第2011期:Flexible thinking for your career

Does work ever leave you feeling stuck in a rut with limited opportunities to be creative? To thrive, you might want to increase your brain's flexibility. But is this even possible, and if so, how? 

工作是否让您感到墨守成规，发挥创造力的机会有限？为了茁壮成长，您可能需要提高大脑的灵活性。但这可能吗？如果可能的话，如何实现呢？

Most jobs require the ability to problem-solve and cope with challenges, at least to a certain extent. Imagine a teacher who has a new and very nervous student in their class. If that teacher is a flexible thinker, they will be able to adapt their classroom management, even if they haven't seen this situation before. According to Leonard Mlodinow, author of Elastic, flexible thinkers rely on idea generation and imagination – they are willing to experiment and take risks. "Elastic thinking is what you need when the circumstances change, and you are dealing with something new. It's not about following rules." Therefore, instead of following the typical procedure for inducting a new student, the teacher might come up with a tailored response, based on prediction and previous experience. 

大多数工作都需要至少在一定程度上解决问题和应对挑战的能力。想象一下，一位老师的班上有一个非常紧张的新学生。如果那位老师是一个灵活的思考者，他们将能够调整他们的课堂管理，即使他们以前没有见过这种情况。《Elastic》一书的作者伦纳德·姆洛迪诺 (Leonard Mlodinow) 认为，灵活的思考者依赖于创意的产生和想象力——他们愿意尝试并承担风险。“当情况发生变化、面对新事物时，你需要的是弹性思维。这不是遵守规则。” 因此，老师可能会根据预测和以前的经验提出量身定制的应对措施，而不是遵循引导新生的典型程序。 

So, how can you become a more flexible thinker? According to Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett, it's all about exercising the brain. One way of doing this, she says, is through exposure to a variety of experiences which make it easier to adjust to new situations. A lot of companies now consider flexible thinking in the workplace, especially when it comes to design. Workspaces may have couches where workers can lie down and relax, giving them the space to come up with and process new ideas. Mlodinow says it's very important to take time to daydream, listen to ideas and concepts you disagree with and spend time doing activities outside of your comfort zone. This will help you understand multiple points of view and therefore blossom in many different aspects of your career. 

那么，如何才能成为一个更灵活的思考者呢？丽莎·费尔德曼·巴雷特博士表示，这一切都与锻炼大脑有关。她说，做到这一点的一种方法是通过接触各种经历，这样可以更容易地适应新情况。现在很多公司都考虑在工作场所采用灵活的思维，尤其是在设计方面。工作空间可能有沙发，员工可以躺下放松，为他们提供想出和处理新想法的空间。姆洛迪诺说，花时间做白日梦、倾听你不同意的想法和概念、花时间在你的舒适区之外进行活动非常重要。这将帮助您理解多种观点，从而在您职业生涯的许多不同方面蓬勃发展。 

So, if you want to make a change, you can become a flexible thinker too, with a little practice. 

所以，如果你想做出改变，通过一点练习，你也可以成为一个灵活的思考者。

词汇表

stuck in a rut 一成不变
flexibility 灵活性
problem-solve 解决问题
cope with 应对
adapt 适应
idea generation 创意生成
imagination 想象力
experiment 实践，尝试
circumstance （客观）环境，状况
typical 典型的
come up with 想出，提出
tailored 特制的，有针对性的
prediction 预测
exposure 接触
adjust 适应
daydream 白日做梦，幻想
concept 观念，概念
comfort zone 舒适区