In our life, we should often be ready for change that will help us unlock (释放) our self-improvement power. However, we don’t always understand it. We think of unlocking our self-improvement power only when everything gets worst.

When do we realize (意识到) that we need to change diets? When none of our shirts and jeans would fit us. When do we stop eating candies and chocolates? When all of our teeth have fallen off.

Most of us will learn about unlocking our self-improvement power only when the whole world falls apart. We think and feel this way because it is not easy to change. However, change becomes more painful when we pay no attention to it.

Change will happen, like it or hate it. At one point or another, we are all going to finally unlock our self-improvement power, not because the world says so, but because we realize it’s good for ourselves.

Happy people don’t just accept change; they welcome it. Unlocking our self-improvement power means unlocking ourselves out of the box of thought that is just the way we are. It is such a poor excuse for people who fear change.

Jane always tells everyone that she is afraid of being around groups of people. Over the years, that is what Jane has believed. Every time a great crowd come, she steps back and locks herself up in a room. Jane not only believes in her story, but lives it!

If we look at things in a different way, we might have greater fun. Doing exercise three times a week would lead to a healthier life. Reading books every day would build up knowledge. And only when we are enjoying the whole process (过程) of unlocking our self-improvement power, will we realize that we can take things light and become happy.

4 . Open an app, place your order, and wait for your food to be delivered. This is how many young people eat in China these days. According to the latest data (数据), about 421 million Chinese people use online food delivery services. That’s just half of the total number of Internet users in China.

Which group of people is ordering food online the most? It’s mainly young people. A recent report by Meituan showed that 86.3% of the service’s users are between 20 and 34 years old. They are the main force driving the development of the food delivery industry.

Small families depend largely on food delivery services, Chinese families have changed in size over the past ten years. In 2002, only 7.7% of families have only one person. But this number increased to 15.6% in 2017. Two-person families rose from 18.4% in 2002 to 27.2% in 2017. For small families, cooking always takes lots of time and energy, so ordering food online has become more popular.

The improvement of China’s food delivery services has made more customers interested. According to Meituan’s report, the average (平均) time it takes to make a food delivery dropped from 38 minutes in 2016 to 29 minutes in 2020. Many delivery apps are offering more services, delivering products such as fruit, vegetables, medicine and even flowers. As their services continue to improve, the food delivery industry will keep growing in the future.

6 . Would you BET on the future of this man? He is 53 years old. Most of his adult life has been a losing struggle against debt and misfortune (不幸). A war injury has made his left hand stop functioning, and he has often been in prison. Driven by heaven-knows-what motives, he determines to write a book.

The book turns out to be one that has appealed to the world for more than 350 years. That former prisoner was Cervantes, and the book was Don Quixote (《堂吉诃德》). And the story brings an interesting question: why do some people find new energy and creativity to the end of their days, but others find them long before?

We’ve all known people who run out of steam before they reach life’s halfway mark. I’m not talking about those who fail to get to the top. We can’t all get there. I’m talking about people who have stopped learning on growing because they have taken in the fixed attitudes and opinions that all too often come with passing years.

Most of us, in fact, progressively narrow the variety of our lives. We succeed in our field of specialization and then become trapped in it. Nothing surprises us. We lose our sense of wonder. But, if we are willing to learn, the opportunities are everywhere.

The things we learn in maturity (成熟) seldom involve information and skills. We learn to bear (容忍) with the things we can’t change. We learn to avoid self-pity. We learn that however much we try to please, some people are never going to love us — an idea that troubles at first but is eventually relaxing.

With high motivation and enthusiasm (动机和热情), we can keep on learning. Then we will know how important it is to have meaning in our life. However, we can achieve meaning only if we have made a promise to something larger than our own little egos (自我), whether to loved ones, to fellow humans, to work, or to some moral concept.

Many of us regard “promise” with such “caring” jobs as teaching and nursing. But doing any ordinary job as well as one can is in itself an admirable promise. People who work toward such excellence — whether they are driving a truck, or running a store — make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They’ve learned life’s most valuable lesson.

7 . Can you imagine people will enjoy a mouth-watering, delicious ribeye steak (肉眼牛排) without harming a single animal? Aleph Farms, a food-tech company, just created the world’s first 3D-printed ribeye steak. The thick and juicy slab (厚片) smelt and tasted just like a steak. But unlike any steak found on a menu or store shelf today, this one didn’t come from a slaughtered animal.

Scientists printed it with a machine which is much like a standard 3D-printer. The difference is that this printer used cells (细胞) as a form of living ink. The technology includes the printing of real living cells that are grown in a lab. They are given nutrients (养分) and kept at a temperature that lets them keep growing.

Interest in this kind of new meat has grow n in recent years, partly because the technology shows it is possible. Supporters say that if meat can be printed, then no animal would need to lose its life to become people’s food. So, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the 3D-printed steak.

However, we can’t get this new meat on the store shelf yet. Making meat this way is much harder and costs more than raising and killing an animal. One of the most expensive parts is the cell-growth medium (培养基). This mix of nutrients keeps the cells alive and dividing. If scientists can find lower-cost methods, we’ll be in with a chance of getting beef without killing.

9 . If you are already planning to visit Yunnan, see our festival tours.

The Torch (火把) Festival

Date: July/August (days 24 to 26 of the sixth lunar month)

Location: Lijiang

It is a traditional festival among the Yi, Naxi, and Bai minority groups (少数民族). According to the ancient rule of the Naxi people, the Torch Festival should last three days, and every family should light a big torch in front of their doors for the three days.

Recommended Tour: 3-Day Ancient Lijiang Tour

The Water Splashing (泼洒) Festival

Date: April 13 to 15

Location: Xishuangbanna

It is the most important festival celebrated by the Dai people of Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan. It includes splashing water, lantern floating and other joyful activities.

Recommended tour: 6-Day Xishuangbanna Tour

The Horse Race Festival

Date: May/June (5th of the fifth lunar month)

Location: Shangri-la

Falling on the same date as the Dragon Boat Festival, it is the biggest gathering of Tibetans in Yunnan and usually lasts about 3 days. During the celebrations, traditional performances and competitions like horse racing and wrestling (摔跤) will be held.

Recommended tour: 8-Day Yunnan Tour of the Nu River and Tengchong

The Third Month Fair of the Bai Group

Date: April/May (days 15 to 21 of the third lunar month)

Location: Dali

It is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Bai people in Dali in western Yunnan. During the March Fair, the streets of Dali Ancient Town are packed with people selling amazing minority items.

Recommended tour: 6-Day Yunnan Minorities Tour

10 . A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total, The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? If you answered 10 cents, you’re not alone—most people give the same answer (the correct answer is 5 cents). It’s an example of how we often rely on intuitive (直觉的) responses—answers we feel are true. People give answers that “pop into their mind,” says scientist Steven Sloman. We don’t spend much time thinking and checking whether the answer is right or wrong.

The bat and ball question helps explain why we often believe in fake news. “It is part of human nature to believe”, says Sloman. “But the trick with fake news is to know to verify”—in other words, to stop and question what you know.

In one experiment, Sloman invented a discovery called helium rain. They told a group of volunteers about it, but admitted they could not fully explain what it was. They then asked the volunteers to rate (划分等级) their own understanding of helium rain. Most volunteers rated themselves l out of 7, meaning they did not understand it.

The researchers then told another group of volunteers about the discovery. This time, they said that scientists could fully explain how it works. When asked to rate their understanding, the volunteers gave an average answer of 2. The scientists’ confidence gave the volunteers an increased sense of their own understanding, Sloman says.

Another explanation for the spread of fake news is “motivated reasoning,” writes Adam Waytz, a professor at the Kellogg School. We are naturally more likely to believe things that confirm our existing opinions. If you already have a negative (负面的) opinion about someone, you’re more likely to trust damaging stories about them. Over time, Waytz argues, “motivated reasoning can lead to a false social consensus (共识).”

So, in a world where misleading information is common, is there a way to protect ourselves? “I don’t think it’s possible to train individuals to verify everything that they face,” Sloman admits. “It is just too human to believe what you’re told.”

However, training people to care about fact-checking is important, he argues, especially in online communities. Think of the headlines and stories that are shared on your social media feed every day. Probably these fit in with your own worldview—but perhaps not all of them are true.

“Develop a standard in your community that says, ‘We should check things and not just take them at face value,’ Sloman says. “Verify before you believe.”

According to Sloman, studies show that knowledge spreads like a disease. “If everyone around you is saying they understand why a well-known person is lying, then you’re going to start thinking that you understand, too.” Sloman says.