Stop Telling Me to Be Brave—Simple Pleasures Are What Bring Me Joy别再说要勇敢——我就要简单的快乐

There is a dark， borderline sociopathic1 corner of the internet that remains untouched by the strong arm of the Online Safety Bill2. It is not social media or pornography， but something far more meretricious3： the inspirational quotes industry.

互联网有一个阴暗的、近乎反社会的角落，仍处于《在线安全法案》的有力管控之外。它不是社交媒体也不是色情内容，却远比这两样东西更徒有其表：那就是励志名言产业。

Think “scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing”. Or “courage isn’t having the strength to go on—it is going on when you don’t have strength”. That last one is from Napoleon Bonaparte， who may well have been better served by not going on quite so long.

想想“害怕是你的感觉，勇敢是你的行动”，或者“勇气不是拥有继续前进的力量——而是在没有力量时依然继续前进”。最后这句话出自拿破仑·波拿巴，如果他没有继续前进那么久，很可能会落得个好点的下场。

All this bravery talk ignores the fact that for decades， psychologists have considered willpower to be a finite resource. This theory was propagated by the work of Roy Baumeister4， who found that participants in an experiment in which they were forced to abstain from eating a plate of biscuits placed in front of them gave up on a subsequent task far more readily than those who were asked to shun a plate of radishes.

所有这些关于勇敢的言论都忽略了一个事实，即几十年来，心理学家一直认为意志力是一种有限的资源。这一理论因罗伊·鲍迈斯特的研究而得以推广。在一项实验中，鲍迈斯特发现，被要求不吃面前一盘饼干的参与者和被要求不吃一盘萝卜的人相比，更倾向于在之后的任务中放弃。

Ego depletion is why supermarkets have long placed confectionery items in front of the cashier. You’ve had a hard day and made it to the end of the line， surely you deserve a chocolate bar？

自我损耗是超市长期以来将糖果等甜食放在收银台前的原因。你辛苦了一整天，好不容易排到了队伍的尽头，难道不配得到一条巧克力棒吗？

While subsequent research has cast doubt on Baumeister’s theory， I maintain a capricious5 relationship with courageous acts， large and small. Specifically with that tedious， indefatigable， “Miss， you forgot to give us homework” voice in the back of my head that implores me to do the Brave Thing. Apply for that role， slide into those DMs6， order off the specials menu.

虽然后续的研究对鲍迈斯特的理论提出了质疑，但我与大大小小的勇敢行为始终保持着反复无常的关系。特别是那个在我脑海中的乏味而不知疲倦、说着“老师，你忘了给我们布置家庭作业”的声音，恳求我去做那些“勇敢的事”。比方说申请某个职位，点开那些私信，或是从特色菜单中点菜。

Uninspired lunches are a case in point. In 2018， an aide to Dominic Raab7 revealed that the then-housing minister ordered the same sandwich from Pret8 every day （the chicken Caesar and bacon baguette）. This leak was meant to cast Raab， a politician who only intermittently passes the Turing Test， as some flatbread-hating monster. In fact， it was the most humanising thing he has done.

别无新意的午餐就是一个典型例子。2018年，多米尼克·拉布的助手透露，这位时任住房事务大臣每天都从Pret点同一款三明治（鸡肉凯撒培根法棍）。这次透露信息的本意是将拉布这个只是偶然通过图灵测试的政客，塑造成一个讨厌扁平面包的怪物。实际上，这是他做过的最人性化的事情了。

The days are long， threats to our happiness and equilibrium abound， why would anyone take the risk of ordering something new for lunch？ Best case scenario， it tastes fine. But mostly， you’ve spent £3.75 on what transpired to be gluten-free sushi and now have to rush back to your desk for a GDPR9 refresher course.

日子很长，对我们幸福和安宁的威胁无处不在，为什么有人会冒险点新的食物作为午餐呢？最好的情况是，味道还不错。但大多数情况会是你花了3.75英镑，发现买到了一份无麸质寿司，并且现在不得不赶回工位参加“通用数据保护条例”的进修课程。

Home is no safer. Sure， I could start the Swedish crime drama du jour， but I work for the Evening Standard. I need to be in bed by 9.30pm. Can I risk spending my last waking hours on something new？ Can’t I rewatch an episode of Sex and the City instead？

家里也没安全到哪儿去。当然，我可以开始看眼下最火的瑞典犯罪剧，但我为《旗帜晚报》工作。我需要在晚上9：30上床睡觉。我能冒险在我睡前最后的几小时清醒时间看新的电视节目吗？我就不能重温一集《欲望都市》吗？

This is not to say that new is always bad or courage is only for suckers. I look at the things that bring me joy in life and I admit， many emerged because I did the Brave Thing.

如此种种并不是说新事物总是不好，或者只有傻瓜才有勇气。回顾生活中带给我快乐的事物，我承认，许多是因为我做了“勇敢的事情” 才出现。

But the older I get， the more confidently I can state that everyday comforts are not a vice. I don’t have to be courageous all the time. Least of all because a total stranger with access to Photoshop and a book of quotations thinks I need to be the best version of me.

但年岁越长，我越可以有信心地说，日常的舒适并非一种恶习。我不必总是勇敢。尤其不必因为一个会用Photoshop还有本语录书的陌生人的看法，认为我需要成为最好的自己。

（译者单位：深圳市光明区凤凰城实验学校）

1 sociopathic反社会的。  2《在线安全法案》，旨在对社交媒体服务、搜索引擎和其他允许人们分享内容的平台进行有效监管，从而保护儿童、打击非法活动以及维护法案声明的各项条款。  3 meretricious徒有其表的；金玉其外、败絮其中的。

4美国佛罗里达州立大学心理学教授，被誉为当代最杰出的社会心理学家之一，开创了自我损耗理论。  5 capricious反复无常的；易变的。  6 = Direct Messages，字面含义为“直接消息”。通常用于社交媒体平台，表示用户之间发送的私信。  7英国保守党政治人物、大法官，历任英国副首相、司法大臣等职务。2018年曾任住房、社区和地方政府部住房事务大臣。  8全称Pret A Manger，英国三明治连锁品牌。

9 = General Data Protection Regulation，中文全称是“通用数据保护条例”。