【外刊精选】“躺平”与野心 | 时代周刊 | 每天一篇，读写能力提升N个lev

▌英语口语｜文章｜心理健康｜工作/职场｜寻找内部目标

☆ How to be ambitious without sacrificing your mental health?

•ambition; an always-striving mindset;

•mental wellness; work place mental health;

•外部目标：extrinsic goals； extrinsic maker；concrete goals—— intrinsic motivation； internal motivators 内在激励因素

•Self-Determination Theory 自我决定理论

•school of thought 思想流派

•科学依据：research-backed； science-backed ； science-based

▷职场人现状

•Ambition can feel like a dirty word(脏字眼，下流语言；不得体的话;忌讳) in the era of quiet quitting（职场躺平） and the Great Resignation（离职潮）. Many Americans have relized that an always-striving mindset can come at a cost to mental wellness;

•...the U.S. Surgeon General（卫生局） even named workplace mental health a new public-health priority in the wake of (〔尤指不好的事〕紧随某事而来；作为某事的后果)the pandemic. Research also linked chasing extrinsic(adj. 非本质的,外在的, 不要紧的) goals, such as power, to anxiety and depression.

▷如何平衡野心与心理健康

•Research suggests, the key is harnessing (控制[利用]〔自然力等〕)your ambition for a goal that serves your well-being.

•"we want to make sure that our ambition is being directed in ways that we care about." 以自我兴趣为导向实现野心

•Striving is only healthy if "we do it in ways that don't spoil the rest of our lives."

▷野心与心理健康的关系：没强因果关系

•Ambition isn't inherently good or bad for mental health. Ambition strongly predicted career success, but was only weakly related to life satisfaction. Ambition people weren't drastically happier or unhappier than people who weren't as driven.

•The target of your ambiton may have a stronger impact on mental health. Studies have consistently shown that people who are motivated by extrinsic markers(性质或特点的〕标志 ) of success, such as wealth, status, or popularity, aren't as psychologically fulfilled as people fueled by intrinsic motivation, such as personal growth, deep relationships, or knowledge.

• Reaching an extrinsic goal may briefly (ad.短暂地，短时间地)satisfy you, "but it's not long-lasting."

▷如何找到真正的目标（重塑野心）

•With some practice and introspection(n.内省，反省), you can retrain your ambition to feed, rather than harm, your mental health. Here are five research-backed ways to do just that.

1 Prioritize your relationships

•Ambition can become harmful when it “crowds out” other important parts of life. “Ambition is effortful,” he says. “If you’re going to be successful and ambitious, you have to put a lot into it.” If that drive comes at the expense of psychologically fulfilling things like strong relationships or autonomy over your time（对时间的自主权）, it can take a toll on mental health. （如果为实现一些外部目标挤占了生活里的其他，那很有可能影响到心理健康）

2 Focus on the task, not the rewards

Research suggests you’ll feel more fulfilled if you focus on achievement for achievement’s sake—mastering a task, learning something, or creating positive change for your clients or community—rather than striving only for the next promotion or pay raise. (Some research even suggests that people who follow these internal motivators（内在激励因素） end up achieving more in the end.) “You can have ambition and be intrinsically motivated at the same time,” Ryan says. “You can love your work … but it’s in harmony with（ 和某事物一致；和某事物协调） the rest of who you are.” （更注重内部激励因素的目标，注重自我实现）

3 Strive for growth

Instead of letting ambition rule your life, you can adopt a “growth mindset,” which refers to the belief that intelligence is not fixed and can be fostered. Judge says it may be healthier to strive for growth—learning or honing(v.磨炼，训练；提高〔技艺〕) a skill, or cultivating a trait（n. 特征;特点;特性；） you admire in others— rather than concrete goals like getting a certain job title or salary. （更注重内部激励因素的目标，注重自我实现）

4 Practice gratitude

People naturally have some materialistic (物质主义)tendencies, especially in capitalist societies. But Kasser’s research suggests that suppressing（v.抑制，克制 〔感情〕） those desires can yield mental-health gains. Mindfulness （正念）and gratitude can help. In one study, people who meditated （v.默想；冥想，打坐）daily were more satisfied with their financial status and had greater well-being. Regular reflections on gratitude, relationships, or mortality have also been shown to reduce materialism, which can in turn improve mental wellness. （多通过正念、冥想等行为来沉下心，然后寻找自己除物质外真正想要的东西。这样心理可以更健康。）

5 Don’t try to monetize

everything Have you ever lost interest in a beloved hobby after turning it into a side hustle（副业）? There’s a science-backed explanation. Decades ago, researchers found that attaching extrinsic motivators (such as cash rewards) to activities that people enjoyed decreased their internal motivation to keep doing them. If psychological satisfaction is your goal, you may be better off without the extra cash.（爱好变职业，伤身伤心）