We all know what a bad habit is. Smoking, eating unhealthy foods and being lazy are just some of the behaviors we ought to avoid in order to increase our overall well-being. Yet a recent study by scientists at the centers for disease control and prevention, found that avoidable behaviors such as poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking and drinking alcohol, were some of the underlying causes of nearly half of the deaths in the United States.

 

我们都知道什么是坏习惯。为了让自己更健康，我们需要改掉一些坏习惯，比如吸烟，好吃懒做，等等。然而，疾控中心的科学家们最近的一项研究表明，在美国，将近一半的死亡，是由饮食不健康、缺乏锻炼、吸烟、饮酒等习惯引起的，而这些坏习惯其实是可以避免的。

 

Tobacco accounted for eighteen point one percent of total deaths. Inactivity and bad eating sixteen point six percent and alcohol consumption three point five percent. If we know bad habits are so detrimental to our health, why do we continue to do that? We all indulge in behaviors that we know aren't good for us, and the main reason we resort to these behaviors, is because bad habits give us the comfort we need.

因吸烟而死的人，占总死亡人数的18.1%。因不运动和饮食不健康而死的人，占总死亡人数的16.6%。因饮酒而死的人，占总死亡人数的3.5%。既然我们知道坏习惯对健康有害，为什么我们还要去做这些事情？我们都沉迷于对自己有害的坏习惯，主要的原因就是，我们需要舒适，而这些坏习惯满足了这个需要。

 

When it comes to making decisions, your brain can't differentiate good from bad. It only knows comfortable and uncomfortable. Every action you take has a purpose behind it, even if you're not consciously aware of what that purpose is. The most common hidden purpose is comfort. Our brains are wired to be reward-based and our reward is the feeling of comfort that in turn triggers a release of dopamine, called the feel-good hormone.

做决定时，你的大脑无法明辨是非，它只知道什么是舒服的，什么是不舒服的。你的每个举动，背后都有目的，尽管有可能你并不知道这个目的是什么。最常见的潜在目的，就是舒适。我们的大脑都是遵从奖励制度的，我们所得到的奖励，就是那种舒适的感觉，这种感觉会带来多巴胺，一种能让我们感到快乐的荷尔蒙。

 

When you bite into a chocolate chip cookie you get a hit of dopamine. When you get a like on instagram you get a hit of dopamine. The hit of pleasure causes us to crave more and so we associate this good feeling with the bad habit. This explains why we continue to indulge in bad habits and find it so difficult to stop. It feels comfortable and we essentially get to exist in our safe zone. In other words, you get attracted to the reward despite knowing it's bad for you.

当你咬一口巧克力饼干时，你会得到多巴胺。当你在Instagram上收到一个赞时，你会得到多巴胺。多巴胺带来的快乐，会让我们渴望得到更多，所以我们会把快乐的感觉和坏习惯联系起来，这就是我们沉迷于坏习惯且无法自拔的原因。这让我们感到舒服，从本质上看，我们其实是走进了舒适区。也就是说，虽然你知道坏习惯对你有害，但是你还是被它带来的舒服感觉所吸引。

 

Smoking that cigarette on your work breaks causes your brain to associate that habit with freedom and relaxation. Drinking alcohol may be associated with relieving some tension after a hard week. The thought of exercising and making some kind of effort is overridden in the brain by the easier thought of sitting on the couch and binge watching your favorite show. So, you can see how easily the habit is connected with the reward.

你在工作间隙吸的那根烟，让你把吸烟这个习惯跟自由和放松联系起来。喝酒可能会跟工作一周后的减压联系起来。运动，努力，这些积极的想法，已经被那些更安逸的想法取代了，比如瘫在沙发上看电视。所以，你也看到了，把坏习惯和安逸的奖励联系起来，是非常容易的。

 

We also tend to rationalize our bad behaviors, if society as a whole finds it acceptable. If a vast amount of people are doing the same thing, then it must be ok for us to do it too. It's not difficult to find socially acceptable bad habits. Snacking, skipping exercises, getting blackout drunk, and even chain-smoking are things that lots of people do. This causes an inward rationalization when it comes to unhealthy habits, such as, just one more won't hurt, or I'll do better next week. But these in-the-moment justifications only provide a brief escape from stress.

如果社会接受我们的不良行为，那么我们就会认为它们是合理的。一件事，如果很多人都在做，那么我们做也没问题。在我们生活的社会中，有很多坏习惯是可以接受的，比如吃零食，偷懒不运动，喝得烂醉，吸烟上瘾，这些是很多人都在做的事。在我们的潜意识中，这让我们认为那些不健康的习惯是合理的，比如，我们会想，再抽一根也没事，下周我会做得更好。但是，这些理由只不过是我们逃避压力的借口而已。

 

It's important to remember that bad habits only give temporary comfort. An alcoholic beverage can only numb you to stress, and after a buzz wears off, the stressful reality returns. Ironically the long-term solution to break bad habits is in fact discomfort. The only way you grow is by stepping into the unknown. This is why so many people have break down before breakthrough moments. The more discomfort you experience, the greater the long-term benefit will be. The simplest analogy is exercise, the more you push yourself during a workout the more sweat, burn, fatigue, exhaustion you feel, the more strength, endurance, and longevity you gain.

我们要记住，坏习惯只会带来暂时的舒服。灌下一瓶酒，只能让你麻痹自己，逃避压力，等到酒醒之后，压力又回来了。有意思的是，摆脱坏习惯的长久之计，其实就是不舒服。如果想成长，唯一的办法就是走向未知。从长远看，你经历的不舒适越多，你得到的好处就越多。最好的例子就是运动，在健身的时候，你越是逼自己，流汗越多，燃烧的脂肪越多，身体越累，你的力量和耐力就会更强，你就能更长寿。

 

However, most people don't change until not changing is the less comfortable option. Powerful transformation happens when you truly get out of your comfort zone. Familiar discomfort is a form of comfort. This is why people are addicted to toxic relationships. Comfort is nothing more than an illusion. There's no such thing as real comfort. There's only the idea of what safe. This one is a big one to swallow, but there's really no such thing as comfort, which is why comfortable things don't last, and why the most well-adjusted people are most comfortable in discomfort. Comfortable is just an idea. You choose what you want to base yours on. Discomfort is your friend.

然而，除非改变是不得已的选择，否则大多数人不会改变。当你真正走出舒适区的时候，你身上就会发生影响深远的改变。熟悉的不舒适，也是一种舒适，所以很多人沉迷于有害的人际关系。舒适只是一种幻觉，根本没有真正的舒适，只有我们自认为的安全而已。这可能很难接受，然而事实就是，舒适是不存在的，所以那些令人舒适的东西并不持久，而那些适应力很强的人，反而喜欢不舒适。舒适，只是一种想法而已。什么才能让你感到舒适，你自己说了算。不舒适，才是你真正的朋友。