[翻譯]如何控制你的大腦以達到最佳效能--(3)大腦的作用

Ultimately, your brain is lazy: It will focus on whatever you tell it to. Consider this: The last time you were looking to buy a car, you likely came down to one or two styles that appealed. Most likely, you began seeing these styles everywhere you went. Was there suddenly an uptick in the amount of these models being purchased in your area? Not likely. Then why were you seeing these around you when you never noticed them before? That impression is arrived at through a process called priming. We prime our brains to search for evidence and examples of whatever we tell it to. When you told yours the types of cars you were interested in, it found as many examples as possible to support this focus.

最終，你的大腦是懶惰的，它會專注在任何你告訴它的事情上。想想上一次你想買一部新車，你可能會選擇其中一兩種吸引你的款式。接著你很有可能開始在任何所到之處發現這些款式的車子。你去的那些地方類似車款是否突然銷量大增？可能沒有。那為什麼你會看到那些你從未曾注意到的車呢？這種印象是由一種叫做啟動的過程造成。我們啟動大腦命令他們搜尋證據或例子。當你告訴自己感興趣的車款時，它(你的大腦)會盡可能地為你找出最多的例證，去支持你的想法。

How can you use this same approach when it comes to professional functioning? One way is to decide what perspective you want to have regarding work. If you tell your brain that you hate your job, it will search for and provide evidence of why you should feel that way —  all you will see is data aligned with that thought. So, how do you apply priming so that it works for you instead of against you?

如何在專業工作中使用同樣的方法？其中之一是決定你想對工作有何種看法。如果你告訴大腦，你討厭工作，它就會搜尋支持此種想法的證據，所有你看到的資訊都將符合這樣的想法。所以你該如何使用這種方法，讓它為你所用而非與你對抗呢？

It may be true that you do not like your job, but you can tell your brain that you appreciate earning money while you look for new opportunities. It will then search for examples that support that idea of appreciation, and will also search for areas of opportunity. You don't have to create an inaccurate statement about your job and lie to your brain, but you can decide which aspect of the situation it spends time and energy on. This strategy allows you to function at your optimal level instead of being drained of focus and power.

你可能真的不喜歡你的工作，但你可以告訴大腦， 幸好當你在尋求新的機會時能賺錢補貼生活開支。它(大腦)將會尋找證據證明，同時也會找尋可能的機會所在。你無須憑空捏造不合於工作現狀的謊言欺騙你的大腦，但你可以決定你的大腦在哪方面投入時間、精力。這種策略讓你能以最佳效能工作而非使你的專注力與精力消耗殆盡。