【推荐1】I got my first job at 12 as a waitress. It certainly was tiring but interesting. And when Ⅰ went on to college, it paid for tuition and housing and eventually, a camera.

From the moment I picked up a camera, I was attracted. All I wanted to do was take pictures for the university newspaper, the Minnesota Daily. The paper at that time was one of the largest in the state and was produced by young journalists who went on to work at every major magazine in the country. For the final two years, I just wanted to be a photographer. The week I finished college. I was hired by the Worthington Daily Globe.

Jim Vance was the top-notch publisher of the Globe. He had very high expectations of all the staff. With little or no instruction from him, 35 writers and photographers were expected to fill the paper with stories that were important to our readers. It was perfect training for my future career at National Geography.

I was the youngest photographer working for National Geography when I arrived in 1978, and I spent at least a decade just trying not to make mistakes. While I was grateful for the opportunity, it was very difficult for me. With each new task came the fear that this was going to be the one where they figured out that I couldn’t do the job. On many tasks, the most challenging part turned out to be the transportation. Over the years, I traveled by horse, cars train, truck and all sorts of old vehicles. I traveled by mule in Mexico, by ship along the Indian Ocean, by fishing boat in the Sea of Galilee. Wherever I traveled in the world, I wanted my pictures to make a real difference in people’s lives.

I am deeply grateful for the amazing lessons photography has taught me. I’ve learnt that women really do hold up half the sky; that language isn’t always necessary, but touch usually is; that all people are not alike, but they do mostly have the same hopes, and fears.

【推荐3】One day, a sage (圣人) visited a nearby town to learn about the conditions of the people living there. The presence of the sage made everybody happy. They led him to the temple located in the heart of their community.

The financial condition of the people was not good due to a reduction in production. The sage realized that everyone had a broken heart. The sage took his seat on the small stage in the courtyard of the temple. People were eager to hear what he was going to say. The sage took out a piece of white paper from his bag. There was a small black dot in the center of the paper. The sage held the piece of paper high so that everyone could have a good look at it. All of them who were present looked at it anxiously.

The sage asked, “What are you seeing?”

A young man answered immediately, “Sir, it is only a black dot!” The sage pointed his finger toward another person and asked, “And what are you seeing?” The middle-aged man gave the same answer. Asking an elderly man, the sage got the same answer.

Hearing the answer, the sage smiled and said. “That means none of you are able to see anything other than the black dot.” Not surprisingly, all there answered loudly, “Yes.” Then, the sage said, “You are not able to see the paper in my hand. But the small dot on that paper is able to attract the attention of all of you.”

The sage continued, “You all missed seeing the paper, even though it was before your eyes. Life is also like that. Ignoring many big things around us, we concentrate on small things like the black dot. If we always pay attention to small and insignificant things, will our life not be restricted? Free your mind. The solutions to all of your problems are hidden inside you. You will get everything you desire if you only think deeply.”

【推荐1】When your best friends are upset, sad, or disappointed, all you want to do is lift their spirits. Here are some easy ways to cheer them up.

Help your friend clean their room.

Being surrounded by a mess doesn’t do much for your mental state.     1     Helping your friend straighten up their room gives you something productive to do together. Plus, when they’re on their own, they can relax in a clean, peaceful space.

Encourage them to talk it out.

Talking is effective. Teenagers usually want someone to talk to when they are stressed.     2     If they aren’t interested in talking, invite them to do an activity with you and they will likely start talking.

Practice gratitude.

Thinking about and focusing on the good things in your life can do wonders for lifting your spirits. Help your friend turn their attention to those things.     3    

    4    

Staying active can help get depression (抑郁) away. Invite the person to join you in a dance class or anything else they may have mentioned before that they wanted to try out but never have. Fun time with friends is surely helpful.

Do an aimless act of kindness together.

    5     So go out, do things, even small things (e.g., opening a door for someone, paying for someone’s drink, smiling at and greeting a stranger. etc.), for others and see how your day changes.

【推荐2】Regret is a very real reaction to a disappointing event in your life, a choice you made that can’t be changed, something you said that you can’t take back.     1     Regret can increase our stress, negatively affect physical health and disturb the balance of our immune systems.

    2     One is what researchers refer to as the action path and the other is the inaction path. That is, we can regret the things we did or we can regret the things we did not do. Research suggests that action-related regret, although painful, encourages people to learn from their mistakes and move on.     3     This kind of regret is more likely to lead to depression and anxiety.

As with other negative emotions, it doesn’t work to avoid, deny or try to destroy regret.     4     Rather than stay put, people can manage these emotions in four steps: First, accept the fact that you are feeling them; determine why you are feeling them; allow yourself to learn from them: and, finally, release them and move forward.

You can help release these feelings of regret by practicing self-compassion (自我同情).This means reminding yourself that you are human, you are doing the best you can and you can learn from past decisions and grow.     5    

Noticing, acknowledging and then forgiving your thoughts are a powerful step towards overcoming regret.

【推荐3】Ways to Get Out of a Bad Mood

Practice gratitude and positivity

Practice gratitude as a way to rid your bad mood. Reflect on your day or your week and think about (or better yet, write down) the good things that happened.     1     Start small by appreciating the little things in life: the smell of coffee, the kindness of a stranger, the sound of your baby laughing. Gratitude can be just as addictive as a bad mood.

Boost your mood by taking exercise

Most people experience an improved mood within five minutes of exercise. The most notable shift that exercise creates is the release of four notable chemicals into your brain: serotonin, dopamine, endorphins and norepinephrine. These chemicals are released into your body and are designed to make you feel happy.     2     If you've gotten stuck in a bad mood, try an exercise class or go on a long walk or run. You'll be surprised how much it helps!

Meditate to relax your body and mind

Meditation is another way to use your amazing body to work with you to help you boost your way out of a bad mood. It makes you stop and face those feelings and relax the tension that they are causing. Meditation can give you a break from your current environment and allow you to experience a mental refresher. To meditate, find a quiet place to sit comfortably. Take slow, deep breaths.     3     Try to picture your bad mood leaving your body with every exhalation.

Have a good rest

Studies have shown that even partial sleep loss has a significant effect on mood. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that subjects who were limited only 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported feeling more stressed, angry, sad, and mentally exhausted.     4    

Connect with your support system

This one is incredibly important and often underestimated. When we feel low, we feel disconnected and unvalued by those around us. Reaching out and talking out your bad mood to a trusted friend in your support network really helps you get out of a bad mood.     5