1 . Do you ever feel like there’s not enough time in the day? That time is somehow racing away from you, and it is impossible to fit everything in. But then, you step outside into the countryside and suddenly everything seems slower, more relaxed, like time has somehow changed. It’s not just you — recent research showed nature can control our sense of time.

Richardo Correia, the researcher at the University of Finland, found that being in nature may change how we experience time and perhaps, even give us the sense of time abundance (充裕). Correia compared people’s experiences of time when they performed different types of tasks in cities and natural environments. It showed that people reported a sense of expanded time when they were in nature compared to when they were in cities. For example, a walk through the countryside felt longer than a city walk of the same distance.

It’s not just our sense of time in the moment which appears to be changed by the natural world, and it’s also our sense of the past and future. Earlier research shows that spending time in nature helps to move our focus from the immediate (目前的) moment towards our future needs. So rather than focusing on the stress of the demands (需求) on our time, nature helps us to see the bigger picture. This can help us focus on what’s important so that we meet our long-term goals. This is partly because spending time in nature appears to make us less impulsive (冲动的), enabling us to think more about future benefits instead of wanting immediate ones.

2 . Do you often feel cold in winter? When you feel cold, what do you do to warm yourself up? Do you put on more clothes? When it’s cold, how do you sense that?

I like to take a bath. I like the way the warm water feels on my skin. I do not like to get out of the bathtub (浴缸). When I get out of the bathtub, I get really cold. Sometimes I am so cold that my teeth begin shaking, and I start to shiver (颤抖). Why do we shiver when we are cold?

Shivering is a reflex (反射). We don’t have to think about a reflex in order to make it happen. When the air around us suddenly becomes cooler, the nerves (神经) in our skin sense that we are cold. These nerves then send messages to our brain. The brain sends messages back that race through our bodies. These messages tell all of our muscles (肌肉) to start warming up.

Our muscles then start tightening (绷紧) and relaxing. They do this very quickly over and over again. These quick actions are the shivers. These shivers help to warm us up. So the next time you start to shiver, thank your nerves. They’re working to warm you up before you even have the chance to shout, “Mom, I’m c-c-c-old!”

3 . Do you know a large number of young people are influenced by all kinds of choices today? This can be a good thing or a bad thing, but it leads some young people to experience “mental internal friction (精神内耗)”.

Experts regard “mental internal friction” as the confusion (困惑) that happens when people have to change their thoughts in order to move from “old ideas” to “new ideas”. They have to ask themselves such questions as “Are the new ideas good?” “Do they fit me?” or “Will they make me feel happy?” It is certainly not easy to discover the answers to these questions, especially when you are still too young to have enough life experience to make proper decisions. So there are some suggestions to help you reduce your “mental internal friction”.

Be consistent with yourself. Always act and behave in a way that is true to your values and beliefs. To this end, you will always need to check yourself. As an old saying goes, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom (智慧).” You have to honestly think about your own personal habits, and even fears and worries.

Develop new interests. A friend of mine decided to learn about the Beijing Opera. This may sound strange, but he said that learning about “old things” made it easier for him to deal with the “new things” of modern life and all of those changes.

Spend time with nature. Society and technology may change, but nature remains the same. Being with nature takes some time, but it will help you know yourself and forget the stress of “mental internal friction”.

All in all, we can do something to deal with “mental internal friction”. Hope everything can make you find your inner peace (内心的平静).

4 . Are you the type of person who sticks to something once you have made your mind up? Do you set your heart and mind on something and then go for it without stopping? Have you ever been described as strong-minded?

If so, you are probably a very determined character. Determination is about moving forward to achieve your goals and not giving up when you meet difficulties. It is the willpower that helps you control yourself and achieve what you want. It is an inner strength (内在力量) that helps us to stay on course and reach our goals, no matter what.

Being determined is a very good quality to have. So how can we become determined?

Learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of those around you. Learn to look at the past as training for the future. Use those mistakes as a chance to learn something new.

Don’t be scared of failing. Failures are just stepping stones on the road to success. What you should be scared of is not giving your goal 100% effort. Just think about how you will feel if you give up on it.

Don’t waste time worrying about the things you can’t change. Use your strength and your determination to achieve things that you can control.

Be patient. The road to your goal may be long and arduous at times and you need to make great efforts on the way. Sometimes determination is about being prepared to wait for the right chance, and being ready when it comes up.

Don’t stand in your own way. This means believing in yourself and not setting limits (限制) on yourself.

To do something you’ve never done before, you need to become someone you’ve never been before. You have to be prepared to make changes.

5 . Water plays an important role in keeping you healthy. This should come as no surprise. Much of your body is made up of water, after all. It keeps your body working properly. But did you know that too much water can make you die?

Water poisoning (中毒) happens when people drink too much water. This lowers the level of sodium (钠) in their blood to dangerous levels. When you have too little sodium in your body, a lot of things will go seriously wrong in your body.

Your brain may begin to swell (膨胀). You may get a headache, feel very tired and sick. You may even lose consciousness. In these cases, water poisoning can be deadly. You will need to go to a hospital immediately.

Protecting yourself from water poisoning may seem easy, however, this is easier said than done. For example, when you do exercise, you may have to drink a lot of water. It is important to balance the amount (量) of water. This can help you stay healthy whenever you are exercising.

So, how much water should a person drink each day? For years, we have been told to drink two liters (公升) of water a day. But in fact, the actual amount needed is different for each person. Today, most doctors are telling people that they should drink water whenever they feel thirsty.

We can’t live without water. Neither can we live with too much water in our bodies. Make sure you take the right amount of it each day — staying healthy is all about staying balanced.

6 . Do you often compare yourself to other people? Whether it’s the number of goals you’ve scored at football or how many books you’ve read, it’s easy to compare yourself to someone else. It’s a natural behavior that helps humans learn from each other, live happily together and achieve more. However, it s not always helpful and you can find yourself fall in a comparison trap (陷阱). This is when you always measure yourself against others and base your feelings on how well they seem to be doing.

Comparison can make us feel good and bad about ourselves. “Comparing up” means seeing someone is better than you and using that to encourage yourself to aim higher and try harder. However, sometimes it can make you feel rubbish about yourself and undermine your confidence. “Comparing down” is when you see someone who seems like they’re not doing as well as you. This might make you feel you’re doing well, but it can also stop you wanting to improve.

How do you escape comparison trap? If your feelings depend on what other people are doing, always stay with cheerleaders. Notice how people make you feel and spend time with friends who celebrate your strengths rather than compare themselves to you. If you follow social media (媒体) accounts that make you feel you are failing in any way, unfollow them. Find ones that make you laugh or show you lovely places instead. Finally, pay attention to your own achievements and how you can improve. The best person you can compete with is yourself.

Let’s make positive, healthy comparisons. Instead of trying to be the best aim to be your best. This means you value your own achievements and not someone else’s. Celebrate progress instead of the final result. It doesn’t matter if someone is better or faster than you, it’s how hard you try that’s important. Set some goals and pay attention to your progress. Instead of saying “I can’t do it”, say “I can’t do it yet”.

7 . Are you emotional (情绪激动的)? Do you often have strong feelings? How do you deal with bad emotions?

We feel angry or unhappy about the things we did or did not achieve, about the things we cannot have, and many other things. It seems that everyone carries their own bad moods (情绪). But neither unhappiness nor anger can help us. Over time, they can be heavy weights on our shoulders.

These bad moods don’t do anything good for us at all. So you might ask yourself—is it possible to put down this heavy burden (负担) and give yourself a break? It is quite possible. Start by actually learning about your feelings. How do they get inside of us? Why do we carry them for so long instead of putting them down? Can we live without them?

By thinking about our bad moods, we can find healthy ways to deal with them. Unhealthy behaviors are not the way to do this. They provide no relaxation. Instead, there are better ways to deal with them. One of the best ways is forgiveness (原谅).

Forgiveness is a powerful tool. We should forgive ourselves first. We shouldn’t keep bad moods inside. We must also forgive others who have made us unhappy or angry. This is not always easy. But when we learn to forgive ourselves, it becomes easier to forgive others as well.

There is nothing good about carrying years of emotional burdens. By forgiving ourselves and others, we can abandon our burdens and feel better about ourselves. When you do this, you will start to feel a lot lighter. Years of heaviness will be magically lifted! You’ll start to feel like you have more energy and you’ll be much happier with your life.

8 . My friend, Robert, has a twin sister named Amanda. Though they get along well, there are some things about Amanda and her friends that puzzle Robert. He can’t understand how girls can talk for so long. For example, sometimes when he leaves home to play football, Amanda and her friend, Sharon, are sitting on the sofa, talking. When he comes back three and a half hours later, they’re still sitting on the sofa, continuing the same conversation on the same topic. One day Robert was so curious that he asked Amanda what they talked about, but she replied, “We’re best friends. We talk about almost everything—film stars, pop songs, recipes, everything!”

Boys and girls have different attitudes towards friendship. Friendships between girls are usually based on shared feelings and support, but friendships between boys are based on shared activities or interests. A boy is likely to be careful about sharing his feelings with his close friends. A girl’s closest friend, however, might be eager to tell her about something that has happened in her life.

Many studies worldwide show that girls have more friendships than boys. In fact, many teenage boys cannot name a single best friend. When asked, they hesitate before answering, “My best friend? I can’t think about that. I am busy with my homework, and I have so many different friends that it is hard to choose just one best friend.”

Girls who have been asked can usually answer the question without pausing, “A best friend? Of course. We have a lot to share with each other. We do a lot of things together such as talking and shopping.”

We have to realize: boys share activities, while girls share feelings. The qualities that boys and girls consider important in a friend seem to be the same, regardless of (无论) the basis of these friendships. The important thing to remember is that both of them are friendships. We all need friends in our lives.

10 . Usually, there are chairs and desks in every classroom, but a new study says, maybe students won’t need chairs anymore. One day they will use standing desks. A research (调查) team in the US made a study of primary school students. They find that if children use standing desks in class-rooms, they can finish their classwork better than those who sit. Another study is made in high school. It also shows the use of standing desks can improve (提高) students’ attention. Many studies show that standing desks can help students lose weight (减肥) and keep fit (健康的). Many teachers say using standing desks makes students listen more carefully and behave (表现) better. But a few teachers have their worries. It is not easy for them to see what every student is doing in class. Some students even walk around in the classroom. What’s more, the students are too tired by standing so long. Some parents also worry about it.