Little Lessons from the Four Laws

IN THIS BOOK, I have introduced a four-step model for human behavior:

在这本书中，我介绍了一个人类行为的四步模型:

cue, craving, response, reward. This framework not only teaches us how to create new habits but also reveals some interesting insights about human behavior.

暗示，渴望，反应，奖励。这个框架不仅教导我们如何培养新的习惯，同时也揭示了一些关于人类行为的有趣见解。

In this section, I have compiled some lessons (and a few bits of common sense) that are confirmed by the model. The purpose of these examples is to clarify just how useful and wide-ranging this framework is when describing human behavior. Once you understand the model, you’ll see examples of it everywhere.

在本节中，我汇编了一些经验教训(以及一些常识)，这些经验教训已经得到了模型的证实。这些例子的目的是澄清这个框架在描述人类行为时是多么的有用和广泛。一旦你理解了这个模型，你会发现它无处不在。

Awareness comes before desire. A craving is created when you assign meaning to a cue. Your brain constructs an emotion or feeling to describe your current situation, and that means a craving can only occur after you have noticed an opportunity.

意识优先于欲望。当你给线索赋予意义时，就会产生渴望。你的大脑构建一种情绪或感觉来描述你当前的状况，这意味着只有当你注意到一个机会时，渴望才会发生。

Happiness is simply the absence of desire. When you observe a cue, but do not desire to change your state, you are content with the current situation. Happiness is not about the achievement of pleasure (which is joy or satisfaction), but about the lack of desire. It arrives when you have no urge to feel differently. Happiness is the state you enter when you no longer want to change your state.

幸福就是没有欲望。当你观察到一个线索，但并不想改变你的状态时，你就对当前的情况感到满意。幸福不在于获得快乐(即快乐或满足)，而在于缺乏欲望。当你没有感觉不同的冲动时，它就会出现。幸福是当你不再想改变你的状态时所进入的状态。

However, happiness is fleeting because a new desire always comes along. As Caed Budris says, “Happiness is the space between one desire being fulfilled and a new desire forming.” Likewise, suffering is the space between craving a change in state and getting it.

然而，幸福是转瞬即逝的，因为新的欲望总是随之而来。正如凯德·布德里斯所说:“幸福是人与人之间的空间欲望得到满足，新的欲望形成。”同样地，痛苦是渴望改变状态和得到它之间的空间。

It is the idea of pleasure that we chase. We seek the image of pleasure that we generate in our minds. At the time of action, we do not know what it will be like to attain that image (or even if it will satisfy us). The feeling of satisfaction only comes afterward. This is what the Austrian neurologist Victor Frankl meant when he said that happiness cannot be pursued, it must ensue. Desire is pursued. Pleasure ensues from action.

我们追求的是快乐的理念。我们追求我们在头脑中产生的快乐形象。在行动的时候，我们不知道获得那个形象会是什么样子(或者即使它会满足我们)。满足的感觉只有在事后才会出现。这就是奥地利神经学家维克多·弗兰克尔所说的幸福不能被追求，它必须随之而来。欲望被追求。行动带来快乐。

Peace occurs when you don’t turn your observations into problems. The first step in any behavior is observation. You notice a cue, a bit of information, an event. If you do not desire to act on what you observe, then you are at peace.

当你没有把你的观察转化成问题时，平静就会出现。任何行为的第一步都是观察。你注意到一个暗示，一点信息，一个事件。如果你不想按照你所观察到的去行动，那么你就处于平静之中。

Craving is about wanting to fix everything. Observation without craving is the realization that you do not need to fix anything. Your desires are not running rampant. You do not crave a change in state. Your mind does not generate a problem for you to solve. You’re simply observing and existing.

渴望就是想要解决一切问题。没有欲望的观察就是意识到你不需要修复任何东西。你的欲望并没有泛滥。你不会渴望状态的改变。你的大脑不会产生一个需要你解决的问题。你只是在观察和存在。

With a big enough why you can overcome any how. Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher and poet, famously wrote, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” This phrase harbors an important truth about human behavior. If your motivation and desire are great enough (that is, why are you are acting), you’ll take action even when it is quite difficult. Great craving can power great action—even when friction is high.

有了足够大的理由，你就可以克服任何困难。德国哲学家、诗人弗里德里希·尼采·马丁曾经写过一句名言:“有为什么而活的人，几乎可以忍受任何方式。”这个短语隐藏着一个关于人类行为的重要事实。如果你的动力和欲望足够强大(也就是说，你为什么要行动)，即使很困难，你也会采取行动。强烈的渴望可以驱动巨大的行动ーー即使摩擦很大。

Being curious is better than being smart. Being motivated and curious counts for more than being smart because it leads to action. Being smart will never deliver results on its own because it doesn’t get you to act. It is desire, not intelligence, that prompts behavior. As Naval Ravikant says, “The trick to doing anything is first cultivating a desire for it.”

好奇总比聪明好。有动力和好奇心比聪明更重要，因为它会导致行动。聪明本身永远不会带来结果，因为它不会让你采取行动。激发行为的是欲望，而不是智慧。正如navalravikant所说，“做任何事情的诀窍就是首先培养对它的渴望。”

Emotions drive behavior. Every decision is an emotional decision at some level. Whatever your logical reasons are for taking action, you only feel compelled to act on them because of emotion. In fact, people with damage to emotional centers of the brain can list many reasons for taking action but still will not act because they do not have emotions to drive them. This is why craving comes before response. The feeling comes first, and then the behavior.

情绪驱动行为。每一个决定在某种程度上都是一个情绪化的决定。无论你采取行动的逻辑理由是什么，你只是因为情感而被迫采取行动。事实上，大脑情感中枢受损的人可以列出很多采取行动的理由，但仍然不会采取行动，因为他们没有采取行动有情绪驱使他们。这就是为什么渴望先于反应。感觉是第一位的，然后是行为。

We can only be rational and logical after we have been emotional. The primary mode of the brain is to feel; the secondary mode is to think. Our first response—the fast, nonconscious portion of the brain—is optimized for feeling and anticipating. Our second response—the slow, conscious portion of the brain—is the part that does the “thinking.”

我们只有在情绪化之后才能理性和逻辑化。大脑的主要模式是感觉，次要模式是思考。我们的第一反应——大脑中快速、无意识的部分——优化为感觉和预期。我们的第二个反应——大脑中缓慢的、有意识的部分——是负责“思考”的部分

Psychologists refer to this as System 1 (feelings and rapid judgments) versus System 2 (rational analysis). The feeling comes first (System 1); the rationality only intervenes later (System 2). This works great when the two are aligned, but it results in illogical and emotional thinking when they are not.

心理学家称之为系统1(感觉和快速判断)和系统2(理性分析)。感觉优先(系统1)，理性后来才介入(系统2)。当两者结合时，这种方法很有效，但当两者不一致时，就会导致不合逻辑和情感的思考。

Your response tends to follow your emotions. Our thoughts and actions are rooted in what we find attractive, not necessarily in what is logical. Two people can notice the same set of facts and respond very differently because they run those facts through their unique emotional filter. This is one reason why appealing to emotion is typically more powerful than appealing to reason. If a topic makes someone feel emotional, they will rarely be interested in the data. This is why emotions can be such a threat to wise decision making.

你的反应倾向于跟随你的情绪。我们的思想和行动植根于我们认为有吸引力的东西，而不一定是逻辑上的。两个人可以注意到相同的事实，并做出非常不同的反应，因为他们通过自己独特的情感过滤器来处理这些事实。这就是为什么诉诸情感比诉诸理性更有力量的原因之一。如果一个话题让某人感到情绪化，他们很少会对数据感兴趣。这就是为什么情绪会对明智的决策构成如此大的威胁。

Put another way: most people believe that the reasonable response is the one that benefits them: the one that satisfies their desires. To approach a situation from a more neutral emotional position allows you to base your response on the data rather than the emotion.

换句话说:大多数人相信合理的反应是有利于他们的:满足他们的欲望。从一个更中立的情绪立场来处理一个情况，可以让你根据数据而不是情绪来做出反应。

Suffering drives progress. The source of all suffering is the desire for a change in state. This is also the source of all progress. The desire to change your state is what powers you to take action. It is wanting more that pushes humanity to seek improvements, develop new technologies, and reach for a higher level. With craving, we are dissatisfied but driven. Without craving, we are satisfied but lack ambition.

苦难推动进步。一切苦难的根源是改变国家的愿望。这也是所有进步的源泉。改变你的状态的欲望是你采取行动的动力。推动人类寻求进步、开发新技术、达到更高水平的，正是希望得到更多。有了渴望，我们不满足，但是受到驱使。没有欲望，我们满足，但缺乏雄心壮志。

Your actions reveal how badly you want something. If you keep saying something is a priority but you never act on it, then you don’t really want it. It’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself. Your actions reveal your true motivations.

你的行为表明你是多么渴望得到某样东西。如果你一直说某件事是优先考虑的，但你从来没有付诸行动，那么你并不是真的想要它。是时候和自己进行一次诚实的对话了。你的行动揭示了你真正的动机。

Reward is on the other side of sacrifice. Response (sacrifice of energy) always precedes reward (the collection of resources). The “runner’s high” only comes after the hard run. The reward only comes after the energy is spent.

回报在牺牲的另一面。响应(牺牲能量)总是在奖励(收集资源)之前。“跑步者的兴奋”只有在艰苦的跑步之后才会出现。只有在精力消耗完之后才会有回报。

Self-control is difficult because it is not satisfying. A reward is an outcome that satisfies your craving. This makes self-control ineffective because inhibiting our desires does not usually resolve them. Resisting temptation does not satisfy your craving; it just ignores it. It creates space for the craving to pass. Self-control requires you to release a desire rather than satisfy it.

自我控制是困难的，因为它不令人满意。奖励是满足你渴望的结果。这使得自我控制无效，因为抑制我们的欲望通常不能解决它们。抵制诱惑并不能满足你的渴望，它只是忽略了它。它为渴望通过创造了空间。自我控制需要你释放欲望而不是满足它。

Our expectations determine our satisfaction. The gap between our cravings and our rewards determines how satisfied we feel after taking action. If the mismatch between expectations and outcomes is positive (surprise and delight), then we are more likely to repeat a behavior in the future. If the mismatch is negative (disappointment and frustration), then we are less likely to do so.

我们的期望决定了我们的满意度。我们的渴望和回报之间的差距决定了我们在采取行动后的满意度。如果期望和结果之间的不匹配是积极的(惊喜和喜悦)，那么我们更有可能在未来重复一个行为。如果不匹配是负面的(失望和沮丧)，那么我们就不太可能这样做。

For example, if you expect to get $10 and get $100, you feel great. If you expect to get $100 and get $10, you feel disappointed. Your expectation changes your satisfaction. An average experience preceded by high expectations is a disappointment. An average experience preceded by low expectations is a delight. When liking and wanting are approximately the same, you feel satisfied.

例如，如果你期望得到10美元，得到100美元，你会感觉很棒。如果你期望得到100美元而得到10美元，你会感到失望。你的期望改变了你的满意度。一次普通的经历，伴随着很高的期望是令人失望的。一个平凡的经验之前，低期望是一种乐趣。当喜欢和欲望大致相同时，你会感到满足。

Satisfaction = Liking – Wanting

满足 = 喜好 - 欲望

This is the wisdom behind Seneca’s famous quote, “Being poor is not having too little, it is wanting more.” If your wants outpace your likes, you’ll always be unsatisfied. You’re perpetually putting more weight on the problem than the solution.

这是塞尼卡著名名言“贫穷不是拥有太少，而是想要更多”背后的智慧如果你想要的速度超过你喜欢的速度，你将永远不会得到满足。你总是把更多的重心放在问题上而不是解决方案上。

Happiness is relative. When I first began sharing my writing publicly it took me three months to get one thousand subscribers. When I hit that milestone, I told my parents and my girlfriend. We celebrated. I felt excited and motivated. A few years later, I realized that one thousand people were signing up each day. And yet I didn’t even think to tell anyone. It felt normal. I was getting results ninety times faster than before but experiencing little pleasure over it. It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized how absurd it was that I wasn’t celebrating something that would have seemed like a pipe dream just a few years before.

幸福是相对的。当我第一次开始公开分享我的作品时，我花了三个月的时间才得到一千个订阅者。当我到达那个里程碑的时候，我告诉了我的父母和女朋友。我们一起庆祝。我感到兴奋和充满动力。几年后，我意识到每天都有一千人注册。然而我甚至没想过要告诉任何人。感觉很正常。我得到的结果比以前快了九十倍，但却没有体验到多少快乐。直到几天之后，我才意识到，我没有庆祝几年前看起来像是做白日梦的事情是多么荒谬。

The pain of failure correlates to the height of expectation. When desire is high, it hurts to not like the outcome. Failing to attain something you want hurts more than failing to attain something you didn’t think much about in the first place. This is why people say, “I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

失败的痛苦与期望的高度相关。当欲望很强烈时，不喜欢结果是很痛苦的。没有得到你想要的东西比没有得到你一开始没有想到的东西更伤人。这就是为什么人们说，“我不想抱太大希望。”

Feelings come both before and after the behavior. Before acting, there is a feeling that motivates you to act—the craving. After acting, there is a feeling that teaches you to repeat the action in the future—the reward.

感觉在行为前后都会出现。在行动之前，有一种感觉促使你去行动ーー渴望。在表演之后，有一种感觉教会你在未来重复这个动作ーー奖励。

Cue > Craving (Feeling) > Response > Reward (Feeling)

线索渴求(感觉)反应奖励(感觉)

How we feel influences how we act, and how we act influences how we feel.

我们的感受影响着我们的行为，我们的行为影响着我们的感受。

Desire initiates. Pleasure sustains. Wanting and liking are the two drivers of behavior. If it’s not desirable, you have no reason to do it. Desire and craving are what initiate a behavior. But if it’s not enjoyable, you have no reason to repeat it. Pleasure and satisfaction are what sustain a behavior. Feeling motivated gets you to act. Feeling successful gets you to repeat.

欲望开始。快乐支撑着我。想要和喜欢是行为的两个驱动因素。如果你不想做，你就没有理由去做。欲望和渴望是引发一种行为的东西。但是如果你不喜欢，你就没有理由重复它。快乐和满足是维持一种行为的东西。感到充满动力会让你行动起来。成功的感觉会让你重复。

Hope declines with experience and is replaced by acceptance. The first time an opportunity arises, there is hope of what could be. Your expectation (cravings) is based solely on promise. The second time around, your expectation is grounded in reality. You begin to understand how the process works and your hope is gradually traded for a more accurate prediction and acceptance of the likely outcome.

希望随着经验而衰落，取而代之的是接受。第一次机会出现的时候，就有可能是什么的希望。你的期望(欲望)完全基于承诺。第二次，你的期望是基于现实的。你开始理解这个过程是如何运作的，你的希望逐渐被交换成对可能结果的更准确的预测和接受。

This is one reason why we continually grasp for the latest get-rich-quick or weight-loss scheme. New plans offer hope because we don’t have any experiences to ground our expectations. New strategies seem more appealing than old ones because they can have unbounded hope. As Aristotle noted, “Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope.” Perhaps this can be revised to “Youth is easily deceived because it only hopes.” There is no experience to root the expectation in. In the beginning, hope is all you have.

这就是为什么我们不断地抓住最新的快速致富或减肥计划的原因之一。新的计划带来了希望，因为我们没有任何经验来让我们的期望落实。新策略似乎比旧策略更有吸引力，因为它们可以带来无限的希望。正如亚里士多德所说:“年轻人很容易受骗，因为他们很快就会抱有希望。”也许这可以修改为“青春容易受骗，因为它只是希望。”没有经验可以将期望植根于其中。一开始，你只有希望。