微决定：小步快走改变人生的七大法则

    4.微决定应该是私人性质的。别管别人想要你做什么。卡罗琳指出：“要想取得成效，你的微决定只能是为你设计，由你设计，根据你针对自身习惯、态度和环境的观察而做出。”比如很多人都想改掉上班迟到的毛病，但是“每个人迟到的原因都不太一样。”卡罗琳建议了一个方法：先把你每天离开家前要做的事汇总一下，然后在头一天晚上把最耗费时间的一两件事先做好。

    5.从积极的角度来设定微决定。卡罗琳指出：“大多数人都会跟着一个积极的指令走，而不是消极的指令。如果你决定以后不吃零食了，这个信息是很让人沮丧的。”但是如果你给自己发出这样的信息：“饿了的时候吃饭特别香”，那么这个目标对于一个吃货就会变得更诱人。所以卡罗琳表示，不管你的决定是什么，一定要以一种能够激励你的方式展开，而不能让你产生一种不开心或是被剥夺了某种东西的感觉。

    6.识别诱因。我们大多数的行为都是对周围环境某些诱因的自然反应。所以卡罗琳写道，改变一切习惯的关键，就是要找出这些诱因，最大限度地利用它们。要做出一个你一定能坚持下去的微决定，就要每次把精力集中在一个诱因上——比如说你一踏进会议室，就要提醒自己不要在那吃点心。

    7.一次只做一两个微决定。近年对大脑的研究显示，人的注意力和自我控制力都是有限的，因此，卡罗琳建议我们不要奢望短时间内脱胎换骨。在一个时间段内慎重限定微决定的数量，这样能确保你的注意力和忍耐力集中在你的行为变化上，直到它成为惯性为止。一旦它成了惯性，你就可以接着实施下一个微决定。

    不过要想把你在新年第一天决定做出的改变“嵌入到骨子里”依然需要一点时间。卡罗琳指出：“一个微决定大概要坚持四个星期才能变得不那么别扭，真正变得自然而然则需要六到八周。”所以，坚持就是胜利。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

    4. A microresolution is personal.Forget about resolutions that reflect what someone else thinks you should do. "To be effective, a microresolution must be designed for you, by you, based on observations of your own habits, attitudes, and situations," Arnold writes. For example, lots of people resolve to get to work on time, but "solving late arrival will vary by individual." One approach: Examine the entire series of actions you take before you leave home, she suggests, and start doing one or two of the most time-consuming among them the night before.

    5. Frame your microresolution in a positive way."Most of us would rather follow a positive directive than a negative one," Arnold notes. "A resolution not to snack is pretty dismal." By contrast, "the microresolution message 'I enjoy dinner so much more when I'm hungry' steers the tempted snacker toward a more gratifying goal." Whatever your resolution may be, she writes, put it in terms that will motivate you, not bring you down or make you feel deprived.

    6. A microresolution fires on cue.Since much of our behavior happens in response to cues in our environment, Arnold writes that the key to changing anything is recognizing those cues and making the most of them. To make a resolution you're certain you can keep, focus your effort on one cue at a time, she suggests -- reminding yourself as soon as you set foot in the conference room, for example, that you're not eating any cookies there.

    7. Make just one or two microresolutions for now.Citing recent brain research showing that attention and self-control are both limited resources, Arnold counsels against trying "to change too much too fast. Limiting your resolutions ensures that you have the attention and endurance to stick with a behavioral shift until it becomes autopilot ... As soon as one of your resolutions is solid and isn't taxing to maintain, you can start working on a new one."

    By this timetable, anything you started on Jan. 1 has some time left to go before it's "neurologically embedded," Arnold writes: A microresolution "will take around four weeks before it begins to feel less awkward, and six to eight weeks before it begins to feel natural." Hang in there.