Quitters are winners, Bulldogs are losers

1" If at first you don't succeed, try, try again, "said the pessimistic comedian, 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 unattainable 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 bombarded with messages about the value of determination in the face of adversity. This never-say-die spirit is best represented by the 19th-century maxim, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. " But are there times when it's simply better to give up?

4 Psychologists have been studying this question and specifically, the possible link between persistence and health. On the one hand, it seems that Persistence increases 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 heir 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 extremely unlikely? For example, like an average athlete becoming an Olympic gold medalist? Can being too persistent have a negative effect on your health?

6 In a series of psychological experiments, scientists Gregory Miller and Carsten Wrosch developed a way of distinguishing between Bulldogs and Quitters. The results showed that Quitters are generally healthier than Bulldogs, Gregory and Carsten looked at relatively minor ailments, such as indigestion and skin disorders, poor sleep and headaches, and discovered that Quitters suffered less than Bulldogs. Furthermore, Bulldogs suffered much more from long periods of stress, during which they had a higher level of a particular protein which indicates a form of inflammation linked to several serious diseases, including killers like diabetes and heart disease.

7 The research also indicated that accepting defeat allows the Quitters to look forward and set themselves new goals in life. Bulldogs are more likely to look back, and their reluctance to admit defeat means that they're less able to protect themselves from the emotional consequences of failure.

8 So why do Bulldogs finally say, "Enough is enough"? In fact, it appears that their physical recovery comes through melancholy, or mild depression. Some go through a period of passivity, during which they shut down. But on the positive side, they're forced to stop and reassess their lives. Gradually they become more realistic about the world. In evolutionary terms, psychologists think that depression is what tells 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 important to set oneself goals. For young people, it's part of creating an individual identity in the world. But as we grow older, we 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 the demands of our young family are more important. We choose not to continue our studies because we need to earn a living. We find other objectives in our lives, which are more appropriate to our circumstances. So while we may grow out of our dreams, at the same time, we grow up.

10 Maybe we should rewrite the maxim. 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. "

Translation

“儒夫”胜，“硬汉”败

    "如果一开始你没有成功，那就试试，再试一次。＂悲观主义喜剧演员W.C.菲尔兹说，“如果第二次又没成功的话，就放弃。在这件事上，没必要当该死的傻瓜。"

    是啊，在一定程度上他是对的，但我们都知道放弃的时机也分对错。根据一项新的研究成果，知道什么时候放弃无法实现的目标的人，也就是所谓的“懦夫＂，在生理和心理方面要比不惜一切代价坚持下去的“硬汉”健康。

     自从开国元勋们来到美国，我们的孩子们就一直受到各种信息的轰炸，强调逆境面前要坚定的重要性。19世纪的格言“如果一开始你没有成功，那就试试，再试一次＂”充分体现了这种永不言败的精神。但是，是不是有的时候放弃会更好呢?

    心理学家一直在研究这个问题，尤其是坚持不懈和健康之间可能存在的关系。一方面，从长远角度看，坚持不懈似乎增加了你成功的机会，而个人的成功和个人的幸福是密切相关的。想一想你认识的成功人士，回顾一下他们的人生。他们始终都清楚自己的人生方向吗?既然他们已经成功了，那么他们幸福健康吗?或许，有些人是的。

     但是，如果成功无望的话，该怎么办呢?例如，一名普通运动员想成为奥运金牌的获得者。过于坚持是否会对你的健康不利?

   在系列的心理学实验中，科学家格雷戈里・米勒和卡斯勝・罗奇找到了区分“硬汉”和“懦夫”的方法。研究结果表明“懦夫”普遍比“硬汉”要健康。格雷戈里和卡斯滕研究了相对轻微的疾病，如消化不良、皮肤病、睡眠不好和头痛，发现“儒夫”遭受的痛苦要比“硬汉”少。另外，在长期的压力之下，“硬汉”得病的几率要大得多。在此期间，他们体内某种蛋白质的含量会更高。这表明其患有炎症，而这种炎症能够导致多种严重疾病，包括糖尿病和心脏病等致命疾病。

    研究还表明，接受失败使“儒夫”能够向前看，设定新的人生目标。“硬汉”更容易回顾过去的事情，而且他们不愿意接受失败，这也意味着他们不大有能力保护自己免受失败所带来的情绪影响。

    那么，为什么“硬汉”最后要说“真是受够了”呢?事实上，似乎正是因为经历了消沉或轻度抑郁，他们得到了身体上的康复。一些人会经历一段时间的消极被动，自我封闭。但是从积极的方面来说，他们被迫停下来，重新评估自己的生活。渐渐地，他们对世界的看法会变得更加现实。从进化的角度讲，心理学家们认为抑郁会告诉我们的身体要放慢速度，要分析形势，要小心谨慎。忧愁实际上可以帮助我们中的大多数人放弃奥运金牌的念头，使人类得以生存。

    为自己设定目标是很重要的。对年轻人来说，这是在世上创立个人身份时要做的一件事。但是随着年龄的增长，当我们发现自己无法实现这些志向，或者发现另外一些吸引我们的更重要的目标时，我们会调整或者放弃这些志向。我们会放弃对一项辉煌职业的计划，因为我们觉得满足新建家庭的需求更为重要。我们会选择放弃学业，因为我们需要谋生。我们发现其他更适合自己境况的人生目标。因此，在我们放弃梦想的同时，我们成长了。

    也许，我们应该重写那句格言。能否改成以下这样?“如果一开始你没有成功，那就试试，再试次。但是即使你没有成功，你也不会永远失败的。听从自己的身体和心灵，那是你作为一个人可以发现自我成功的地方，那是人类赖以生存的地方。”