Hello, my name is Dom Price and I'm a work futurist, which is a made-up job that no one's called me out on yet, but it's got me here on this stage today. My job's all about predicting the future, the future of work, society, the economy and education. Which, surely you can imagine this year of all the years, it's been pretty fascinating. Now, there's a huge amount of self-help literature out there that will help you be happier over time. But today, I want to talk to you specifically about being happy in a year like 2020.
哈囉,我叫唐.普萊斯 我是一個工作未來學家 這其實是我自創的職稱 沒人這樣叫我 但這份工作讓我今天 能夠站在這個舞台上 我的工作就是預測未來的發展 像是職場以及社會的未來 或是經濟和教育的未來 你可以想像 尤其是像今年這種情況 真的是非常有意思 現在市面上有很多關於自救的書籍 能夠幫助你漸漸地變快樂 但今天我主要想講的是 在2020年這樣的情況下 要怎麼樣過得快樂
It's a year like no other. It's a year when many of us haven't felt of much happiness or our happy days have been reduced to happy minutes and moments. And the uncertainty of the future has quite rightly weighed heavily on our minds. But to talk to you about a year like 2020, and to talk about how shit it's been, first of all, I have to tell you how shit my year has been.
今年是很特殊的一年 是讓我們大多數人 無法時常開心的一年 我們原本愉快的日子 只剩下短短幾分幾秒的小確幸 對未來的不確定性 更加重了我們心理的負擔 但在聊2020年 以及這時狀況有多差之前 得先提一下這年對我來說有多糟
You see, my sister is my best friend, and a few years ago I got the call that no brother wants to get. Trudy had been diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, and given that she lived a 24-hour flight away in Manchester, England, as a single mother of two boys, I'm sure you can imagine how I felt. But she's stubborn as an ox. And six years later, at the start of 2020, she was still with us. Then February rolled in. I got another call. This time it was my doctor telling me that I had early-stage bowel cancer. A week later, I had a subtotal colectomy and I had my colon removed. Strangely, the same day my sister went to see her specialist in the UK, who confirmed that they were ceasing all treatment. She had a matter of months left to live.
我姊姊是我最好的朋友 幾年前我接到一通 任何弟弟都不想要接到的電話 特魯迪被診斷為乳癌第四期 她住在英國曼徹斯特 要搭24小時飛機才會到 並且是有兩個男孩的單親媽媽 我相信你可以體會我當時的心情 但她就跟牛一樣固執 之後過了六年到了2020年初 那時候她還健在 可是到二月的時候 我接到另一通電話 這次是我的醫生來通知 我得到早期的大腸癌 一週之後我動了次全大腸切除手術 切除了結腸 奇怪的是當天我的姊姊 也去找了她在英國的醫生 他準備要停止所有的治療 她大概只剩下幾個月的時間
Now, post-surgery, I wasn't officially allowed to travel due to COVID travel restrictions, but I managed to get an exemption from the government and I was on one of very few flights out to Manchester in April to look after my sister and her two boys. A few weeks later, on Tuesday, May 19, Trudy collapsed suddenly at home. Despite trying CPR, she died in my arms before the ambulance arrived. She was 45.
我動完手術以後 因為疫情的關係 其實是不能夠旅行的 但我拿到了政府的許可 並搭上了四月少數幾班 飛往曼徹斯特的班機 要去照顧我姊姊和她兩個兒子 過了幾週之後 在5月19日星期二這天 特魯迪突然在家中倒下 雖然做了心肺復甦術 她還是在救護車抵達前 在我的懷中過世 她當時45歲
After some very emotional goodbyes to family, the only thing certain in my immediate future was 14 days in quarantine. But before I got on that plane, I gave my nephews an extra special uncle-Dom hug. And in those 14 days in quarantine, you're kind of left alone with your own thoughts. And it got me thinking, where does our happiness actually come from? How can a year this shit make anyone happy? And the problem with those thoughts is when you've got 14 days, you really do get to invest in them. And it got me thinking, how can we find our happiness? And as is with death, sometimes, I actually started thinking with renewed clarity about life and work and COVID and all the things that mattered.
在與家人感傷的道別之後 確定會在未來等待我的 只有14天隔離的日子 但在搭上回程班機之前 我給了兩個外甥特別的唐式擁抱 在這14天的隔離期間 你只能跟自己對話 於是我就想 快樂到底是從何而來 在這麼糟糕的一年中 真的有人會快樂嗎? 問題是當你有14天 不免就會花更多時間去想 於是我就繼續思考 要怎麼樣才能找到快樂? 有時候就像我面對死亡一樣 我開始用全新的角度去思考人生 還有工作跟新冠病毒 以及其他所有重要的事情
In Bronnie Ware's book "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying," Bronnie will tell you the second-biggest regret is "I wish I hadn't spent so much time in the office." But you don't need me to tell you that. You know what's important on your deathbed, the love of friends and family, the legacy you're leaving behind, knowing that you've done things that made you happy, knowing that you've done great things. And yet few of us can honestly say this is how we're living our lives today.
在布朗妮.維爾的書 《和自己說好,生命裡只留下不後悔的選擇》中 布朗妮告訴你 臨終讓人最後悔的第二件事 就是「希望自己沒有 花這麼多時間在工作上」 這件事其實不需要我跟你講 你臨終前就會了解什麼事才重要 像是朋友和家人的愛 你所留下來的一切 了解到你做了讓自己開心的事情 知道自己曾經做過很多有意義的事 但非常少人可以大聲說 自己現在就是這樣過活的
Take work, for example. Work today stems from the Industrial Revolution 300 years ago. That's when we were the machines, we were the robots. It was all about presenteeism. We worked on the production line. We were measured by speed and efficiency. It was about how much work you could get done in one day. Let's be honest, it was about making your boss richer. And in that time, we had these measures of success, economic growth and productivity.
拿工作來說 現在的工作模式 起源於300年前的工業革命 當時沒有自動化的設備和機器人的幫忙 大家都在現場認真工作 因為都是在生產線上 速度和效率就是一切 一天能夠完成的工作量是最重要的 老實說 就是讓你的老闆賺更多錢 那時候成功的指標就是 經濟成長和生產力
We’re 300 years later, and it’s simply not working. Productivity growth has stagnated. Australia is one of the worst-performing countries in terms of longer working hours. And this idea of productivity that governments and businesses speak about all the time, it measures 10 million dollars invested in a hospital, the same as 10 million dollars spent on a coal-fired power plant. And our most precious resource, the planet, is dying, and we have no planet B.
然而在300年後的現在 情況已經不一樣了 生產力成長率停滯不前 澳洲高工時的糟糕情況 在全球名列前茅 然而這個生產力的概念 就是政府和企業整天在說的 將投資在醫院的一千萬澳元 和花在燃煤火力發電廠的一千萬澳元 當成一樣價值的東西 結果我們珍貴的資源和星球逐漸消逝 而地球只有一個
So we're not happy at work. And we're not productive. And oddly, in the time of the pandemic, when we're touting mental health and wellness and the importance of people, studies show we've actually extended the average working day by 40 minutes since March this year. All in the pursuit of productivity. And I think it's because we first thought that COVID was a fleeting moment. You see, COVID is like a snowstorm. After years of what seemed like endless sunshine outside, we looked out and we saw snow. So we did the right thing. We closed the windows and doors and we stayed inside. But a few weeks later, we looked out and it was still snowing. And we're like, "Ah, it's not a snowstorm, it's winter." So we did the right thing. We went online, bought a new jumper jacket and a scarf. But by the time they were delivered to our door, we realized it wasn't winter. It was the ice age. What was the moment when you realized that this was the ice age?
所以我們不止上班不開心 還沒有生產力 更奇怪的是在疫情期間 當我們在鼓吹心理健康 以及人的重要性時 研究顯示我們的平均工時 竟然從今年三月開始增加了40分鐘 目的只是為了追求產能 我想是因為一開始大家都認為 新冠疫情並不會持續太久 疫情就像是一場暴風雪 就像一直以來我們都生活在陽光下 結果突然看到外面開始下雪 於是我們做了合理的事情 關上門窗然後待在家中 幾個星期後我們再往窗外看 這場雪還在下 於是我們發現 原來這不是一場暴風雪而已 而是冬天到了 於是我們又做了合理的判斷 上網買了毛衣、外套和圍巾 但在這些東西送達之前 我們又發現這不是冬天 是冰河時期 問題是你在什麼時候 才發現這是冰河時期的?
Think about it. That moment when you sat there and thought, "It's kind of not an eight-week thing anymore, this, is it? It's been here for a while. In fact, maybe it's here forever." And how did that moment of realization make you feel about work, something that you spend about a third of your time doing, by the way?
想想看 那個瞬間你突然發覺 這情況好像不會只持續八個星期 已經很久了 而且可能永遠都會存在 那個瞬間是否影響了你對工作的態度 畢竟你三分之一的時間都花在工作上
I can tell you how it made 5,000 people feel across Australia, the US, Japan, France and Germany in a recent study commissioned by Atlassian. Despite the fact that people weren't commuting to work and therefore saving that time, nearly half of respondents said they had less time for personal pursuits. Personal pursuits, the things that actually make you happy. And the number one complaint at this time? Work-life balance. Me personally, I've put on five kilos since March. I'm drinking more and I'm sleeping less. That's COVID's fault, right? Or is it simply that I'm just not happy? That in my relentless pursuit of productivity, I've lost sight of what's really important.
我可以告訴你5000個 在澳洲、美國、日本、法國 和德國的人怎麼想 這是最近Atlassian公司做的一個研究 儘管現在人們並沒有通勤上班 能省下一些時間 有一半的人覺得 他們自己的時間變少了 做自己想做的事情 是最能夠讓人感到開心的 但是現在大家最不滿的 就是工作跟生活的平衡 以我來說 我從今年三月到現在胖了五公斤 我喝比較多酒,也睡得比較少 這是疫情的錯對吧? 還是我只是不快樂 在不斷追求生產力時 我已經漸漸忘了什麼才是重要的事
Now, we could spend the rest of this talk sharing stories about how unhappy we are, or we can actually flip the tables and talk about what we can do. I'm choosing to do the latter. I'd like you to close your eyes for a second. I want you to imagine a world where our measure of success is not productivity. I want you to imagine a world where instead of thinking about busyness and titles and bank balances, we think about our impact on the world. I want you to imagine a world where status isn't the reason for our existence. Open your eyes.
當然我接下來可以一直講 自己有多麼不開心 或者我們可以翻轉情勢 來聊聊我們如何改變 我決定做第二種 請閉上眼睛 想像一個世界 成功的標準並不是生產力 在這個世界裡 在乎的並非繁忙的生活或頭銜 也不是銀行存款 而是對這個世界的影響力 在這個世界裡 地位不是我們唯一存在的理由 請睜開眼睛
I'd now like to introduce you to the Personal Moral Inventory. The Personal Moral Inventory is inspired by two pieces of work. The first, the work from the world of finance, something called the quadruple bottom line, aimed at getting businesses to report in a more rounded fashion. The second, an exercise that elite military personnel go through to self-assess themselves and their teammates before going into battle. I believe that these four things, Productivity and Profit, People, the Planet and our Purpose, are the secret to our happiness. And what's important in the time of the ice age, the time we're in right now, is not to get distracted by the things we can't do, but to find the things that we can do. It's on us to take ownership and control of our own happiness.
現在我想跟你們介紹 個人道德檢視清單 個人道德檢視清單 融合了兩種不同的概念 第一個是與財金相關 叫做四重底線的理論 目的是希望能讓企業 用更全面的方式做出報告 第二個 是讓精英軍事人員 在上戰場之前評估自我與隊友的 一種方式 我相信這四個因素 生產力跟收入、人 地球和意義 是我們快樂的秘密 而在冰河期最重要的 就像現在這種時候 不能只執著在沒辦法做的事情 而是找到有什麼可以做的 我們要對自己的快樂負起責任
Let's do the exercise together. What I’m going to do is rate each area minus one, zero or one. One is you're nailing it. High fives all round, good on you. Zero is you're getting by. Not awesome. Not awful. And minus one is you're struggling. Here's mine for this year. For Productivity and Profit, I'm a one. I have a good job, I have a good salary, I have a roof over my head, I can pay the bills. But here's the thing. You can't score more than a one, so it becomes impossible to pack all your happiness into one category. And it's like we're all trying to get to a two on Productivity, but to what extent? The next area is People. People is about how you think about your personal, mental and physical health. You have to start with yourself. You have to put your own oxygen mask on before you can help others. This is also about how you impact family, friends, society. It's about being human and having a positive impact on humanity. For this, I score myself a zero. Planet. Let's just say I took over 100 flights last year, so I'm going to score myself a minus one. And finally, Purpose. Purpose is about the impact you want to have and the legacy you want to leave behind. It's the why you do what you do. For this, I score myself a zero.
讓我們一起來做一下測試 現在要在每個分類打上 -1、0,或是1分 1分代表你做得非常好 擊掌,你很棒 0分就是還過得去 沒有很突出,但也不算糟 -1分的話代表這方面表現較差 這是我今年的分數 以生產力和收入來說,我是1分 我有工作,有不錯的收入 也有地方可以住 而且能負擔生活開銷 但重點來了 你最高只能打1分 所以無法將所有的快樂分數 集中在一種類別 現在大家都想在生產力上拿到兩分 但要到什麼樣的程度才算呢? 下一個分類是人 人包含對自己個人 心理與生理健康的看法 要先從自己做起 你先照顧好自己才有辦法幫助別人 除此之外也跟對家人、朋友 社會的影響力有關 以及作為一個人類 對全體人類是否有正面的影響 這點我給自己打0分 地球 去年我搭飛機超過100次 所以我給自己-1分 最後是意義 也就是你想要擁有怎樣的影響力 以及想在這個世界留下些什麼 是你做事情的動機 這個我給自己打0分
Now, I can already tell the keen beans in the room and online are trying to add this up and net this off. That is not how it works. Your positive impacts in one category doesn't mitigate your negative impacts in another category. For me, the fact that I'm financially well off doesn't make up for the fact that I'm killing the planet. It wasn't this realization, though, that got me thinking something had to change.
我相信現場還有線上躍躍欲試的各位 已經準備要將各項分數加起來 但並不是這樣算的 你在其中一項的正面影響 並不能抵消另一項的負面影響 就算我財務的狀況很好 這並沒辦法彌補我對地球的破壞 但並不是因為這件事 才讓我覺得有些事需要改變
Shortly after my sister passed away, I did this exercise on her behalf. And it got me thinking. For Productivity and Profit, she was a zero. She struggled financially. In her final few years she couldn't work, but she got by. For People, she was a definite one. She really knew her own identity. She invested in her life. She had a lot of fun. You all remember the party you were at with Trudy. And she invested in the local school, community, friends and family. For Planet, she was also a one. She had a very low carbon footprint. She very rarely flew anywhere. She didn't own a car. She was avid at reduce, reuse, recycle. And in winter, she would make you put a jumper on before she'd let you turn the heating on. And on Purpose, she was also a strong one. She knew the legacy she wanted to leave behind. She knew exactly why she was on this planet. Purpose isn't about being a superhero. It's not about wearing a cape or single-handedly saving the world. Trudy's purpose was to give those two boys the best upbringing in the small time that she had available.
在我姊姊過世後不久 我站在她的角度做了這個測驗 然後我就開始思考 她的生產力跟收入是0 財務上並沒有很寬裕 最後幾年她甚至無法工作 但還算過得去 人的方面,她絕對是1分 她很了解自己 花很多心思在生活上 並且過得很開心 有她在場的派對你一定會記得 她對在地學校、社區 朋友和家人也都很用心 對地球,她也是1分 她在節能減碳方面做得很好 很少搭飛機去別的地方 也沒有開車 她非常熱衷在垃圾減量、再利用和回收 在冬天的時候 她會叫你先穿上毛衣 而不是先開暖氣 在意義方面,她非常堅強 她知道自己想在這世界上留下什麼 她了解自己為何在這個世界上 並不是說一定要當超級英雄才有意義 也不是穿著披風 或是一個人拯救世界 特魯迪的人生意義就是 在她這段有限的時間裡面 給她兩個兒子最好的教養
I learned two things doing this exercise for her. Firstly, I learned that happiness is contextual. Like, for Trudy, the fact that she was financially struggling, she didn't let that dictate her happiness. She didn't put all her eggs in that basket and shut up shop. But the second realization hit me a lot harder. Despite everything, Trudy was happier than me.
我在幫她做測驗的時候 學到了兩件事 第一、快樂跟思維有關 就像對特魯迪來說 雖然她財務上並不寬裕 但她並沒有因為這件事就不快樂 她沒有把雞蛋都放在這一個籃子裡 然後就放棄 第二點則讓我感觸更深 儘管狀況並不好,她過得比我快樂
Here's where we get to take our happiness into our own hands. What I want you to do is to think about the areas where you would score zero or minus one and commit to doing something to improve. So whatever you commit to do, I want you to give it a red hot go in the next summer. Why? Well, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today. So we're going to do this right now. For me, my worst score was Planet. I'm going to commit to going meat-free for three days a week and then I'll reassess. I've already changed my energy provider to one that's carbon neutral. And I've invested in a company that's trying to save our oceans. Small steps, but then I can reassess. On People, I'm going to commit to be more present with the people I care about. For the last four years, I've essentially been single and if I'm really honest, I was emotionally unavailable. But I've actually been very fortunate to meet someone amazing. So what I’m going to do is commit to investing in that relationship with openness, authenticity and vulnerability. And a little bit of cheekiness. And on Purpose, a year ago, I was actually a one on Purpose. My purpose was twofold, it was the impact I was having on people through my public speaking, and it was the precious time I got to spend with my sister. But in a few short weeks at the start of 2020, both of those disappeared. And in the months since, I've been really trying to rediscover my purpose. And I'll be honest, I've really struggled to find it. And I think that's OK. But then I realized that I have this, today, this moment. This is me rediscovering my purpose.
這就是我們可以 對自己的快樂負責的地方 我希望你做的是 想一下你拿0分 或是-1分的地方 然後花時間去改善 不管是什麼事情 這個夏天你一定盡全力去做 為什麼? 就像種樹最好的時機是20年前 第二好的就是今天了 所以現在馬上就要開始做 我的話,最低分的是地球 我決定要一週三天不吃肉 然後再重新評估跟調整 我已經換了碳中和的能源供應商 然後還投資了努力在拯救海洋的企業 雖然只是小小的一步 但可以持續調整 人的方面 我會更珍惜跟重要的人相處的時光 過去四年我一直都是單身 老實說情感上我並沒有真的敞開心胸 但我很幸運的 遇到了一個很棒的人 所以我要更花時間經營這段關係 坦誠、真實,並展現自己的脆弱一面 甚至有一點厚臉皮 在意義上 一年前我有1分 我的意義有兩個方面 一個是透過演講影響群眾 另一個則是花時間陪我的姊姊 但在2020初的前幾週 一切都消失了 那之後的幾個月 我一直在重新尋找自己的意義 老實說 我找不太到 雖然我覺得沒有關係 但我想到了還有這個 就是今天現在這個時刻 我正在找回生活的意義
What are you going to do? What action are you going to take? Whatever action you do take, you suddenly realize that you can stop hinging all your happiness on one category of the personal moral inventory. Instead, you invest in taking control of your own happiness. Our future is not predetermined. Our future is not written and our future is not waiting for us. I'm building mine and I believe you are building yours. And how happy we are in our future will be based solely on our action or inaction across all facets of life, not just the working week. I am the key to unleashing my own happiness, and I believe you are the key to unleashing your own happiness.
你會怎麼做? 你會採取什麼樣的行動? 不管你打算做什麼 你已經知道可以不用把自己的快樂 綁在單一面向上了 反之,你可以試著將快樂掌握在手中 我們的未來並非事先安排好 也不是已經寫好的劇本 而且未來也不會等我們 我正在一步步創造未來 相信你也是一樣 我們未來會有多快樂 就看在人生各個方面 我們怎麼做或是沒有怎麼做 並不只有在工作上而已 我就是自己快不快樂的關鍵 我相信你也是自己快樂的關鍵
I can safely say that Trudy didn't have any regrets, but she did have one wish. To see me on stage, live, presenting at TEDx.
我可以說特魯迪並沒有後悔的事 但她有一個願望 就是看我站上TEDx的舞台
Thank you very much.
謝謝大家