6 . People always ask me how I got into the sport of weightlifting. I know it sounds weird, but I’m so focused on lifting that everything else _______. Because I was super depressed, weightlifting helped me manage those mood swings.

Now, being bipolar (双相情感障碍) is something I’m proud to say. And I would like to _______ the shame on all mental disorders. As I grew up, sports played a vital role in my life. And I spent 11 years doing gymnastics, which I found just to stay in _______, so when I was 15 years old I decided to _______ it. My current coach recruited (招募) me to get into weightlifting competitively. About two years into my career I _______ realized I could go places with this. My first _______ came in 2018, when I had my first International medals at the Junior World Championships, from where it took off. In 2019 World Championship I had my _______ year.

Last year I had a minor meet in Cuba but not feeling motivated, I definitely _______, which meant I didn’t make a lift. In fact, I had been fighting _______ for probably two years at that point — I was ________ with bipolar disorder type two. One of the first things in my mind was that I was ________ because there was a fixed image around people that ________ with the mental health. ________, it didn’t take me long to realize that there’s nothing to be ________ of. I could go to train and focus on weightlifting, ________ on whether I’m gonna feel great or awful.

At this point, I’m all but ________ for the Olympics. There are some days that I ________ have to push to my maximal ________. It can be very painful, but when it ________ it, it is the days that get you stronger. And then it’s really ________ to just put everything into those few seconds that you’re competing.

7 . When I first aspired to become a science writer, I imagined each day would be filled with inspiration and creativity. The reality, of course, is far less enjoyable than my fantasies. Researching a story, for example, often involves reading lots of dry and technical papers before I finally strike gold with the information that I seek.

Most professions, I imagine, include challenging but necessary tasks that sap enthusiasm. But a recent paper from Edward Lai at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and his colleagues may offer us all a way to boost our motivation. It is called the "easy addendum effect", and, as the name suggests, it involves ending each work session with a more pleasant task that will be relatively straightforward to complete.

The strategy was inspired by a phenomenon known as the "peak-end rule", which means we often judge events by the way they finish, rather than the overall experience. In one experiment, Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues asked participants to plunge their hands into water at unpleasantly cold temperatures, the first group simply in 14℃ water for 60 seconds, while the second one were given a further 30 seconds in water at 15℃. Surprisingly, most preferred the second option. It seems their memory of the experiment only focused on the last moments, which was slightly more pleasant in the 90-second set-up.

The research suggests that our impressions of work fall prey to the same preference — and we can use that to our advantage. Lai's team gave participants a series of dull tasks — from flexing their muscles against heavy weights to sorting books into alphabetical order or answering customer complaints. In each case, participants performed the tasks with or without an "easy addendum" attached to the end of the job. Those testing their strength were given a few extra rounds of lighter weights while those answering customer queries with some more straightforward requests.

Much like the ice-bath experiments, there was no logical reason why loading on additional work to an existing task should make it more pleasant overall. But the researchers found that the "easy addendums" significantly reduced the anticipated difficulty and increased participants` satisfaction with their jobs.

Since learning about Lai's research, I have tried applying this strategy to my own work. Writing is still my favourite part of the job, and so this article was a pleasant addendum to an otherwise demanding day of research for another one. By putting these words on the page, I feel far more energised about the work behind me — and readier to enjoy the evening ahead.