为什么有的人总是干劲儿十足？

夏辉

I was driving with a friend recently and telling him about some projects that really excited me. I mentioned a new book Im working on， an article Im writing and this new hobby of adventure motorcycling in the desert.

He interrupted me and said， “How do you stay so motivated and so excited about things？”

It caught me off guard1）. I hadnt really considered the “why” behind my list of activities. But as I thought about it， I realized that the one aspect each of these projects had to make me so motivated—the common thread—was the feeling of being in just a little over my head2）. In other words， doing things despite the fact that， as the marketing guru Seth Godin3） likes to say， “this might not work.”

Now， that may sound a little bit counterintuitive4）. Its easy to wonder how doing stuff that makes you uncomfortable， and might not even work， is a source of motivation.

Ive been thinking a lot about this paradox， and I could not get my friends question out of my head. I wondered whether Im wired differently. But theres something about a sink-or-swim environment that excites me.

I posted on Instagram about constantly getting in a little over my head， and my friend Dallas Hartwig told me about this concept called hormesis5）， a phenomenon by which something that could significantly impair6） or even kill you in high doses can make you stronger in low doses. Or as the National Institutes of Health puts it， “In the fields of biology and medicine， hormesis is defined as an adaptive7） response of cells and organisms to a moderate （usually intermittent） stress.”

Of course， I thought. What doesnt kill you makes you stronger. Its not a new concept. Its well documented that the way to grow muscle is to rip the muscle tissue， and then give it time to regrow. You give it stress， then rest， and it comes back on the other side stronger than it was before.

So what if we did the same thing in other areas of our lives？ In our work， in our family life or in our recreational activities？

It makes sense that the business equivalent of building muscle is trying new things. When you throw yourself into the deep end8） of something new， you often face a steep learning curve. That forces you to grow， adapt， change and develop your skill set. Its almost irrelevant if the particular project ends up succeeding. The very act of taking on9） something new helps you become better at your work over all.

You cannot spend your whole life in the deep end， as that is a recipe for drowning. Muscles get tired. So just like physical exercise， you have to take breaks. You have to calibrate10） the stress and rest cycle of any sort of entrepreneurial or creative work.

The more I thought about it， the more I began to see these experiences， of diving into the unknown， for what they really were. Some people call them work projects， but I call them adventures. After all， isnt the definition of “adventure” to set off into the unknown， endure hardships， come back and then rest？

With this reframing， I finally had an answer to my friends question about how I stay motivated. Its because Im constantly setting off on the next adventure！ How could I not？

I know that adventures are not for everyone. I know they can feel scary and intimidating. But making a habit of seeking adventures， in spite of how scary they are， may be the secret to staying motivated about the things you do.

And that， if nothing else， confers11） a key economic benefit onto anyone who experiences it. Even if we set aside all the tangible benefits that come from stepping outside our comfort zone， it is intuitively obvious that being more excited about your work is a surefire12） way to improve your performance—and turn your various ventures into adventures.

最近有一次我开车载朋友时，跟他聊起了一些让我非常兴奋的事。我提到了一本还没完成的新书，一篇正在写的文章，还有在沙漠里骑摩托车冒险这项新爱好。

他打断我说：“你是怎么做到一直如此干劲儿十足又兴致高昂的？”

这个问题让我措手不及。我之前从来没有真正考虑过自己做这些事背后的“为什么”。但在想了一会儿之后，我意识到，所有这些让我如此充满干劲儿的事都有一个特点，一个共性，那就是它们都让我觉得有点太难了。换用市场营销大师赛斯·高汀爱说的那句话来讲，我喜欢做那些事实上“可能成不了”的事。

我知道，这听起来可能有点不合常理。人们很可能会觉得奇怪：做那些让你觉得不舒服甚至可能根本成不了的事怎么会成为一种动力来源呢？

我一直在思考这一悖论，无法将朋友的问题抛诸脑后。我不知道自己是不是天生就和别人不一样。但是这种背水一战的情境会令我兴奋不已。

我在Instagram上发文说自己经常做有点难以实现的事，之后我的朋友达拉斯·哈特维希跟我讲了一个叫做“毒物兴奋效应”的概念，它指的是这样一种现象：有些东西如果大剂量使用可能会非常严重地致残甚至致死，而如果少量使用则可能让你变得更强。或者就像美国国立卫生研究院公布的那样：“在生物和医药领域，毒物兴奋效应被定义为细胞和有机体对于温和的（常常是间歇性的）压力所表现出的一种适应性反应。”

那是自然，我心想。凡是杀不死你的事物都让你变得更强壮。这不是个新概念。有切实的资料表明，使肌肉增长的方法就是先撕裂肌肉组织，然后给它时间，让它重新生长。你给它压力，然后停止施压，等它恢复的时候，它就会比从前更强壮。

那如果我们在生活的其他领域也这么做会怎样？如果我们在工作、家庭生活或娱乐活动中这么做会怎样呢？

不难理解，在商业领域里，与增长肌肉原理相同的行为就是尝试新事物。当你跳入某些新事物的“深水区”时，你经常会面临要急速学习新东西的状况。它逼着你去成长、适应、改变以及拓展你的各项技能。这一新事物最终成功与否甚至都无关紧要。着手处理新事物本身就能帮你在工作的方方面面变得更加出色。

你也不能终生都待在“深水区”，因为那样迟早会溺水出事，肌肉会疲劳，所以就像体能练习那样，你需要不时停下来歇歇。在任何一项创业或创造性的活动中，你都要调整承受压力和休息的周期。

我越是细想这个问题，就越能开始看清这些经历——这些一头扎向未知的行为——具有怎样的真实面貌。有些人称它们为工作项目，而我把它们称为冒险。毕竟，“冒险”的定义不就是向着未知启程，历经艰险，回返，而后休养生息吗？

经过这一番重新梳理，对朋友关于我是如何保持干劲儿的问题，我终于有了答案。那是因为我一直不断地向着下一个冒险前进！我怎么可能不去冒险呢？

我知道并不是人人都适合冒险。我知道冒险会让人觉得恐惧和胆怯。但是无论它们有多吓人，不断寻求新的冒险的习惯养成可能正是让你对自己所从事的事情充满动力的秘诀。

别的不说，单是这一点就已经能够给每一个经历过冒险的人带来重要的经济收益了。即使我们不考虑踏出舒适区能带来的所有实际好处，我们凭直觉也能清晰地认识到，对你的工作保持更兴奋的态度一定能成功提升你的工作表现——还能将你的各种冒险都变成异乎寻常的经历。