地平线系列：性格的真相（2013）

我是迈克尔·莫斯利
I’m Michael Mosley.
正如你所见 我曾是个幸福快乐的小孩
As you can see, I was a blissfully happy child
可是 虽然如今我仍试着快乐
but, although I still try to be cheerful,
却总有一丝阴翳掩盖了快乐
this is now something of a mask.
我有灾难性思维的倾向
I have a tendency to be a catastrophic thinker and I think,
我总认为一切都会很糟 或者我会被辞退
Oh, it’s going to be terrible or I’m going to retire
会得严重的疾病
and I’m going to get some horrible disease
或者身无分文 你为此担忧过吗
or not have any money. Did that ever worry you?
没有
No.
事实是 我现在有些悲观
The truth is I’m now a bit of a pessimist.
我很有压力 一直在担心未来
I get stressed and I constantly fret about the future.
所以几个月前 我开始探索
So, a couple of months ago, I set out to explore
关于性格科学的最新研究
the latest science of personality,
来探查性格是否可能改变
to see if it is possible to change.
从很多方面来说
Now, in many ways,
我预计这会是我所尝试过的
I suspect this is going to be the hardest thing
最艰难的事 但回报同样可观
I’ve ever attempted, but the rewards are also great.
我想成为一名更温暖 更开放的人
I want to become a warmer, more open person.
我想变得快乐 另外一点纯属私心
I want to be happier and, from a purely selfish point of view,
我想拥有更好的睡眠 因为我是个
I also want to be able to sleep better because I’m something
长♥期♥失眠患者 而一旦感到压力
of a chronic insomniac and when I get stressed,
就像现在这样 就会睡不着
like I am frankly at the moment, I stop sleeping.
我是不是要求太多了
Is that too much to ask?
我给自己揽了一项非常艰巨的任务
I’ve set myself a very ambitious task…
改变我的心理
To change my mind.
我一直在尝试不使用药物
What I’ve been trying is something that requires no drugs,
或昂贵的治疗
no expensive therapy.
而是应用一些非常规的技术
Instead, it involves a couple of unusual techniques
七周过后 我对发生的一切
and, after seven weeks, I’m genuinely surprised
感到十分惊讶
by what’s happened.
这真让我开心 谢谢你 真棒
That absolutely made my day, thank you. Brilliant!
观众朋友 掌声有请迈克尔
Give it up for Michael, everyone!
你真的能改变关键的性格特质吗
So, can you really change key aspects of your personality?
而我们为什么要这么做
And why might we want to?
地平线 性格的真♥相♥
这里是俄亥俄州的牛津市
This is Oxford, Ohio,
一个坐落在美国中西部的小镇
a town in the American Mid-West.
这个地方并不十分有趣
It’s not a particularly fun-looking town
但第一印象可能有欺骗性
but first impressions can be deceptive.
我从这里开始 是因为这地方的人
I’m starting here because the people in this place
曾揭示了心理对身体有多大影响
have revealed the extent to which the mind can affect the body.
他们展示了 你的所思所想
They’ve shown that what you think
以及思考方式有多重要
and how you think really matters.
这是一个安静且不起眼的小镇
It’s a quiet, really quite unremarkable little town,
然而在1975年 这里曾开展了
and yet, back in 1975, it was the subject
一项非常夺人眼球的社会实验
of a really fascinating social experiment,
这个实验进行至今已近40年
one which has been going on now for almost 40 years.
当地大学的一位科学家起初提出了
It started when a scientist from the local university
一个雄心勃勃的计划
came up with an ambitious plan –
招募镇上50岁以上的人进行老龄化研究
to recruit all the over 50s in the town for a study into ageing.
超过一千名当地人报名参与
More than 1,000 of the locals duly signed up.
我过来是要见见最初参与的几位成员
I’ve come to meet some of the members of that original group,
他们的生活充满活力
and they are a lively lot.
你们每天早晨都聚在一起还是
So, you guys kind of gather every morning or…?
不得不说 你们听上去兴致勃勃的
You sound as though you’re having a gas, I have to say.
除了周日 每天早晨都聚
Every morning except Sunday.
谁是这里最年长的
Who’s the oldest person here?
-他第二 我90岁了 -你90岁啦
– He’s second, I’m 90. – You’re 90?
-他88岁 -88岁了
– He’s 88. – 88.
您是准备活到100岁了
You going to try and make 100?
我不知道 告诉你 到了90岁
I don’t know. I tell you, when you get to be 90,
那可真是多活一天赚一天
actually, you know, you live from day to day.
肯 你参加了最初开始于1975年的研究
Ken, you took part in the original study which began in 1975.
你还记得这事吗
Do you remember taking part in it?
我依稀记得有这么回事
I vaguely remember taking part in it.
你有没有觉得很不同寻常
I mean, did you know how extraordinary it was
当时他们差不多招募了镇上所有的人
that they tried to recruit pretty well everybody in this town
之后一直随访他们
at the time, and then they followed them
到现在差不多有35年了吧
for whatever it is, 35 years now?
我没觉得他们在随访我 有吗
I don’t think they’ve been following me though, have they?
悄悄地
Secretly!
1975年 志愿者填写了问卷
In 1975, volunteers filled in questionnaires,
内容包括健康状况 工作 家庭情况
looking at things like health, jobs, family
对于变老的态度
and attitudes towards growing older.
你担心未来吗
Do you worry about the future?
不 不 我不担心未来
No, no, I don’t worry about the future.
该来的总会来 来了无处躲
I… What will come will come, and when it comes, it comes.
但是我不担心
But, no, no. I don’t worry about it.
一直反复抱有坏的想法 这样不好
If you just keep cyclically thinking bad thoughts, not good.
你对消极的人有什么看法
What do you see in people who are negative?
我的看法嘛 我认为他不快乐
What do I see in them? I see an unhappy person.
我觉得这人的压力比别人♥大♥得多
I see a person who’s more highly stressed than others.
一辈子都绷得紧紧的 那样子
To be stressed all your life, it would be…
生活不会幸福的
wouldn’t be a pleasant life.
最初问卷调查结束几十年后
Decades after the original questionnaires were filled in,
来自俄亥俄州研究的数据终于来到了耶鲁大学
data from the Ohio study ended up at Yale University,
贝卡·利维副教授的桌上
on the desk of Associate Professor Becca Levy.
他们到底问了哪类的问题呢
So, what sort of questions did they ask?
其中一个问题就是 你是否同意
One of the questions was, How much do you agree or disagree
贝卡·利维副教授 耶鲁大学
“越老越无用”这样的观点
with the item “As you get older, you are less useful?”
好吧 我会说我不同意
OK, I would say that I disagree with it
因为我确信 我越老
because I’m sure that, as I’m getting older,
就会越有用
I’m getting more useful.
好的 很好
Oh, good, very good.
另一个问题是 “随着年龄增长
Another question that was asked was, “As you get older,
事情与你所想的相比变得更好
“are things better, the same
相同还是更坏了”
or worse than you thought they would be?”
好吧 虽然我对未来的消极态度
OK, I think I have no particular reason
没有特别的原因 但我还是如此
for feeling negative about the future and yet I do.
你在惧怕什么呢
What are you fearful of?
不知道 就是凡事都更容易焦虑
I don’t know, just generally more anxious about stuff
我不知道是因为我变得更现实了
but I don’t know whether I’m just becoming more realistic
还是因为这世界变得比以前
or whether the world really is a more frightening place
-更可怕了 -是的
– than it once was. – Yes.
事实证明 你对这些问题的回答
It turned out that how you answered these particular questions
能有力地预测你未来的寿命
was a strong predictor of how long you were likely to live.
心理状态出乎意料地重要
Mental attitude was far more important than anyone had imagined.
我们就是想要找到
What we did is we tried to find
参加最初研究的所有人的生存模式
the survival patterns of everybody who was in the original study,
有一项指标
so there’s something called
在美国被称为全国死亡指数
the National Death Index in the United States,
我们找到了所有最初参试者的
and we found mortality information
死亡率数据
about all the original participants.
当贝卡浏览这些死亡记录时
And when Becca went through the death records,
她一次又一次发现了同样的事
she found the same thing over and over again.
对年龄增长持乐观想法的人
It was actually a survival advantage
在生存方面较具优势
on average of about seven and a half years
他们平均能多存活七年半
for those who had more positive beliefs about ageing.
能延长预期寿命达七年半之久
So, something which actually increases life expectancy
确实是非常大的差异
by seven and a half years is quite a big deal, I think.
你发现这个结果时激动吗
Were you excited when you discovered it?
是的 这差异比我们预想的更大
Yes, so it was a bigger advantage than we had predicted
所以看到这个结果还真令人兴奋
so that was really exciting to look at.
准备好了吗
Ready?
开心起来
Get happy!
一 二 三 很好
One, two, three. Fine, right?
贝卡的研究成果也得到了其它
Becca’s research has been backed by other work
观察乐观力量的研究的支持
looking into the power of optimism.
把她的研究结果放到现实中
To put her results into context,
如果我们未来能治愈癌症
if we could cure cancer tomorrow,