Reading Journal - The Subtle Art of Not Giving  a F*ck

20180117-18  Chapter 2 Happiness Is a Problem.

-Q & A-

001 Why “happiness is a problem"?

Because a real life is actually full of disatisfactions and unease, which are necessary  to create consistent hapiness, for happiness come from solving problems.

002 Why the author invented “Disappointment Panda”? What is it for?

He invented “Disappointment Panda” to remind us of the truth of life  that none of us would want but all of us would need.

003 What is the role that emotions play in our life? why they are overrated?

Emotions are feedback mechanisms telling us that something is either likely right or likely wrong for us to help us live and reproduce a little bit better.

Emotions are overrated because no mature and rational people base their entire lives on their emotions. We should realized that negative emotions are a call to action while positive emotions are rewards for taking the proper action.

004 Why you don’t have chiseled abs? (If you do have, how did you make it?)

I don't have chiseled abs because I was just in love with the result of having chiseled abs rather than the process of struggling for it, but life doesn't work like that. If I want to make it, I have to suffer through the process.

-Take-away Message-

001 今天感触最深的是作者提到自己年轻时一心想要成为摇滚明星，每日幻想自己成名后站在舞台上迷倒众生的样子，却没有真正地为此付出过、努力过，以致于最后这也只是一个幻想。这种经历对我来说简直太熟悉了。不知道有多少次，我也幻想着自己成功之后的样子，却因为仅仅享受这自我臆想出来的结果，而不脚踏实地去走完这个奋斗的过程，最终让自己所谓的梦想只能是大脑里的白日梦，到头来还要厚着脸皮感慨人生不易。

002 第二个触动我的地方则是作者毫不客气地指出：只有三岁小孩和狗才会把自己的全部生活寄托在自己的情绪上。这仿佛一记棒喝，叫醒了沉醉于“放飞天性”的我。我觉得不高兴就要哭，高兴就要笑，以为情绪嘛，发泄掉就好了，却没有意识到，情绪应该是我们行动的指南！消极情绪提醒我们改变现状，积极情绪则是对当前行为模式的肯定。

-Words & Expressions-

001 bide one's time

原句:  I was simply bidding my time before I could invest the proper amount of energy and effort into getting out there and making my mark.

释义： to wait until the right moment to do something

造句：Biding our time may sometimes means to miss a good oppotunity.

002 salivate 

原句: You may salivate at the thought of a problem-free life full of everlasting happiness and eternal compassion, but back here on earth the problems never cease.

释义： v. to look at or show interest in something or someone in a way that shows you like or want them very much - used to show disapproval

用法： 非常喜欢这个词的翻译：垂涎。 因为saliva这个词本身就表示口水，动词salivate表示流口水这个动词，引申为“垂涎”之意，正好在中文里也是通常作贬义词来用。

造句：The businessmen are salivating at the new profitable  project.

003 coddle

原句: And this is what’s so dangerous about a society that coddles itself more and more from the inevitable discomforts of life...

释义：v. to treat someone in a way that is too kind and gentle and that peotects them from pain or difficulty

造句：My mom's coddling my daughter too much makes me worried.

004 spur 

原句: Pain, in all of its forms, is our body’s most effective means of spurring action.

释义： v. encourage someone or make them want to do something

造句：The company was spurred on by the success of the new product.

005 repress

原句: Many people are taught to repress their emotions for various personal, social, or cultural reasons—particularly negative emotions.

释义： v. to stop yourself from doing something you want to do

造句：The boy repressed the urge to stare at the girl.