[翻譯]如何控制你的大腦以達到最佳效能--(2)言語的作用

As a professional, you are likely aware of the power of words. These can be used to motivate or demoralize, strengthen or undermine, but how often do you think about the ones you use on yourself? Such words might be the conscious ones you say to yourself as well as unconscious or whispered things. I find that it's helpful to ask, “Would I say the same things to fellow colleagues or to my team?” For many professionals, words that they say to empower others are not directed at themselves.

身為專業人士你可能會覺察到言語的力量。言語可以使人感到激勵或意志消沉；強化或削弱，但你多常考慮那些用在自己身上的字詞語彙？那些話語可能是有意識地對自己說，也可能是無意識或呢喃自語。我發現自問：「我會對我的同事或是我的團隊說一樣的話嗎？」非常有幫助。對很多專業人士來說，他們並不會對自己說能夠使他人掌握自己命運的話語。

The problem, once again, is that words create thoughts, followed by emotions that can be detrimental to optimal functioning. These may be obvious, such as calling yourself an “idiot” for making a mistake, or telling yourself that you “aren't as skilled as others think.” You might catch yourself thinking that you are likely to fail at something important. These words create undermining thoughts, which in turn generate emotions aligned with them.

再次強調，問題在於言語創造想法，想法控制情緒，而情緒可能有害於達成最佳效率。這是非常明顯的，就像你犯錯時叫自己「白癡」，或是告訴自己「你並沒有別人想的那麼熟練」。你可能發現某些要事有很大的機會失敗。這些話語創造破壞性思想，而思想產生與其一致的情緒。

There are also smaller words that can create an internal climate that sabotages your goals. Examples include “should,” “have to,” “need to” and “must” — which create thoughts of not doing enough, not being enough, or of falling behind peers. They also create the illusion that you are being forced to do certain things. And again, these words generate emotions: You might experience pressure, stress or guilt, and might then make decisions out of desperation to prove yourself, which will not allow you to function in an optimal or healthy way.

也有一些比較不受注意的字眼造成破壞目標的內在風暴。例如：「應該」、「必須」、「需要」與「務必」，這些字眼創造了做得不夠、還不夠或落後於同儕的想法。同時也創造了你被強迫做某些事的幻覺。且再一次地，這些字眼產生情緒，你可能經歷壓力或內疚，並出於絕望而做出為了證明自己的決定。但這不允許你以最佳狀態或健康的方式生活、工作或思考。

To avoid creating an internal climate of negative thoughts and emotions, replace these pressure words with power words — options like “want” and “will” can change an internal dialogue and put control back in your hands. For example, instead of telling yourself that you should go into work to review practice for the presentation so you don’t mess up, the internal dialogue becomes, “I will go into work to practice because I want to be confident about the presentation.” Changing the pressure word of “should” to “will” and “want,” and shifting the focus from making a mistake to building confidence puts you back in control of thoughts and emotions.

為了避免產生消極想法、情緒的內在風暴，以有力的字眼替換這些壓力字眼。你有以下選擇，像是：「想要」、「將會」，可以改變內在的自我對話並將控制權掌握在你手中。舉例來說，將自我對話改為「我將會開始練習，因為我想要在演講表現出自信」，而非告訴自己「你必須開始準備演講的事前練習、複習以免搞砸」。將壓力字眼「應該」替換為「想要」、「將會」，並將重點從犯錯轉移到建立自信，如此可以使想法與情緒重新為你所掌握。