Now lets tempt (诱惑) four-year-olds, giving them a treat (请他们吃东西) .
They can have one marshmallow (棉花糖) now.
But if they wait until the experimenter comes back, they can have two.
Of course it pays, if you like marshmallows, to wait.
What happens is two-thirds of the kids give in to temptation (诱惑) . They cannot wait. The others, of course, wait.
They resist (抵抗) the temptation. They delay the now for later.
Walter Mischel, my colleague at Stanford, went back 14 years later, to try to discover what was different about those kids.
There were enormous (巨大的) differences between kids who resisted and kids who yielded (屈服) , in many ways.
The kids who resisted scored (得到...的分数) 250 points higher on the SAT (美国高考) . That's enormous.
That's like a whole set of different IQ points.
They didn't get in as much trouble. They were better students. They were self-confident (自信的) and determined (坚定的) .
And the key for me today, the key for you, is, they were future-focused (着眼于未来的) rather than present-focused (及时行乐的) .
So what is time perspective (时间洞察力) ? That's what I'm going to talk about today.
Time perspective is the study of how individuals (个体) , all of us, divide the flow of your human experience into time zones or time categories.
And you do it automatically (自然地) and non-consciously (下意识地) .
They vary between cultures, between nations, between individuals, between social classes, between education levels.
And the problem is that they can become biased (偏颇的) , because you learn to over-use (过度使用) some of them and under-use (不充分使用) the others.
What determines any decision you make?
You make a decision on which you're going to base an action.
For some people it's only about what is in the immediate (即时的) situation, what other people are doing and what you're feeling.
And those people, when they make their decisions in that format — we're going to call them "present-oriented," because their focus is what is now.
For others, the present is irrelevant (无关痛痒的) .
It's always about "What is this situation like that I've experienced in the past?"
So that their decisions are based on past memories (逝去的回忆) . And we're going to call those people "past-oriented," because they focus on what was.
For others it's not the past, it's not the present, it's only about the future.
Their focus is always about anticipated (预料到的) consequences (结果) . Cost-benefit (成本效益) analysis. We're going to call them "future-oriented." Their focus is on what will be.
So, time paradox (时间悖论) , I want to argue, the paradox of time perspective, is something that influences every decision you make, you're totally unaware (浑然不知的) of.
Namely, the extent (范围) to which you have one of these biased time perspectives.
Well there is actually six of them. There are two ways to be present-oriented, two ways to be past-oriented, two ways to be future.
You can focus on past-positive, or past-negative.
You can be present-hedonistic (及时行乐的) , namely you focus on the joys of life, or present-fatalist (相信宿命的) — it doesn't matter, your life is controlled.
You can be future-oriented, setting goals.
Or you can be transcendental future: namely, life begins after death.
Developing the mental flexibility (思维灵活性) to shift time perspectives fluidly (流畅地) depending on the demands of the situation, that's what you've got to learn to do.
So, very quickly, what is the optimal (最理想的) time profile?
High on past-positive. Moderately (适度地) high on future. And moderate on present-hedonism. And always low on past-negative and present-fatalism.
So the optimal temporal mix is what you get from the past — past-positive gives you roots (根) .
You connect your family, identity and your self.
What you get from the future is wings to soar to new destinations (目标) , new challenges.
What you get from the present hedonism is the energy, the energy to explore yourself, places, people, sensuality (感官上的享受) .
Any time perspective in excess has more negatives than positives. What do futures sacrifice (牺牲) for success?
They sacrifice family time. They sacrifice friend time. They sacrifice fun time. They sacrifice personal indulgence (个人嗜好) . They sacrifice hobbies.
And they sacrifice sleep, so it affects their health.
And they live for work, achievement and control.
I'm sure that resonates (产生共鸣) with some of the TEDsters.
And it resonated for me.
I grew up as a poor kid in the South Bronx ghetto (犹太人居住区) , a Sicilian family — everyone lived in the past and present.
I'm here as a future-oriented person who went over the top, who did all these sacrifices because teachers intervened (介入) , and made me future oriented.
Told me don't eat that marshmallow, because if you wait you're going to get two of them, until I learned to balance out.
I've added present-hedonism, I've added a focus on the past-positive.
So, at 76 years old, I am more energetic than ever, more productive (多产的) , and I'm happier than I have ever been.
They can have one marshmallow (棉花糖) now.
But if they wait until the experimenter comes back, they can have two.
Of course it pays, if you like marshmallows, to wait.
What happens is two-thirds of the kids give in to temptation (诱惑) . They cannot wait. The others, of course, wait.
They resist (抵抗) the temptation. They delay the now for later.
Walter Mischel, my colleague at Stanford, went back 14 years later, to try to discover what was different about those kids.
There were enormous (巨大的) differences between kids who resisted and kids who yielded (屈服) , in many ways.
The kids who resisted scored (得到...的分数) 250 points higher on the SAT (美国高考) . That's enormous.
That's like a whole set of different IQ points.
They didn't get in as much trouble. They were better students. They were self-confident (自信的) and determined (坚定的) .
And the key for me today, the key for you, is, they were future-focused (着眼于未来的) rather than present-focused (及时行乐的) .
So what is time perspective (时间洞察力) ? That's what I'm going to talk about today.
Time perspective is the study of how individuals (个体) , all of us, divide the flow of your human experience into time zones or time categories.
And you do it automatically (自然地) and non-consciously (下意识地) .
They vary between cultures, between nations, between individuals, between social classes, between education levels.
And the problem is that they can become biased (偏颇的) , because you learn to over-use (过度使用) some of them and under-use (不充分使用) the others.
What determines any decision you make?
You make a decision on which you're going to base an action.
For some people it's only about what is in the immediate (即时的) situation, what other people are doing and what you're feeling.
And those people, when they make their decisions in that format — we're going to call them "present-oriented," because their focus is what is now.
For others, the present is irrelevant (无关痛痒的) .
It's always about "What is this situation like that I've experienced in the past?"
So that their decisions are based on past memories (逝去的回忆) . And we're going to call those people "past-oriented," because they focus on what was.
For others it's not the past, it's not the present, it's only about the future.
Their focus is always about anticipated (预料到的) consequences (结果) . Cost-benefit (成本效益) analysis. We're going to call them "future-oriented." Their focus is on what will be.
So, time paradox (时间悖论) , I want to argue, the paradox of time perspective, is something that influences every decision you make, you're totally unaware (浑然不知的) of.
Namely, the extent (范围) to which you have one of these biased time perspectives.
Well there is actually six of them. There are two ways to be present-oriented, two ways to be past-oriented, two ways to be future.
You can focus on past-positive, or past-negative.
You can be present-hedonistic (及时行乐的) , namely you focus on the joys of life, or present-fatalist (相信宿命的) — it doesn't matter, your life is controlled.
You can be future-oriented, setting goals.
Or you can be transcendental future: namely, life begins after death.
Developing the mental flexibility (思维灵活性) to shift time perspectives fluidly (流畅地) depending on the demands of the situation, that's what you've got to learn to do.
So, very quickly, what is the optimal (最理想的) time profile?
High on past-positive. Moderately (适度地) high on future. And moderate on present-hedonism. And always low on past-negative and present-fatalism.
So the optimal temporal mix is what you get from the past — past-positive gives you roots (根) .
You connect your family, identity and your self.
What you get from the future is wings to soar to new destinations (目标) , new challenges.
What you get from the present hedonism is the energy, the energy to explore yourself, places, people, sensuality (感官上的享受) .
Any time perspective in excess has more negatives than positives. What do futures sacrifice (牺牲) for success?
They sacrifice family time. They sacrifice friend time. They sacrifice fun time. They sacrifice personal indulgence (个人嗜好) . They sacrifice hobbies.
And they sacrifice sleep, so it affects their health.
And they live for work, achievement and control.
I'm sure that resonates (产生共鸣) with some of the TEDsters.
And it resonated for me.
I grew up as a poor kid in the South Bronx ghetto (犹太人居住区) , a Sicilian family — everyone lived in the past and present.
I'm here as a future-oriented person who went over the top, who did all these sacrifices because teachers intervened (介入) , and made me future oriented.
Told me don't eat that marshmallow, because if you wait you're going to get two of them, until I learned to balance out.
I've added present-hedonism, I've added a focus on the past-positive.
So, at 76 years old, I am more energetic than ever, more productive (多产的) , and I'm happier than I have ever been.
