【推荐1】One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway and it just wasn’t worth to retrieve the donkey. So, he decided to bury it!

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly, then slowly he quieted down till nothing more was heard.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing! He would shake it off and take a step up!

As the farmer’s neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up, shaking it off, and taking a step up!

【推荐2】“Do not get the idea that you’re anything special, because you’re not.” This is what English, teacher David McCullough told graduating seniors at Wellesley High School. Mothers and fathers present at the ceremony — and a whole lot of other parents across the internet — took issue with McCullough’s words. But lost in the anger and protest was something we really should be taking to heart: our young people actually have no idea whether they’re particularly talented or not. In our eagerness to raise their self-esteem, we forgot to teach them how to realistically assess their own abilities. In fact, it’s not just privileged high-school students: we all tend to view ourselves as above average. Therefore, it is of vital significance for us to learn and teach our kids how to evaluate ourselves (themselves) objectively.

Inflated (膨胀的) self-judgments have been found in study after study, and it’s often exactly when we’re least competent (有能力的) at a given task that we rate our performance most generously. In a 2020 study published in the journal Medical Education, for example, medical students who scored the lowest on an essay test were the most sympathetic in their self-evaluations, while high-scoring students judged themselves much more strictly. Poor learners, the authors note, “lack insight” into their own incapability. Why should this be? Another study, led, by Cornell University psychologist David Dunning, offers an explanation. People who are incapable, he writes, suffer from a “dual burden”: they’re not good at what they do, and their incapability prevents them from recognizing how bad they are.

In Dunning’s study, subjects scoring at the bottom on tests of logic, grammar and humor “extremely overestimated” their talents. Although their test scores put them in the 624 ^th, they guessed they were in the 12^th. What these individuals lacked (in addition to clear logic, proper grammar and a sense of humor) was “meta cognitive skill” (元认知技巧): the ability to monitor how well (or badly) they’re performing. In the absence of that ability, the subjects arrived at an overly hopeful view of their own abilities.

Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to cope with this problem. First, we can learn to make honest comparisons with others. Train yourself to recognize excellence, even when you yourself don’t possess it, and compare what you can do against what truly excellent individuals are able to accomplish. Second, seek out feedback that is frequent, accurate and specific. Find a critic who will tell you not only how poorly you’re doing, but just what it is that you’re doing wrong. As Dunning notes, success indicates to us that everything went right, but failure is more ambiguous: any number of things could have gone wrong. Use this feedback to figure out exactly where and when you made a mistake.

If we adopt these strategies — and most importantly, teach them to our children — they won’t need parents, or a graduation ceremony speaker, to tell them whether they’re special or not. If they are, they’ll already know that they are. Or they’ll have a plan to get that way.

【推荐1】Berlin Tours

Seen from above Berlin is incredible as you can see both the former East and West, as well as get a bird-eye view of many of Berlin’s historic landmarks. Meet your guide at the base of the tower and skip the line to go straight inside and up to the observation deck--- the highest in Berlin!

Potsdam is Berlin’s most popular day-trip destination and for good reason. It’s a suitable playground for biking with many Prussian people and Cold War sights located deep in parks and along quiet alleyways. Come and prepare for an action-filled day!

We start by taking the train from our TV Tower shop for the over 25-km journey to Potsdam, where our bikes are waiting for you.

Our Berlin City Bike Tour is full of great Berlin sites and fascinating anecdotes delivered by our engaging guides. We have been perfecting the tour for more than ten years! You’ll have great fun while touring at an easy pace. There is plenty of time for taking pictures, and even a great break at one of our favorite beer gardens!

Segways are an exciting way to explore any city, and our tour is sure to impress! You don’t need experience with Segways to join the tour as we will start all tours with a comprehensive training session to make sure everyone is safe and happy on tour. We will then take you to the must-see sites. Your memorable experience on tour will surely make your friends jealous!

【推荐3】Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, the aged, and children who have lost their parents, but also friends, workmates, relatives and neighbors whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.

Over 60 years ago, when a Cleveland man noticed that some people, such as children who lost their parents and patients who lay in bed, too often felt forgotten and neglected, he developed in his mind the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving them small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave those people small gifts on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”. Over time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the poor, the sick and children who had lost their parents was broadened to everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small gift. Soon the idea spread to other cities all over the USA.

Sweetest Day is not based on any single group’s religious beliefs or on a family relationship. It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning. Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift-giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a positive way.