你为什么总是很忙The real reason you feel so busy

We live in a fast-paced culture. Time never seems to run out. We live in a world of work, achievement, busyness. This is of course good, because it has real value. But it also has a downside. And I think this is something worth discussing.

我们生活在一个快节奏的文化里，时间似乎永远都不够用。我们生活在一个由工作、成就与忙碌构成的世界中。这当然有它的价值，但它同样也有不好的一面。而这，正是值得被认真讨论的问题。

Not long ago, the Research Management Group did a study of 10,000 executives. Participants were asked what they thought was the key to their team’s success. Ninety-seven percent of respondents believed it was long-term strategic thinking. Yet in another study, ninety-six percent of executives surveyed said they didn’t have time to think strategically. What’s going on here? Why do ninety-six percent of people not do what they think is most critical to success?

不久前，研究管理小组对一万名高管进行了一项调查。研究人员问他们：你认为团队取得成功的关键是什么？97%的受访者认为，是长期的战略性思考。然而在另一项研究中，96%的高管却表示，他们根本没有时间去进行战略性思考。这是怎么回事？为什么人们明明知道什么对成功最重要，却依然没有去做？

In some cultures — especially American culture — being busy is a social identity. When we say, “Oh, I’m so busy,” we’re actually saying, “I’m important. I’m popular. I’m needed.” And this feeling is hard to get rid of, even if we want to.

在一些文化——尤其是美国文化——中，忙碌是一种社会身份标识。当我们说“哦，我好忙啊”，实际上我们是在说“我很重要。我很受欢迎。我被需要”。而且这种感觉很难摆脱，即便我们想摆脱也做不到。

It turns out that the human brain has a very difficult time dealing with uncertain events. Sometimes it’s easier to keep doing what you’re already doing, even if it’s not the best answer, because at least it removes uncertainty.

事实证明，人类的大脑其实非常不擅长处理不确定性的事情。所以有时候，继续做你已经在做的事，哪怕它并不是最好的答案，也会显得更轻松一些——因为它至少能帮你消除不确定感。

Sometimes the questions we’re avoiding are existential ones. “Is this job right for me?” “Is my career going the right way?” To be honest, we probably don’t want to know the answers. So we stay busy, so we don’t have to ask these questions.

有时候，我们真正回避的，是一些存在主义层面的问题。“这份工作真的适合我吗？”“我的职业方向走对了吗？”老实说，我们未必真的想知道答案。于是我们选择让自己忙起来，这样就不用去问这些问题。

Sometimes we use busyness to numb ourselves. Work is better than drugs — laughter — but it’s not a sustainable solution.

有时候，我们会用忙碌来麻痹自己。工作确实比毒品好（笑声），但事实是，它同样也不是一种可持续的解决方式。

True freedom is creating our own space so that we can breathe freely and have space to think for ourselves. Ultimately, true freedom is choosing how we spend our time and who we spend it with.

真正的自由，是为自己创造空间，让我们可以自由呼吸，也拥有独立思考的余地。归根结底，真正的自由，是选择如何度过我们的时间，以及选择和谁一起度过。