How Long It Takes To Change Your Life? | Nwal Hadaki | TEDxSafirSchool · TEDx Talks
演讲者分享了关于习惯改变的常见误区，特别是21天理论的来源与争议。适合练习英语口语和听力理解。
Transcriber: نوير القحطاني Reviewer: Gia Bảo Nguyễn
转录者：努尔·阿尔-卡赫塔尼（Noor Al-Qahthani） 审稿人：吉娅·包·阮（Gia Bảo Nguyễn）
Have you ever thought to yourself before going to sleep?
在睡觉之前，你有没有认真思考过自己的问题？
Tomorrow is the day I’ll change, tomorrow is the day I’ll get up early in the morning, have a healthy breakfast,
明天就是我改变自己的日子。明天我会早起，吃一顿健康的早餐。
go for a morning jog, breath fresh air.
去晨跑吧，呼吸新鲜空气，让身心都得到放松。
Tomorrow is the day, I want to change to who I really want to be, “The best version of myself”.
明天就是那个重要的日子——我想成为真正的自己，成为“最好的自己”。
Well, change doesn’t come easy.
嗯，改变并不容易发生。
You have to incorporate certain habits in your life that all eventually lead to you becoming the best version of yourself.
你必须在自己的生活中养成一些特定的习惯，这些习惯最终会帮助你成为最好的自己。
You also have to eliminate certain habits that are hindering your path.
你还需要摒弃那些阻碍你前进的坏习惯。
Well, how long will it take you to form a new habit or get rid of an old one?
那么，养成一个新的习惯或改掉一个旧的习惯需要多长时间呢？
Most people will tell you it takes exactly 21 days for a person to form a habit or get rid of an old one.
大多数人会告诉你：一个人养成一个新习惯或改掉一个旧习惯所需的时间正好是21天。
I remember once in highschool, when my teachers told me: “It takes exactly 21 days for me to form a new habit”.
我记得高中时有一次，老师告诉我：“养成一个新习惯需要整整21天的时间。
And I thought, this is my chance to become a bed maker.
我想，这就是我成为“床品制作专家”的机会。
I thought that for the next 21 days, instead of getting up every day and yelling: “Mom, please don’t forget to make my bed today”.
我想，在接下来的21天里，我不会再每天起床后大喊：“妈妈，请别忘了今天帮我整理床铺。
I thought I’ll do it myself.
我想我还是自己来做这件事吧。
Day by day, early in the morning, 6 a.m.
每天清晨六点，日复一日。
Even on days I was running late, I got up every morning and I made my bed.
即使在那些我会迟到的日子里，我每天早上也会起床，并整理好自己的床铺。
And I hated every seconds of it.
我极其讨厌其中的每一刻。
And by day 22 I opened my eyes and the first thing I did was
到了第22天的时候，我睁开眼睛，第一件事就是……
say “Mom” “please don’t forget to make my bed today”.
请说“妈妈”，并说：“求你了，今天别忘了帮我整理床铺。
I quit.
我辞职了。
and of course that was expected.
当然，这是意料之中的事。
And I thought, okay, maybe I’m just gonna be a little bit worse at life
于是我想：好吧，也许我在生活中会表现得稍微差一点吧。
than bed makers.
比那些负责整理床铺的人（更有能力）。
Whatever, I do not exaggerate, if I say that this 21 day theory is the most famous myth in the world of self-development
不管怎样，我并没有夸张；如果我说这个“21天理论”是自我发展领域中最著名的“神话”（即最广为流传的错误观念或误导性理论），那也是事实。
Let’s dive a little into our theory to understand where the number 21 came from and the reasons for its spread in self-developmental books and courses.
让我们进一步探讨一下我们的理论，弄清楚数字“21”是从何而来的，以及它为何会在自我发展相关的书籍和课程中广泛传播。
Dr. Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon in the 1950s, when he began noticing a strange pattern among his patients.
马克斯韦尔·马尔茨博士（Dr. Maxwell Maltz）是20世纪50年代的一位整形外科医生。当时，他开始注意到自己的患者中存在一种奇怪的现象。
for example, in a nose job, he saw that the patient took exactly 21 days to get used to start seeing his or her new nose.
例如，在进行鼻整形手术的过程中，医生观察到患者花了整整21天的时间才逐渐适应自己新长出的鼻子。
He also noticed that if a patient had an arm or leg amputated,
他还注意到，如果患者的手臂或腿部被截肢，
the patient would acknowledge the feeling of their new limb for exactly 21 days before starting to get used with their new condition.
患者会在完全适应新肢体后的21天内，持续感受到这种“陌生感”（即对新肢体存在的不适或困惑）。
Dr.Maltz published his theory in a book that went very famous in that era and sold over 30 million copies.
马尔茨博士将自己的理论写成了一本书，这本书在当时的时代非常受欢迎，销量超过了3000万册。
And here, the conflict started brewing and it makes sense why people were starting to believe his theory.
就在这里，冲突开始酝酿；人们开始相信他的理论也就不足为奇了。
why?
为什么？
Number one, the number 21 is considered a short period of time and that’s also considered a short of temptation which means something you can do.
首先，21天被认为是一段较短的时间；同时，这段时间也被视为“诱惑较少的时期”，也就是说，在这段时间里你相对容易坚持自己的目标（即不容易受到外界诱惑的影响）。
Number two, the number 21 is also long enough to be believable a difficult challenge but not impossible.
其次，数字21的长度足以让人相信这是一个具有挑战性的任务（虽然难度不小，但并非完全不可能完成）。
I mean, who wouldn’t love to change their whole life within just 21 days.
我的意思是，谁不想在短短21天内彻底改变自己的生活呢？
Wouldn’t you love to start waking up early in the morning every day?
你难道不希望每天都能早起吗？
Wouldn’t you love to start cooking healthy recipes?
你难道不想开始尝试制作健康美味的菜肴吗？
wouldn’t you love to start drinking weird smoothies?
你难道不想开始尝试那些奇怪的、口感独特的奶昔吗？
And all within less than one month!
而且这一切都在不到一个月的时间内完成了！
We’d go for it in a heartbeat.
我们会毫不犹豫地选择它。