that makes you smile or take a moment to appreciate people in your life who love you. Positive emotions literally⁴ undo⁵ the effects of anxiety by lowering our heart rate and muscle tension.

第一种是分散注意力。当你去到一个社交聚会，然后你开始心想「万一我和谁都聊不来怎么办？会有人喜欢我吗？」时，做件能提振心情的事吧。激发正面情绪能抵消你的焦虑感－－听一首会让自己微笑的歌，或花点时间体会一下生命中爱着你的那些人。正面情绪真的能藉由降低心率和肌肉紧张度来消去焦虑的影响。

 

We often believe that our negative thinking is true. But in reality, our minds feed us messages that range from mild embellishments to outright⁶ lies. Here, we might prefer to combat.

我们常相信自己的负面思考是真实的。但在现实中，我们的大脑常提供我们一些讯息，从稍作渲染的信息到全然的谎言都有。这时，我们或许会想选择战斗。

 

Imagine yourself in court. You are the prosecutor⁷, and your negative thought is the defendant⁸. He's guilty, and you know it, but he's pleading not guilty and sticking to his story. Your task is to get the judge to hear your side. So when the negative thought shouts out, "You're not good enough at your job," you need to consult the evidence you have at your disposal to prove it wrong, argue back with the strongest piece of evidence you can find. For example, "I am good enough because every performance review I've had has been positive. I'm currently being considered for that promotion⁹, and my boss told me last week how much she enjoys working with me." Bring your best version of a tough lawyer to that courtroom and convince the judge that the negative thought doesn't deserve his or her attention—after all, the judge is you.

想象自己在法庭上。你是检察官，你的负面想法是被告。他有罪，你心知肚明，不过他一直辩说自己没罪，而且坚持他的说法。你的任务就是要让法官听你这方的说词。所以当负面想法大喊：「你在工作上不够有能力」，你得利用手边拥有的证据来证实这是错的，用你所能找到最有力的证据反击回去。例如，「我够好，因为我每次的绩效考核都是好的。我现在是那个升迁机会的候选人，而且我老板上礼拜才跟我说她有多喜欢和我共事。」在法庭上表现出你最强悍的律师那面，说服法官不用理会负面想法－－毕竟，那法官就是你自己。

 

Both of these strategies, distract and combat, are skills anyone can learn and get better at with practice. Remember, with each negative thought you defeat, you've successfully earned your own happiness.

这两种策略，分散注意力和战斗，是任何人都可以学习并且熟能生巧的技能。记住，每击退一个负面想法，你就成功获得属于自己的幸福快乐。

点击收听单词发音