【推荐2】You may be old enough to remember Evelyn Wood’s name for speed reading and speed learning. Inspired, her former business partner, Wechsler, shares four of the techniques successful speed readers use.    1    

Hold your book, or whatever you’re reading, at a 30-degree angle to your eyes.     2     Wechsler says reading from flat material is “painful to your retina, causes eye tiredness, and after about two hours often leads to dry eye and irritation”.

Moving your head slightly back and forth while you read helps stabilize images on your retina.     3     Wechsler says, “The secret of reading multiple words at a time is widening your vision.” This practice alone will help you increase your speed from 200 to 2,500 words per minute.

Wechsler advocates using a pen, or pointer of some kind, even your finger, to underline each sentence as you read. Your vision will allow you to move through a sentence six times faster than reading each word.     4     “When using a pointer, never permit the point to touch the page,” Wechsler says.

    5     “It sharpens your vision and activates your sight to speed up your learning speed,” Wechsler says. “This daily one-minute exercise may help you avoid eye-muscle tiredness.” Focus on a single spot on the wall 10 feet in front of you. With your hand extended at eye level, trace a symbol with your eyes.

【推荐1】“A positive attitude can be a gift to those around you,” said Jamie Long, a clinical psychologist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “But it shouldn't take the place of listening thoughtfully to others' experiences.”

“When you choose to look at situations from one positive angle, you are very likely to dismiss a true experience,” Long explained. Even if you try to cheer up someone, ignoring someone's difficult experiences can leave them feeling they should hide negative feelings in the future.

As examples of “positive” responses that might destroy a friend's ability to share their feelings, Long listed: “Look for the silver lining” and “it could be worse”. Instead of trying to find a positive angle, Long suggested using accepting phrases that communicate a willingness to listen, and to share life's difficult moments with the people you care about.

Still, the positive benefits of negative emotions may be best experienced in relatively small doses(剂量). Lomas Quintero highlighted that appreciating the value of difficult feelings is all about finding balance. “Any negative emotion can go too far or turn into a clinical issue,” he said.

Long agreed. “There is an abundance of research that really touts(吹捧)the benefits of positivity, and we're not denying that,” Long said. “When you do so to an extreme, when you dismiss truth, that's where problems arise.”

【推荐2】Accept Tricky Feelings

Imagine that you only felt so-called positive feelings, like excitement, joy and safety.     1    . Being human means we experience various emotions, even painful or uncomfortable ones. Accepting them is important and can improve your well-being.

Do you notice uncomfortable feelings?

When you accept that difficult emotions are normal and temporary, you’re often able to cope with them. Psychologists have found that people who allow themselves to feel a range of emotions, including painful ones, are often more at peace than people who try to avoid or push uncomfortable feelings away.    2    

Does that mean all behaviour is OK?

If you allow yourself to feel angry, for example, that doesn’t mean you can throw things around or behave unkindly. Anita Garai, a well-being teacher and author of Being With Our Feelings, says that if we allow ourselves to feel painful emotions,including anger, it’s less likely these feelings will boil over and result in unpleasant actions. “    3    ,” she says. “By listening to them, you can learn more about your needs and choose the best way to respond.”

    4    ?

Garai suggeststhe first step is to notice and examine the uncomfortable feeling in your body. “Where in your body can you feel it? Is it still or moving? Can you describe the movement?” she says. It may be that the feeling reminds you of a colour, shape, sound or texture. “By paying attention to the feeling in this way, it’s less likely that you’ll ignore it,” explains Garai.     5    . Many people find it comforting and inspiring to read about characters who accept, manage and overcome tricky emotions.