【TED演讲09】有压力时,为什么我们不能发挥出最好的状态？巴纳德学院的院长、认知科学家Sian分享如何避免在压力下发挥失常？
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演讲者：Sian Leah Beilock
演说题目：如何避免在压力之下发挥失常？
当有压力的时候，为什么我们有时不能发挥出最好的状态？巴纳德学院的院长、认知科学家，Sian将揭示在压力之下发挥失常时，身体和大脑中会发生什么变化，并分享一些心理工具，来帮助你在最重要的时刻发挥出最好的状态。
中英对照翻译
One of the most humiliating things that you can say about someone is "they choked." And boy, do I know that feeling. Growing up, I was an avid athlete. My main sport was soccer, and I was a goalkeeper, which is both the best and the worst position on the field.
最让人难堪的事情之一 就是你可以形容别人“发挥失常了”。 天啊，我太了解这种感觉了。 从小到大，我都是个狂热的运动员。 我最喜欢踢足球，在球队里当守门员， 在整个球场上，守门员的位置，既是最好的也是最坏的。
You see, when you're a goalie, you get this special uniform, you get all the glory for a great shot saved, but you also get the grief when you land a shot in the goal. When you're a goalie, all eyes are on you, and with that comes the pressure.
作为一个守门员， 你可以穿特殊的制服， 一个成功扑救会让你 得到所有的荣光， 然而，当你没有守住球的 时候也会感到悲伤。 当你是一个守门员时， 会受到万众瞩目， 随之而来的还有压力。
I distinctly remember one game in high school. I was playing for the California state team which is part of the Olympic Development Program. I was having a great game ... until I realized that the national coach was standing right behind me. That's when everything changed.
我清楚地记得高中的一场比赛， 我为加利福尼亚州队出战， 这支队伍属于奥林匹克发展项目。 我当时表现得很好， 然而当我意识到国家队 教练正站在我后面， 一切都改变了。
In a matter of seconds, I went from playing at the top to the bottom of my ability. Just knowing that I was being evaluated changed my performance and forever how I thought about the mental aspect of how we perform. All of a sudden the ball seemed to go in slow motion, and I was fixated on my every move.
在这几秒之内， 我的状态和表现从巅峰跌倒了谷底。 单单是知道有人在打量我， 就影响了我的发挥， 也彻底改变了我对心理因素，影响发挥这个问题的看法。 突然，球好像在慢慢移动， 我努力专注于自己的一举一动。
The next shot that came I bobbled, but thankfully it didn't land in the goal. The shot after that, I wasn't so lucky: I tipped it right into the net. My team lost; the national coach walked away. I choked under the pressure of those evaluative eyes on me.
这个球我没有挡下来， 但好在这个球没有破门。 在这之后的一个球， 我就不那么幸运了： 我创造了一个乌龙球。 我们的队伍输了， 国家教练走开了。 在他人打量的压力之下， 我发挥失常了。
Just about everyone does it from time to time -- there are so many opportunities, whether it's taking a test, giving a talk, pitching to a client or that special form of torture I like to call the job interview.
每个人时不时几乎 都会有这样的时候—— 有太多的机会， 不论是考试 演讲， 向客户讲解提案， 还是一种特殊的折磨 形式，我称之为工作面试。
But the question is why. Why do we sometimes fail to perform up to our potential under pressure? It's especially bewildering in the case of athletes who spend so much time physically honing their craft. But what about their minds?
但问题是，为什么呢？ 为什么我们有时候会在压力 面前无法发挥出潜力呢？ 这种情况在运动员中非常普遍， 他们进行了大量的 体能训练来提高技巧。 而他们的心理呢？
Not as much. This is true off the playing field as well. Whether we're taking a test of giving a talk, it's easy to feel like we're ready -- at the top of our game -- and then perform at our worst when it matters most. It turns out that rarely do we practice under the types of conditions we're actually going to perform under,
就没有怎么训练过了。 在赛场之外也是如此。 无论是我们在考试， 或者做演讲时， 很容易感觉到我们准备好了—— 觉得自己有最好的状态了—— 结果在最关键的时候 却表现得很糟糕。 实际上，我们很少在与实战情况相同的条件下练习，
and as a result, when all eyes are on us, we sometimes flub our performance. Of course, the question is, why is this the case? And my experience on the playing field -- and in other important facets of my life -- really pushed me into the field of cognitive science.
结果就是， 当所有人的目光都投向我们时， 我们有时就会表现得很糟糕。 当然，问题是， 为什么会这样呢？ 我在赛场上的经历 以及我生命中其他的重要时刻， 是它们让我踏入了认知科学领域。
I wanted to know how we could reach our limitless potential. I wanted to understand how we could use our knowledge of the mind and the brain to come up with psychological tools that would help us perform at our best.
我想知道如何能达到自己无限的潜能。 我想知道如何运用 心理与大脑的知识， 运用心理学工具来帮助 我们发挥出最好的状态。
So why does it happen? Why do we sometimes fail to perform up to what we're capable of when the pressure is on? It may not be so surprising to hear that in stressful situations, we worry. We worry about the situation, the consequences, what others will think of us.
那么为什么会出现 发挥失常的情况呢？ 为什么在有压力的时候 我们没法正常发挥呢？ 当有压力的时候，我们会感到 担心，这一点并不奇怪。 我们担心当下的形势， 担心结果， 担心别人的看法。
But what is surprising is that we often get in our own way precisely because our worries prompt us to concentrate too much. That's right -- we pay too much attention to what we're doing.
但令人惊讶的是，正因为我们的担心导致对问题过分关注， 才经常阻碍了我们的正常发挥。 没错—— 我们对所做的事情 投入了太多的关注。
When we're concerned about performing our best, we often try and control aspects of what we're doing that are best left on autopilot, outside conscious awareness, and as a result, we mess up.
当我们关心自己是否能发挥出最好的状态时， 我们常常会尝试控制自己在各方面的表现，而那些方面的表现 最好是要顺其自然，不被意识控制的。结果就是我们搞砸了。
Think about a situation where you're shuffling down the stairs. What would happen if I asked you to think about what you're doing with your knee while you're doing that? There's a good chance you'd fall on your face.
想一下这样的一个场景，当你正在下楼梯的时候， 如果我让你想一想在下楼梯时膝盖是怎么运动的，会发生什么？很可能你会摔个狗啃泥。
We as humans only have the ability to pay attention to so much at once, which is why, by the way, it's not a good idea to drive and talk on the cell phone. And under pressure, when we're concerned about performing at our best,
我们能同时使用的注意力是有限的 也就是说，顺便说一句，开车的时候打电话是不好的。在压力之下， 当我们关心自己是否能发挥出最好的状态时，
we can try and control aspects of what we're doing that should be left outside conscious control. The end result is that we mess up.
我们常常会尝试控制 自己各方面的表现，包括那些本不该受意识控制的部分。这样的结果就是我们搞砸了。
My research team and I have studied this phenomenon of overattention, and we call it paralysis by analysis. In one study, we asked college soccer players to dribble a soccer ball and to pay attention to an aspect of their performance that they would not otherwise attend to.
我和团队研究了 这种过度注意的现象，我们称之为“分析麻痹”。在一项研究中，我们让大学足球运动员来运球，然后要求他们注意自己 表现的一个方面，那个方面是他们之前不曾注意到的。
We asked them to pay attention to what side of the foot was contacting the ball. We showed that performance was slower and more error-prone when we drew their attention to the step-by-step details of what they were doing.
我们要求他们注意 自己用脚的哪一侧触球。我们发现，当我们让 他们把这些注意力转移到每一步的细节上时，他们的动作就会变慢，而且容易出错。
When the pressure is on, we're often concerned with performing at our best, and as a result we try and control what we're doing to force the best performance. The end result is that we actually screw up.
当有压力的时候，我们常常会关心如何 发挥最好的状态，这就导致了我们会尝试控制行为的方方面面来达到最佳的表现。然而结果总是事与愿违。
In basketball, the term "unconscious" is used to describe a shooter who can't miss. And San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan has said, "When you have to stop and think, that's when you mess up."
在篮球运动中，“无意识”这个术语是用来形容一个神射手的。圣安东尼奥马刺队的球星蒂姆 · 邓肯说过，“当你停下开始思考，就是你搞砸的时候。”
In dance, the great choreographer, George Balanchine, used to urge his dancers, "Don't think, just do." When the pressure's on, when we want to put our best foot forward, somewhat ironically, we often try and control what we're doing in a way that leads to worse performance.
在舞蹈界，伟大的编舞者乔治 · 巴兰钦 往往要求他的舞者，“不要思考，专心跳舞。”当有压力的时候, 当我们想表现出最好的一面，有些讽刺的是，我们常常会因尝试控制而导致表现更差。
So what do we do? Knowing that we have this overactive attention, how do we ensure that we perform at our best? A lot of it comes down to the prefrontal cortex, that front part of our brain that sits over our eyes and usually helps us focus in positive ways.
我们该怎么办？ 在意识到了这种过度关注之后， 要如何保证我们能够 呈现最好的状态呢？ 这很大程度上要 归结于前额叶皮层， 就是在我们眼睛上方， 大脑前端的部分， 这一部分常以积极的形式 帮助我们集中注意力，
It often gets hooked on the wrong things. So how do we unhook it? Something as simple as singing a song, or paying attention to one's pinky toe, as pro golfer Jack Nicklaus was rumored to do, can help us take our mind off those pesky details.
但也常常被一些不相关的事情吸引。那我们该怎么摆脱呢？可以尝试一些小事，比如唱一首歌，或者把注意力放在某个人的小脚趾上，据说职业高尔夫球手杰克 · 尼克劳斯用的就是这一招，这些能够帮助我们的 大脑摆脱这些恼人的细节。
It's also true that practicing under conditions that we're going to perform under -- closing the gap between training and competition can help us get used to that feeling of all eyes on us.
同样，我们也可以想象 自己就在比赛现场， 有意识地进行模拟练习—— 缩小训练环境与比赛环境的差距 能够帮助我们习惯于 万众瞩目的感觉。
This is true off the playing field as well. Whether it's getting ready for an exam or preparing for a big talk -- one that might have a little pressure associated with it --
在赛场之外也是如此。 无论是准备一场考试， 还是准备一场演讲—— 题目可能和压力有关--
getting used to the types of situations you're going to perform under really matters. When you're taking a test, close the book, practice retrieving the answer from memory under timed situations, and when you're giving a talk, practice in front of others.
习惯于实际场景 真的很重要。当你准备考试时，合上书， 练习在有限的时间内从记忆中找出答案，当你准备演讲时，给自己找一些观众。
And if you can't find anyone who will listen, practice in front of a video camera or even a mirror. The ability to get used to what it will feel like can make the difference in whether we choke or thrive.
如果找不到人，也可以在镜头或者镜子面前练习。适应真实环境的能力往往能决定我们的发挥是失常还是超常。
We've also figured out some ways to get rid of those pesky worries and self-doubts that tend to creep up in the stressful situations. Researchers have shown that simply jotting down your thoughts and worries before a stressful event can help to download them from mind --
我们也想出了一些方法来摆脱这些困扰，摆脱在压力状态下 容易产生的自我怀疑。研究表明，在令你 感到压力的事情发生之前，简单地写下你的想法与顾虑 能够让这些焦虑得到缓解--
make them less likely to pop up in the moment. It's kind of like when you wake up in the middle of the night and you're really worried about what you have to do the next day, you're trying to think about everything you have to accomplish, and you write it down and then you can go back to sleep.
降低它们突然出现的可能。这很像你在半夜起来，突然很担心明天要做的事，并试着思考需要完成的每件事情，然后你把它们写下来，再去睡觉。
Journaling, or getting those thoughts down on paper, makes it less likely they'll pop up and distract you in the moment. The end result is that you can perform your best when it matters most.
写日记，或者把想法写在纸上， 会减少它们突然出现并让你分心的可能性， 这样一来，你就能够在 关键时刻发挥出最佳状态。
So up until now, I've talked about what happens when we put limits on ourselves and some tips we can use to help perform up to our potential. But it's important to remember that it's not just our own individual being that can put limits and that can perform poorly;
到现在为止，我讲到了当我们限制了 自己的能力时会发生的状况，以及一些能帮助我们正常发挥的小技巧。但是要记住，导致我们表现不佳的 不光是我们自身的原因；
our environment has an effect on whether we choke or thrive. Our parents, our teachers, our coaches, our bosses all influence whether or not we can put our best foot forward when it matters most.
我们所处的环境也会影响到 我们的表现是成功还是失常。我们的父母，老师，教练，老板都会影响我们在关键时刻能否发挥出色。
Take math as an example. That's right, I said it: math. Lots of people profess to choke or are anxious about doing math, whether it's taking a test or even calculating the tip on a dinner bill as our smart friends look on.
以数学为例。 没错，我说的就是 数学。 许多人学数学时都会 感到困难或焦虑， 不论是在考试，还是在 算晚餐小费，而身边恰好有数学达人在看着的时候。
And it's quite socially acceptable to talk about choking or performing poorly in math. You don't hear highly educated people walking around talking about the fact or bragging about the fact that they're not good readers, but you hear people all the time bragging about how they're not math people.
整个社会对谈论在数学测试中表现失常或考砸了 都持有比较宽容的态度。你不会听到受到过高等 教育的人边走路边谈论或者吹嘘自己的阅读能力很差这样的事实，但你常常会听到有人“炫耀”他们如何不擅长数学。
And unfortunately, in the US, this tends to be more so among girls and women than boys and men. My research team and I have tried to understand where this fear of math comes from, and we've actually peered inside the brains using functional magnetic resonance imaging, of people who are worried about math.
不幸的是， 在美国，这种情况在女性身上 更加常见。我和研究团队曾尝试去了解对数学的恐惧来自于哪里， 我们实际上已经运用 功能磁共振成像技术窥探过大脑的内部，来研究人们为什么害怕数学。
We've shown that math phobia correlates with a concrete visceral sensation such as pain, of which we have every right to feel anxious. In fact, when people who are worried about math are just getting ready to take a math test -- they're not even taking it,
我们发现数学恐惧症与一种具体的内脏感受相关，比如疼痛，对此我们都会感到焦虑。实际上，对数学感到焦虑的人在为数学考试复习的时候—— 他们还没考试，
they're just getting ready -- areas of the brain known the be involved in our neural pain response are active. When we say math is painful, there's some truth to it for some people.
而是正在准备—— 已知的大脑区域内与疼痛 相关的神经区域就会被激活。当我们说数学让人痛苦不堪的时候，对于某些人而言或多或少的确是这样的。
But where does this math anxiety come from? It turns out that math anxiety is contagious. When adults are worried about math, the children around them start worrying, too.
但是对于数学的焦虑感来源于哪里呢？事实证明，对数学的 焦虑感是会传染的。当大人承认对数学感到担忧时，他们身边的孩子也会开始担忧。
As young as first grade, when kids are in classrooms with teachers who are anxious about their own math ability, these kids learn less across the school year. And it turns out that this is more prevalent in girls than boys.
对于小学一年级的孩子，如果他们的老师 对自己的数学水平感到焦虑，这些孩子在这个学年学到的知识就会偏少。事实是，这种现象在女孩子中比在男孩子中更常见。
At this young age, kids tend to mimic same-sex adults, and at least in the US, over 90 percent of our elementary school teachers are women.Of course, it's not just what happens in the classroom. Social media plays a big role here, too.
在这样小的年纪， 小孩子会有模仿同性大人的倾向，至少在美国，有超过90%的小学教师是女性。当然，这不仅仅发生在教室里。社交媒体也有重要的影响。
It wasn't so long ago that you could purchase a Teen Talk Barbie that when the cord was pulled, it would say things like, "Will we ever have enough clothes?" and "Math class is tough." And just a few years ago, major retailers were marketing T-shirts at our young girls that read things like,
不久之前， 你还能买到这样的一个 会说话的少女芭比娃娃，拉一下线 它就会说这样的话：“我们的衣服是永远不够的。”“数学课很难。”就在几年前，一些大型零售商还会把这样的T恤卖给年轻的女孩，上面写着，
"I'm too pretty to do math," or, "I'm too pretty to do my homework so my brother does it for me." And let's not forget about the parents. Oh, the parents. It turns out that when parents are worried about their own math ability and they help their kids a lot with math homework,
”我太漂亮了，不该做数学“ 或者“我太漂亮了，不该做作业， 所以我哥哥会帮我做。”当然我们也不要忘了父母，那些父母啊。事实上，如果父母很担心自己的数学能力, 而且常常教孩子做数学作业，
their kids learn less math across the school year. As one parent put it, "I judge my first grader's math homework by whether it's a one-glass assignment or a three-glass night."
那他们的孩子这一学年的数学学习进度就会落后。就像一个家长说的，“ 我判断一年级数学作业的难度， 是看要花一杯酒，还是三杯酒的时间。”
When adults are anxious about their own math ability, it rubs off on their kids and it affects whether they choke or thrive. But just as we can put limits on others, we can take them off. My research team and I have shown that when we help parents do fun math activities with their kids --
当成年人对自己的数学能力很担忧时，这也会影响他们的孩子，决定他们表现失常还是出色。但我们能在其他人身上添加限制，也能够把它们拿掉。我和研究团队发现，当我们帮助家长与孩子一起做有趣的数学游戏——
rather than, say, just doing bedtime stories or bedtime reading, they do bedtime math, which are fun story problems to do with your kids at night, not only do children's attitudes about math improve, but their math performance across the school year improves as well.
不在睡前读故事或者进行睡前阅读，而是在睡前做数学题，跟孩子一起解决 有意思的数学问题，不但孩子对待数学的态度有了改善，他们在整个学年的数学能力也得到了改善。
Our environment matters. From the classroom to parents to media, and it can really make a difference in terms of whether we choke or thrive.
我们的环境很重要。 从教师到父母，到媒体， 这些都会影响到我们是 发挥失常还是表现出色。
Fast-forward from my high school soccer game to my freshman year in college. I was in the chemistry sequence for science majors, and boy did I not belong. Even though I studied for my first midterm exam -- I thought I was ready to go -- I bombed it.
撇开我高中的足球比赛，说说我刚进入大学的事吧。我学的是理科里的化学专业，那真的很不适合我。虽然我为了第一次期中考试进行了复习--我觉得自己已经准备好了--结果我考砸了。
I literally got the worst grade in a class of 400 students. I was convinced I wasn't going to be a science major, that maybe I was dropping out of college altogether. But then I changed how I studied. Instead of studying alone, I started studying with a group of friends who at the end of the study session would close their book and compete for the right answer.
我是400个学生中成绩最差的。我深信我当不了理科生， 可能连大学都毕不了业。但之后，我改变了学习方式。我不再自己一个人学习，而是开始与一群朋友一起学习，他们会在学习了一段后合上书本，然后比赛答题。
We learned to practice under stress. If you could've looked inside my brain during that first midterm exam, you likely would've seen a neural pain response a lot like the math-anxious individuals I study.
我们学会了在压力之下练习。如果你能看到第一次期中 考试时我大脑的内部活动，就会看到神经疼痛的反应，就跟我研究的有数学焦虑的人很像。
It was probably there during the stressful study situation as well. But when I walked into the final, my mind was quiet, and I actually got one of the highest grades in the entire class. It wasn't just about learning the material;
在学习压力大的时候， 可能也会有这种反应。 但是在期末考试的时候， 我的大脑很平静， 而且我得到了全班的最高分。 这不仅与学习材料有关，
it was about learning how to overcome my limits when it mattered most.What happens in our heads really matters, and knowing this,
更关键的是在重要时刻， 学会打破自己的限制。我们大脑的活动很重要， 知道这些，
we can learn how to prepare ourselves and others for success, not just on the playing field but in the boardroom and in the classroom as well.
我们就可以学会如何 帮助自己和他人获得成功， 不仅仅是在赛场上， 在会议室中， 在教室中也是如此。
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