Quitters are winners, Bulldogs are losers

1  “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” said the comic actor, W C Fields, “Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.”

2   Well, yes, up to a point, but we all know that there’s a right and a wrong time to quit. According to new research, people who know when to give up on impossible goals, the so-called “quitters”, are physically and mentally healthier than “bulldogs” who persist at any cost.

3   Since the Founding Fathers arrived in America, our children have been the target of messages about the value of determination in the face of life’s difficulties. This never-say-die spirit is best represented by the 19th-century saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” But are there times when it’s simply better to give up?

4   There has been considerable research about this question and specifically about the possible link between determination and health. On the one hand, it seems that persistence and self-discipline increase the chance you’ll succeed in the long term, and that personal success is closely linked to well-being. Think of successful people you know personally, and look back over their lives. Have they always been clear about where they’re going in their lives, and now that they have arrived, are they happy and healthy? Some are, perhaps.

5     But what if success is very doubtful? For example, like an average athlete becoming an Olympic gold medal winner? Can exhibiting too much determination have a negative effect on your health?

6    In a sequence of psychological experiments, scientists Gregory Miller and Carsten Wrosch developed a way of distinguishing between two categories of people, Bulldogs and Quitters. The findings showed that Quitters are generally healthier than Bulldogs. Miller and Wrosch looked at relatively minor illnesses such as skin disorders, poor sleep and headaches, and discovered that Quitters differed from Bulldogs by suffering less. Furthermore, the Bulldogs suffered much more from long periods of stress, during which they had a higher level of a protein which could indicate several serious diseases, including killers like diabetes and heart disease.

7   The scientists also noted that the Bulldogs distinguished themselves from the Quitters by showing how willing they were to pursue new goals after they gave up on something important. They found that people who readily jumped back into life had a greater sense of purpose and were less likely to think about the past. Setting new goals appears to protect them from the emotional consequences of failure, especially the Bulldogs who have a hard time admitting defeat.

8   So why do Bulldogs finally say, “Enough is enough”? In fact, it appears that their physical recovery comes through mild depression. Some go through a period of passive behaviour, during which they shut down. But on the positive side, they’re forced to stop and assess their lives again. Gradually they become more realistic about the world. In terms of human evolution, scientists think that depression is what told our bodies to slow down, to analyze the situation and to be cautious. Melancholy can actually help most of us to give up on the Olympic gold medal and preserve the human species.

9  It’s definitely important to set oneself goals. For young people, it’s part of cultivating an individual identity in the world. But as we grow older, we’re liable to adjust these aspirations or abandon them when we find that either we cannot achieve them or other, more important targets attract us. We abandon our plans for a glorious career because we feel it more desirable to attend to the demands of our young family. We choose not to continue our studies because we need to earn a living. Consequently, we find other, more feasible objectives in our lives, which are more appropriate to our circumstances than our previous ones. So while we may grow out of our dreams, at the same time, we grow up.

10   Maybe we should rewrite the saying. How about “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. But if you don’t succeed, you don’t always fail. Listen to your body and your mind. That’s where you’ll find your success as a human being. That’s where the survival of the species lies.” 

“懦夫”是赢家，“硬汉”是输家

“如果你第一次没有成功，那就再试一次吧，”喜剧演员W C菲尔德斯说，“如果还是没有成功，那就放弃吧。傻瓜一样地不肯放弃是毫无意义的。 ”

嗯，是的，在某种程度上是这样的，但是我们都知道放弃有个正确时机和错误时机的问题。根据新的研究，知道什么时候放弃不可能实现的目标的人，即所谓的“懦夫”，其身心要比不惜任何代价而坚持下去的“硬汉”健康。

自从制宪元勋们来到美国，我们的孩子们就一直被灌输在面对生活中的困难时坚持不懈的价值。这种永不言败的精神在一句19世纪的名言中得到了最佳体现：“如果你第一次没有成功，那就再试一次吧。”可要试多少次再放弃才比较合适呢？

有很多研究都是关于这个问题的，尤其是关于决心与健康之间可能存在关系的问题。一方面，从长远来看，坚持和自律似乎增加了你成功的几率，同时，个人的成功与身体的健康也似乎密切相关。想想你所知道的成功人士，回顾一下他们的一生。他们总是很清楚自己的人生方向吗？既然现在已经成功了，他们就幸福、健康吗？有些人也许是的。

然而，如果成功是很不确定的，那又该怎么办呢？例如，一个普通运动员想成为奥运会金牌获得者。太过于坚持有可能会对你的健康产生负面影响吗？

通过一系列的心理学实验，科学家格雷戈里·米勒和卡斯滕·罗奇提出了一种区分“硬汉”和“懦夫”这两类人的方法。研究表明， “懦夫”通常比“硬汉”健康。米勒和罗奇针对皮肤病、睡眠不好和头疼等相对轻微的疾病做了研究，发现“懦夫”患病的几率比“硬汉”低。此外，“硬汉”长时间处于压力之下，体内一种蛋白质的含量处于更高水平，这可能意味着他们患有严重的疾病，包括糖尿病和心脏病这些致命的疾病。

科学家们也注意到，“硬汉”和“懦夫”的区别还在于在放弃某些重要的东西后他们是否愿意追求新的目标。他们发现，那些迅速重返生活的人有着更强的目标性，而且很少去想过去了的事情。设定新目标让他们免受失败情绪的影响，这对那些难以承认失败的“硬汉”们尤为重要。

那么，为什么“硬汉”们最后会说“够了，够了”呢？实际上，他们似乎是经历了轻度的消沉才恢复了体力。一些人会经历一段消极期，在此期间他们什么事都不做。但是从积极的方面来看，他们被迫停下来，重新评估自己的生活。渐渐地，他们对世界的态度变得更实际。从人类进化论的角度来说，科学家们认为，消沉在告诉我们要放慢节奏，审时度势，谨慎小心。抑郁实际上能让我们大多数人放弃不切实际的争夺奥运会金牌的念头，从而有助于保护人类。

给自己设定目标肯定是很重要的。对于年轻人来说，这是他们在世上确立个人特质的一部分。但是随着年龄的增长，当我们发现要么实现不了这些目标，要么被别的更重要的目标吸引了，我们就会调整期望或者放弃这些目标。我们因为更想照料新组建的家庭而放弃了辉煌的职业计划。我们因为要生存而选择停止了学业。结果，我们在生活中发现了更可行的目标，它们比之前的更适合我们的现状。所以，当我们从梦想中走出的同时，我们也长大了。

也许我们应该重写那句名言。“如果你第一次没成功，那就再试一次吧。即使你又失败了，你也不会总失败的。听从身心的指引。那是你作为一个人可以找到成功的地方，那是

人类赖以生存的地方。”