Ways to Improve Your Luck

    Some people have all the luck! Or does it just seem that way？Why did your co-worker get that big promotion while you were overlooked？Why do some of us seem to experience these lucky things more than others and how can you improve your luck？ {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

What You Tell Yourself Matters!

Do you know that people who are lucky tell themselves they're lucky？Has your own self-talk been filled with less-than-lucky talk？Do you say things like："I'm just not a lucky person." or "Good things never happen to me?" {#blank#}2{#/blank#}They say things like—"This setback is only temporary．I know things will turn around．"or" Things have a way of working out for me．"

Expect and Acknowledge Your Good Luck．

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Research suggests keeping a "good luck journal" helps people become even luckier．Did someone bring you coffee at work today？Did you find a random quarter on the street？Did your husband or wife do something nice for you today？Did your child get a good grade at school？Write them down!    All of these things count. Begin to notice all the good that comes to you．

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    Make contact with people．Take risks．People who try new things are much more open to luck and good fortune than those who don't．This doesn't mean you have to quit your job or take up skydiving! It could be as simple as starting a conversation with a stranger，taking a class in an unfamiliar subject, learning some words and phrases in a foreign language，or trying a new ethnic restaurant．{#blank#}5{#/blank#} And this greater openness can help promote chance opportunities in their lives．

A．You probably have many more lucky things happening in your life than you think．

B．Lucky people generally expect good fortune．

C．Do Something New and Different.

D．You will never forget your lucky friends．

E．Here are ideas that researchers tell us about luck．

F．A lucky person generally receive good fortune in the future．

G．Lucky people score much higher on openness than unlucky people．

    As Internet users become more dependent on the Internet to store information, are people remember less? If you know your computer will save information, why store it in your own personal memory, your brain? Experts are wondering if the Internet is changing what we remember and how.

    In a recent study, Professor Betsy Sparrow conducted some experiments. She and her research team wanted to know the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they gave people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.

    In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information an the Internet. The information was in a specific computer folder (文件夹). Surprisingly, people later remember the folder location (位置) better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory (交互记忆)”

    According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet. Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn't mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.

    Nowadays, especially in China, everything seems to favor social intercourse, such as gatherings of friends, KTV, group travel, dining togethter, playing cards and Mahjong, plus the Chinese-style “street-crossing group.” Back home, discussions can still be boisterously carried on within the “circle of friends” of WeChat.

      However, these scenes cannot always ease a sense of loneliness. Zhu Ziqing, a well-known professor of Tsinghua University, signed with emotion: “My loneliness increases as scene becomes much busier.” One popular song today is also called “A lonely man in crowds.” Actually, engaging in social intercourse requires ability, while being alone involves the whole character.

    These days, it is not easy to calm down totally and return to one's true self. Willpower, intellect and discipline are required. Einstein said: “It is not your working time but your spare time that determines the possibility of whether you will be successful or not.” The “spare time” he referred to could be taken as “spending time by yourself.”

    Lonely life could be either dull, boring and tasteless or abundant, interesting and colorful, depending on one's quality, ambition and inspiration.

    Just as the body constantly requires energy, the mind and soul also demand unceasing inputs. However, information, to processed and integrated(融入)into knowledge, thoughts and feelings, instead of bustle(忙碌)seems to be the right condition. Successful careers in all walks of life worldwide have proved that “the soul grows in peace and talent is nurtured in loneliness”. In a sense, it may be reasonable to say that “Happiness tends to be shallow while loneliness involves profundity”.

    Man, in fact, needs loneliness more than happy time, and only abundant loneliness can produce quality happiness.

    Tablets are really useful devices, but their big screens always make them as a burden to carry around without a bag. Wouldn't it be great if there were a phone with the powers of a tablet that could be folded up and fit neatly into the hand?

    Now something like a tablet-shaped but foldable phone is about to become available. In February, South Korean electronics company Samsung and China's Huawei both launched foldable phones, the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X respectively. Mobile phone use has entered the "foldable future", The Verge noted.

    The technology could change our lives in significant ways. These devices, due to their bendable screens, give us the larger screens we want. Meanwhile, they still fit easily into the pocket. As USA Today noted, they're "the combination of a small tablet and smartphone, all in a single device".

    The technology could change other devices, too. For example, we could make TVs that stick to walls like posters, or fold up easily to hide away in drawers. In crowded modem cities, they will help us to maximize available space.

    In a keynote address, Samsung's senior vice president of mobile product marketing, Justin Denison, called the foldable screen "the foundation for the smartphone of tomorrow". "It's a blank canvas (画布) for us to do something beautiful together." he said.

    So is there nothing to stand in the way of the foldable future? According to tech news website Android Authority, the necessary displays were difficult to produce. In 2012, nine out of every 10 OLED (二极管) screens produced were imperfect. Today, that 10 percent rate has been improved to between 50 and 90 percent. However, at present these foldable devices are expensive. For example, the price of Huawei Mate X is 17,500 RMB. That's a price that few people will be able to afford.

    But if the foldable device isn't going to change the world overnight, there is no doubt that it is coming. Patrick Moorhead, an industry analyst told The Verge, "Few are debating if foldable or rollable mobile displays are the future of smartphones; the only question is when and by whom."

    A campaign is being launched to encourage children to surrender 30 minutes of screen time a day to head for the great outdoors.

    The newly formed Wild Network—a collaboration of nearly 400 organizations—is attempting to attract youngsters away from television and computer screens to fields, woods and parks. Members of the network include the National Trust, RSPB, Play England and the NHS. Organizers say it is the UK's biggest ever campaign to reconnect children with nature and outdoor play, and claim it could help improve fitness, mental alertness and general well-being.

    A documentary film, Project Wild Thing, will forecast the launch at more than 50 cinemas across the UK from Friday. It looks at the increasing link between children and nature.

    Andy Simpson, chairman of the Wild Network, said, "The tragic truth is that kids have lost touch with nature and the outdoors in just one generation. Time spent outdoors is decreasing, roaming (漫步) ranges have fallen largely, activity levels are declining and the ability to identify common species has been lost."

    Suggestions on how to get more time in nature include collecting conkers (七叶树果), camping, snail racing, and observing autumn colour on trees.

    From January, the network will aim to make suggestions on how the government can do more to get children muddy and bright-eyed.

    This is not the first time the message of less screen time, more play has been brought up. Children in the 1980s were requested to do the same by the BBC TV series Why Don't You, which somewhat confusingly called on its viewers to "switch off the TV set and go to do something less boring instead".

    Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It's very likely that you'll want to have volunteers to help with the organization's activities. To do so, it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work.

    Let's begin with the question of why people volunteer. Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved. For example, people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness, to expand their range of experiences, and to strengthen social relationships. If volunteer positions do not meet these needs, people may not wish to participate. To select volunteers, you may need to understand the motivations of the people you wish to attract.

    People also volunteer because they are required to do so. To increase levels of community service, some schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs. Unfortunately, these programs can shift people's wish of participation from an internal factor (e.g. "I volunteer because it's important to me") to an external factor (e.g. "I volunteer because I'm required to do so"). When that happens, people become less likely to volunteer in the future. People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.

    Once people begin to volunteer, what leads them to remain in their positions over time? To answer this question, researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time. For instance, one study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year. One of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions. Although this result may not surprise you, it leads to important practical advice. The researchers note that attention should be given to "training methods that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience".

    Another study of 302 volunteers at hospitals in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view "volunteer" as an important social role. It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work. Participants indicated the degree to which the social role mattered by responding to statements such as "Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am." Consistent with the researchers' expectations, they found a positive correlation (正相关) between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer. These results, once again, lead to concrete advice: "Once an individual begins volunteering, continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity…Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity".