节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-04-06
难易度:High
关键字:conserve, repair, drain, temptation, denominator
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to study with us.
Well, are you a good decision-maker?
Making a good decision requires experience, wisdom, good counsel from others and
a little humility too.
Making a good decision isn't always a matter of simply choosing the right thing.
No. More often than not, we find we're faced with making a decision from among
many choices.
And therein, lies the challenge.
OK. Today we'll look at five ways successful people make the best decisions
possible.
We'll start today's reading on page 16.
(Music).
Decision Fatigue.
Baumeister found that the most successful people have learned how to conserve
their willpower by adapting their habits and routines.
What can we learn from them?
Make your mornings count.
When possible, make all major decisions in the morning while your mind is fresh
and before fatigue takes over.
When you face problems that must be dealt with, handle the situation early in
the day in order to avoid a harsh word or an error in judgment.
Avoid crises.
Don't wait until the last minute to pay your bills, finish a project or make
needed repairs.
Use your willpower to avoid a crisis rather than just get through one.
Hi. My name is Brandon.
And my name is Kaylah.
And today we're back in our PSYCHOLOGY article talking about Decision Fatigue.
Now we learned yesterday that there's a lot that goes into making decisions, and
as you make more decisions, your willpower decreases.
But there's a researcher that we're going to keep following as he is studying
how this works.
That's right.
And today we talk again about our researcher.
His name is... his last name is Baumeister.
And he found that the most successful people have learned how to conserve their
willpower by adapting their habits and routines.
If you "conserve" something, you... you don't we use too much of something.
If you're conserving water, for example, you watch how much you're using.
You maybe take shorter showers.
And you don't use as much water, then you're conserving it.
You're keeping it up, storing it up for later use.
That's right.
It means to keep it or to protect something.
So you're right, you save up your water.
You keep it and you protect it from getting wasted.
So to conserve is to keep and protect something.
So they're protecting... what?
Well, they are conserving their willpower.
And so they aren't making too many decisions in a period of time because they
know if they make too many decisions, they'll become very tired.
And then they will make poor decisions.
That's right.
So they "adapt." That means they change or adjust their habits and routines.
Now yesterday, Brandon, I mentioned that a decision we make every morning is
when do we get up and what are we going to wear.
But those can actually become a routine so you don't have to make the... make it
a decision every morning; it's more of a habit.
That's right.
And a habit, you can think of habits being a part of those routines, a routine
being a series of habits.
And we all have habits; some are good, some are not so good.
But we see here that this willpower we adapt... and then we adapt their habits
and routines,
so we can make some changes, so we don't use up all of our willpower.
That's right. And a habit being something we do all the time, so then you don't
make a decision, it's just what you do.
Well, what can we learn from them?
What can we learn from people that have adapted their habits and routines?
Well, we have a checklist here.
Let's start with number 1.
Number 1 is "Make your mornings count," meaning make that time in the morning
very useful.
If you make something count, you use the time wisely, and you use all of the
things that you have there in a wise manner.
And so, think about your mornings.
Do you use that time wisely or do you kind of waste that time?
That's right.
Are you the person that hits the snooze button on your alarm clock a lot?
Or do you get up and get going right away?
Well, do you make your mornings count?
When possible, make all major decisions in the morning while your mind is fresh.
Well, I think this is kind of funny, Kaylah, because I don't always think my
mind is so fresh in the morning because I am not a morning person.
But I guess we should try and at least think that our mind should be fresh in
the morning.
And if it is, well, then we can make those decisions right away because we all
know at the end of the day, we can become very tired.
That's right.
And it's not actually talking about physical tiredness, it's talking about
mental.
So even though I may be a little physically tired, my mind will be a little
sharper.
It's easier in the morning.
So make it count when your mind is fresh and the... and before fatigue takes
over.
"Before this decision-making process takes over," meaning it is in control of
and wasting your time.
And when you face problems that must be dealt with, handle the situation early
in the day in order to avoid a harsh word or an error in judgment.
That's right. So make your mornings count.
Our second point is to avoid "crises," which is the plural of crisis.
That's right.
And if you are in a crisis, you are in a very difficult situation.
Don't wait until the last minute to pay your bills, and don't wait until the
last minute to finish a project or make needed repairs.
Now "repairs" means to fix something that is broken or damaged.
So don't wait.
Fix it ahead of time.
Avoid the crisis.
Use your willpower to avoid a crisis rather than just get through one.
That's right.
So conserve your willpower and use it wisely.
Right now it's time for a skit.
Decisions! Decisions! And more decisions!
Be a successful a decision-maker.
Conserve willpower.
Adapt your habits and routine.
Yes, I will.
Well... I might.
But how can I do that?
Make your mornings count.
Make major decisions in the morning.
Oh, while my mind is fresh.
Yes. Face problems before fatigue takes over.
Then you can avoid harsh words or errors in judgment.
OK. I'll handle important situations early.
Avoid crises. Don't wait until the last minute.
Work ahead.
Oh. That does take willpower.
Yes. But avoiding a crisis is better than going through one.
Well, that's true.
So how else can I improve my decision-making?
Ah. Before making a major decision, sleep on it.
Sleep on it?
Yes. Making a big decision can be draining.
It's best to think about it for a day or two.
Well, good idea.
Big decisions take time.
Yes. Less important decisions are important too.
Oh, like grocery shopping?
Correct. Avoid temptation.
Shop with a list and stick to it.
Right! Well, thanks for helping me avoid decision-making fatigue.
Oh, you're welcome.
And just remember, the best decision-makers are the ones who know when to trust
themselves.