當(dāng)艾莎·沃森需要放松頭腦時(shí),她就會(huì)從飛機(jī)上縱身一躍。這位住在布魯克林的作家兼企業(yè)家認(rèn)為,跳傘是她“恢復(fù)心理健康的最佳方式”。她的看法或許不無道理。研究表明,腎上腺素激增有助于提高專注力,并且使人更加思維敏捷和有活力。
沃森說:“我從小就經(jīng)常要與抑郁癥作斗爭(zhēng),但真正直到創(chuàng)業(yè)后,我才不得不設(shè)法解決這個(gè)問題。”沃森在2018年創(chuàng)立了純音頻社交應(yīng)用公司Squad?!皠?chuàng)業(yè)是最孤獨(dú)的人生歷程之一。這段旅程極容易引發(fā)焦慮,而且非常艱難?!?/p>
為了讓自己重?zé)ɑ盍σ约皩W(xué)習(xí)如何更好地保持身心健康,沃森開始嘗試各種自我護(hù)理活動(dòng),如引導(dǎo)式冥想、旅游和滑雪。但在新冠疫情初期的某一時(shí)刻,這些活動(dòng)突然對(duì)她不起效果了。
談到在毛里求斯(馬達(dá)加斯加海岸附近的一個(gè)島國(guó))的第一次跳傘經(jīng)歷時(shí),沃森說:“我在那之前一直都很想嘗試跳傘,那一次我感受到了前所未有的平靜。它讓我恢復(fù)了健康的心理狀態(tài)。當(dāng)?shù)竭_(dá)降落區(qū)時(shí),我感覺自己來到了一個(gè)新的世界?!?/p>
自從兩年前開始跳傘以來,沃森已經(jīng)完成了200多次跳傘,目前她正在接受訓(xùn)練,準(zhǔn)備參加2024年美國(guó)國(guó)民跳傘比賽。雖然跳傘區(qū)經(jīng)常只有沃森一個(gè)黑人女性,但她很喜歡跳傘社群中那種悠然自得的氛圍,這點(diǎn)與創(chuàng)業(yè)界截然不同。一旦上了飛機(jī),沃森就能一邊將腳下的世界盡收眼底,一邊任思緒漫游。
她說:“那一刻,你只會(huì)想‘看看底下的一切,看看俯瞰視角的世界有多美麗?!械目植佬侣?,所有的槍擊事件,所有的政治內(nèi)斗,在那里全都看不見?!?/p>
從日常事務(wù)的巨大壓力中解脫出來
沃森表示:“在日常生活中,我一直感到壓力巨大。在美國(guó),作為一名黑人女性,你必須比其他人優(yōu)秀一倍才能獲得他們一半的回報(bào)。這令人疲憊不堪。我從來沒有過自由的感覺,但在跳傘時(shí),我感覺非常自由。而一旦你感到自由,你就會(huì)迷上這種感覺。”
對(duì)于其他處于精疲力竭邊緣的創(chuàng)始人,沃森鼓勵(lì)他們嘗試能使其感到自由和煥發(fā)活力的事物。
她說:“把車停下并不意味著就在加油了。許多創(chuàng)始人可能會(huì)想,‘天啊,我又要給自己增加一項(xiàng)日程安排了。’但這并不是簡(jiǎn)單地給自己增加一些活動(dòng)安排而已,而是要抱著嘗試的心態(tài)去投入時(shí)間和精力學(xué)習(xí)能讓你感到自由和煥發(fā)活力的事物。”
這種自由的感覺促使沃森在9月20日發(fā)起并慶祝了“有意識(shí)日”(Day of Intentionality)。這一行動(dòng)號(hào)召的靈感還來源于她的處女作《不為點(diǎn)贊的生活》(Life Beyond Likes),該書于今年早些時(shí)候發(fā)布,鼓勵(lì)人們花更多的時(shí)間在線下與人交往。
她解釋道:“有意識(shí)地做一些事是自己護(hù)理的方法之一。它關(guān)乎于快樂至上和追求自己的幸福。有意識(shí)地做事并不是要立刻改變你所有的習(xí)慣,而是要從一些小事做起。它是指利用你的思想潛能和行動(dòng)力去過上充滿快樂的生活?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-劉嘉歡
當(dāng)艾莎·沃森需要放松頭腦時(shí),她就會(huì)從飛機(jī)上縱身一躍。這位住在布魯克林的作家兼企業(yè)家認(rèn)為,跳傘是她“恢復(fù)心理健康的最佳方式”。她的看法或許不無道理。研究表明,腎上腺素激增有助于提高專注力,并且使人更加思維敏捷和有活力。
沃森說:“我從小就經(jīng)常要與抑郁癥作斗爭(zhēng),但真正直到創(chuàng)業(yè)后,我才不得不設(shè)法解決這個(gè)問題。”沃森在2018年創(chuàng)立了純音頻社交應(yīng)用公司Squad?!皠?chuàng)業(yè)是最孤獨(dú)的人生歷程之一。這段旅程極容易引發(fā)焦慮,而且非常艱難?!?/p>
為了讓自己重?zé)ɑ盍σ约皩W(xué)習(xí)如何更好地保持身心健康,沃森開始嘗試各種自我護(hù)理活動(dòng),如引導(dǎo)式冥想、旅游和滑雪。但在新冠疫情初期的某一時(shí)刻,這些活動(dòng)突然對(duì)她不起效果了。
談到在毛里求斯(馬達(dá)加斯加海岸附近的一個(gè)島國(guó))的第一次跳傘經(jīng)歷時(shí),沃森說:“我在那之前一直都很想嘗試跳傘,那一次我感受到了前所未有的平靜。它讓我恢復(fù)了健康的心理狀態(tài)。當(dāng)?shù)竭_(dá)降落區(qū)時(shí),我感覺自己來到了一個(gè)新的世界?!?/p>
自從兩年前開始跳傘以來,沃森已經(jīng)完成了200多次跳傘,目前她正在接受訓(xùn)練,準(zhǔn)備參加2024年美國(guó)國(guó)民跳傘比賽。雖然跳傘區(qū)經(jīng)常只有沃森一個(gè)黑人女性,但她很喜歡跳傘社群中那種悠然自得的氛圍,這點(diǎn)與創(chuàng)業(yè)界截然不同。一旦上了飛機(jī),沃森就能一邊將腳下的世界盡收眼底,一邊任思緒漫游。
她說:“那一刻,你只會(huì)想‘看看底下的一切,看看俯瞰視角的世界有多美麗?!械目植佬侣劊械臉寭羰录?,所有的政治內(nèi)斗,在那里全都看不見。”
從日常事務(wù)的巨大壓力中解脫出來
沃森表示:“在日常生活中,我一直感到壓力巨大。在美國(guó),作為一名黑人女性,你必須比其他人優(yōu)秀一倍才能獲得他們一半的回報(bào)。這令人疲憊不堪。我從來沒有過自由的感覺,但在跳傘時(shí),我感覺非常自由。而一旦你感到自由,你就會(huì)迷上這種感覺?!?/p>
對(duì)于其他處于精疲力竭邊緣的創(chuàng)始人,沃森鼓勵(lì)他們嘗試能使其感到自由和煥發(fā)活力的事物。
她說:“把車停下并不意味著就在加油了。許多創(chuàng)始人可能會(huì)想,‘天啊,我又要給自己增加一項(xiàng)日程安排了?!@并不是簡(jiǎn)單地給自己增加一些活動(dòng)安排而已,而是要抱著嘗試的心態(tài)去投入時(shí)間和精力學(xué)習(xí)能讓你感到自由和煥發(fā)活力的事物?!?/p>
這種自由的感覺促使沃森在9月20日發(fā)起并慶祝了“有意識(shí)日”(Day of Intentionality)。這一行動(dòng)號(hào)召的靈感還來源于她的處女作《不為點(diǎn)贊的生活》(Life Beyond Likes),該書于今年早些時(shí)候發(fā)布,鼓勵(lì)人們花更多的時(shí)間在線下與人交往。
她解釋道:“有意識(shí)地做一些事是自己護(hù)理的方法之一。它關(guān)乎于快樂至上和追求自己的幸福。有意識(shí)地做事并不是要立刻改變你所有的習(xí)慣,而是要從一些小事做起。它是指利用你的思想潛能和行動(dòng)力去過上充滿快樂的生活?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-劉嘉歡
When Isa Watson needs to clear her head, she jumps out of a plane. The Brooklyn-based author and entrepreneur considers skydiving her “greatest mental health reset.” And she may be on to something. Studies show that the adrenaline rush can help increase mental concentration, make you more alert and give you more energy.
“I’ve struggled with depression on and off since I was a kid, but what really made me have to address it was becoming a founder,” says Watson, who founded Squad, an audio-only social app, in 2018. “Becoming a founder is one of the most isolating experiences. It’s very anxiety-inducing and it’s a really hard path.”
In an effort to refuel her tank and learn how to take better care of herself and her mental health, Watson began experimenting with different self-care activities, such as guided meditation, traveling and skiing. But at some point during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, those tools were no longer working for her.
“I always wanted to try skydiving and it was the most serenity I’ve ever felt,” Watson says of her first jump at Mauritius, an island nation off the coast of Madagascar. “It was a mental health reset for me. When I go to the drop zone, I feel like I’m in a different world.”
Watson has completed more than 200 jumps since she started skydiving two years ago and she’s currently training to compete in the 2024 US Nationals for Skydiving. Although she’s often the only Black woman at a jump zone, Watson appreciates the skydiving community for being laid back—a stark contrast to the entrepreneurial world. Once on the plane, Watson is able to zone out as she takes in the world below her.
“It really sets the tone of ‘look at all of that down there, look at how beautiful the world looks from up here,” she says. “It’s like all of the horrible news, all of the shootings, all of the political infighting—I don’t see that up there.”
Freedom from intense daily pressure
“I feel like I’m constantly under an immense amount of pressure [in my everyday life],” says Watson. “When you’re a Black woman in this country, you’re expected to be twice as good to get half as much. It’s exhausting. I haven’t had the privilege of feeling free and when I’m skydiving, I feel so free. And once you feel free, you get addicted to feeling free.”
For other founders who may find themselves on the brink of exhaustion and burnout, Watson encourages them to experiment with what makes them feel free and what refuels your tank.
“Just because I parked the car doesn’t mean I’m filling up my tank,” she says. “A lot of founders may be like ‘oh my god, I’m adding another thing to my schedule.’ But it’s not about adding things to our schedule, it’s about using that experimental framework to invest in learning what makes you feel free and refuels you.”
That feeling of freedom is what inspired Watson to create and celebrate the Day of Intentionality on Sept. 20. The call-to-action was also influenced by her debut book, Life Beyond Likes, which launched earlier this year, and encourages people to spend more time connecting with others offline.
“Being intentional is part of your [self-care] toolkit,” she explains. “It’s about centering your joy and owning your happiness. Being intentional is not about changing all of your habits at once, it’s about doing bite-sized things. Intentionality is using the potential of your mind and the power of your actions to live a life rooted in joy.”