当艾莎·沃森需要放松头脑时,她就会从飞机上纵身一跃。这位住在布鲁克林的作家兼企业家认为,跳伞是她“恢复心理健康的最佳方式”。她的看法或许不无道理。研究表明,肾上腺素激增有助于提高专注力,并且使人更加思维敏捷和有活力。
沃森说:“我从小就经常要与抑郁症作斗争,但真正直到创业后,我才不得不设法解决这个问题。”沃森在2018年创立了纯音频社交应用公司Squad。“创业是最孤独的人生历程之一。这段旅程极容易引发焦虑,而且非常艰难。”
为了让自己重焕活力以及学习如何更好地保持身心健康,沃森开始尝试各种自我护理活动,如引导式冥想、旅游和滑雪。但在新冠疫情初期的某一时刻,这些活动突然对她不起效果了。
谈到在毛里求斯(马达加斯加海岸附近的一个岛国)的第一次跳伞经历时,沃森说:“我在那之前一直都很想尝试跳伞,那一次我感受到了前所未有的平静。它让我恢复了健康的心理状态。当到达降落区时,我感觉自己来到了一个新的世界。”
自从两年前开始跳伞以来,沃森已经完成了200多次跳伞,目前她正在接受训练,准备参加2024年美国国民跳伞比赛。虽然跳伞区经常只有沃森一个黑人女性,但她很喜欢跳伞社群中那种悠然自得的氛围,这点与创业界截然不同。一旦上了飞机,沃森就能一边将脚下的世界尽收眼底,一边任思绪漫游。
她说:“那一刻,你只会想‘看看底下的一切,看看俯瞰视角的世界有多美丽。’所有的恐怖新闻,所有的枪击事件,所有的政治内斗,在那里全都看不见。”
从日常事务的巨大压力中解脱出来
沃森表示:“在日常生活中,我一直感到压力巨大。在美国,作为一名黑人女性,你必须比其他人优秀一倍才能获得他们一半的回报。这令人疲惫不堪。我从来没有过自由的感觉,但在跳伞时,我感觉非常自由。而一旦你感到自由,你就会迷上这种感觉。”
对于其他处于精疲力竭边缘的创始人,沃森鼓励他们尝试能使其感到自由和焕发活力的事物。
她说:“把车停下并不意味着就在加油了。许多创始人可能会想,‘天啊,我又要给自己增加一项日程安排了。’但这并不是简单地给自己增加一些活动安排而已,而是要抱着尝试的心态去投入时间和精力学习能让你感到自由和焕发活力的事物。”
这种自由的感觉促使沃森在9月20日发起并庆祝了“有意识日”(Day of Intentionality)。这一行动号召的灵感还来源于她的处女作《不为点赞的生活》(Life Beyond Likes),该书于今年早些时候发布,鼓励人们花更多的时间在线下与人交往。
她解释道:“有意识地做一些事是自己护理的方法之一。它关乎于快乐至上和追求自己的幸福。有意识地做事并不是要立刻改变你所有的习惯,而是要从一些小事做起。它是指利用你的思想潜能和行动力去过上充满快乐的生活。”(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-刘嘉欢
当艾莎·沃森需要放松头脑时,她就会从飞机上纵身一跃。这位住在布鲁克林的作家兼企业家认为,跳伞是她“恢复心理健康的最佳方式”。她的看法或许不无道理。研究表明,肾上腺素激增有助于提高专注力,并且使人更加思维敏捷和有活力。
沃森说:“我从小就经常要与抑郁症作斗争,但真正直到创业后,我才不得不设法解决这个问题。”沃森在2018年创立了纯音频社交应用公司Squad。“创业是最孤独的人生历程之一。这段旅程极容易引发焦虑,而且非常艰难。”
为了让自己重焕活力以及学习如何更好地保持身心健康,沃森开始尝试各种自我护理活动,如引导式冥想、旅游和滑雪。但在新冠疫情初期的某一时刻,这些活动突然对她不起效果了。
谈到在毛里求斯(马达加斯加海岸附近的一个岛国)的第一次跳伞经历时,沃森说:“我在那之前一直都很想尝试跳伞,那一次我感受到了前所未有的平静。它让我恢复了健康的心理状态。当到达降落区时,我感觉自己来到了一个新的世界。”
自从两年前开始跳伞以来,沃森已经完成了200多次跳伞,目前她正在接受训练,准备参加2024年美国国民跳伞比赛。虽然跳伞区经常只有沃森一个黑人女性,但她很喜欢跳伞社群中那种悠然自得的氛围,这点与创业界截然不同。一旦上了飞机,沃森就能一边将脚下的世界尽收眼底,一边任思绪漫游。
她说:“那一刻,你只会想‘看看底下的一切,看看俯瞰视角的世界有多美丽。’所有的恐怖新闻,所有的枪击事件,所有的政治内斗,在那里全都看不见。”
从日常事务的巨大压力中解脱出来
沃森表示:“在日常生活中,我一直感到压力巨大。在美国,作为一名黑人女性,你必须比其他人优秀一倍才能获得他们一半的回报。这令人疲惫不堪。我从来没有过自由的感觉,但在跳伞时,我感觉非常自由。而一旦你感到自由,你就会迷上这种感觉。”
对于其他处于精疲力竭边缘的创始人,沃森鼓励他们尝试能使其感到自由和焕发活力的事物。
她说:“把车停下并不意味着就在加油了。许多创始人可能会想,‘天啊,我又要给自己增加一项日程安排了。’但这并不是简单地给自己增加一些活动安排而已,而是要抱着尝试的心态去投入时间和精力学习能让你感到自由和焕发活力的事物。”
这种自由的感觉促使沃森在9月20日发起并庆祝了“有意识日”(Day of Intentionality)。这一行动号召的灵感还来源于她的处女作《不为点赞的生活》(Life Beyond Likes),该书于今年早些时候发布,鼓励人们花更多的时间在线下与人交往。
她解释道:“有意识地做一些事是自己护理的方法之一。它关乎于快乐至上和追求自己的幸福。有意识地做事并不是要立刻改变你所有的习惯,而是要从一些小事做起。它是指利用你的思想潜能和行动力去过上充满快乐的生活。”(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-刘嘉欢
When Isa Watson needs to clear her head, she jumps out of a plane. The Brooklyn-based author and entrepreneur considers skydiving her “greatest mental health reset.” And she may be on to something. Studies show that the adrenaline rush can help increase mental concentration, make you more alert and give you more energy.
“I’ve struggled with depression on and off since I was a kid, but what really made me have to address it was becoming a founder,” says Watson, who founded Squad, an audio-only social app, in 2018. “Becoming a founder is one of the most isolating experiences. It’s very anxiety-inducing and it’s a really hard path.”
In an effort to refuel her tank and learn how to take better care of herself and her mental health, Watson began experimenting with different self-care activities, such as guided meditation, traveling and skiing. But at some point during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, those tools were no longer working for her.
“I always wanted to try skydiving and it was the most serenity I’ve ever felt,” Watson says of her first jump at Mauritius, an island nation off the coast of Madagascar. “It was a mental health reset for me. When I go to the drop zone, I feel like I’m in a different world.”
Watson has completed more than 200 jumps since she started skydiving two years ago and she’s currently training to compete in the 2024 US Nationals for Skydiving. Although she’s often the only Black woman at a jump zone, Watson appreciates the skydiving community for being laid back—a stark contrast to the entrepreneurial world. Once on the plane, Watson is able to zone out as she takes in the world below her.
“It really sets the tone of ‘look at all of that down there, look at how beautiful the world looks from up here,” she says. “It’s like all of the horrible news, all of the shootings, all of the political infighting—I don’t see that up there.”
Freedom from intense daily pressure
“I feel like I’m constantly under an immense amount of pressure [in my everyday life],” says Watson. “When you’re a Black woman in this country, you’re expected to be twice as good to get half as much. It’s exhausting. I haven’t had the privilege of feeling free and when I’m skydiving, I feel so free. And once you feel free, you get addicted to feeling free.”
For other founders who may find themselves on the brink of exhaustion and burnout, Watson encourages them to experiment with what makes them feel free and what refuels your tank.
“Just because I parked the car doesn’t mean I’m filling up my tank,” she says. “A lot of founders may be like ‘oh my god, I’m adding another thing to my schedule.’ But it’s not about adding things to our schedule, it’s about using that experimental framework to invest in learning what makes you feel free and refuels you.”
That feeling of freedom is what inspired Watson to create and celebrate the Day of Intentionality on Sept. 20. The call-to-action was also influenced by her debut book, Life Beyond Likes, which launched earlier this year, and encourages people to spend more time connecting with others offline.
“Being intentional is part of your [self-care] toolkit,” she explains. “It’s about centering your joy and owning your happiness. Being intentional is not about changing all of your habits at once, it’s about doing bite-sized things. Intentionality is using the potential of your mind and the power of your actions to live a life rooted in joy.”