An obstacle usually refers to a difficulty or problem that prevents you from achieving something. Whether it was in your past, or you're presently facing an obstacle, you have to resolve it. Some people avoid obstacles or deny their existence. Others let obstacles control them, and they feel defeated. Your attitude towards obstacles will define the outcome of whether you rise from the challenge, or remain stuck in it. Here are some more great things to love about obstacles.
First, obstacles give you purposes. Sometimes obstacles can reset your goals. You might have always had a particular way of doing things, or wanted to pursue certain goals; but when you're faced with setbacks or difficulties, you're forced to re-think, and re-examine your path. You may end up focusing on something new and exciting. Or, you may concentrate on something that you otherwise wouldn't have if not for the particular setback. By having to overcome an obstacle, you'll be fulfilling a purpose, rather than just going through the motions. Second, obstacles prepare you for the unexpected. Obstacles serve as guides for where to go next. Even though obstacles can bring out many negative emotions in us, such as frustration, anger, or sadness, it's important to realize that they don't stop you from reaching your intended goals. Instead, they, in a way, give you time to stop and think if perhaps there is a new and better path to take and what you can prepare for what will happen along the way. Obstacles shift your perspective.
Obstacles whether you like them or not are unavoidable. Life will never stop throwing you new obstacles. So, the best thing to do is know how to better see and address these obstacles, and transform them into opportunities for self-improvement. The more you're able to see obstacles as being an advantage to your life, the better you'll be at managing them.
Accepting obstacles will be rewarding. It will make you constantly change and adapt to new situations, allowing you to grow into a better version of yourself.
Be it sugar or social media, the response in our brain is the same: It produces a "feel-good" chemical called dopamine. It first brings about pleasure, but it doesn't last very long. It is then followed by pain so that we have to search for the pleasurable things again.
"This cycle of pleasure and pain made sense in the time of early humans when we had to constantly search for our basic needs-food, water, shelter," says Dr. Anna Lembke, a Stanford Medical School researcher. "But our brains weren't adjusted to put out the 'fire of dopamine' caused by pleasurable things that are so easily available in modern life."
In addition, when we're repeatedly exposed to pleasure-producing things, we're not able to take joy in the same rewards. Instead, we need stronger and stronger stimulus (刺激) just to feel good. Otherwise, the cycle will lead us to anxiety, depression and many other problems.
"This is a universal problem—not one limited to those struggling with the disease of addiction. If we want to stay mentally healthy, we must rethink how to break the cycle in a dopamine-overloaded world," says Lembke.
Her suggestions for the addicts?
Take a 30-day break from anything that we rely on for pleasure. This doesn't mean going cold turkey forever. But this first month is key to breaking the pleasure-pain cycle and it's a lot easier to cut out an addictive behavior entirely at first. Then re-introduce the pleasurable things little by little, like just a few bites of ice cream at a time or just one hour online a night.
Another strategy is to create physical distance between us and our addiction. That could mean just removing the addictive thing from our personal space. For someone who's addicted to video games, that could mean a separate laptop for work and one for play.
"In a time of abundance, we have to strike a pleasure-pain balance, which means intentionally avoiding pleasure and seeking the kind of purposeful pain that keeps us healthy, such as exercise," Lembke says. "By doing so, we will reset reward pathways and eventually be a lot happier. It's not easy, but it's well worth doing in the long term."
When I first heard about the European Summer Course organized by the European Academy Otzenhausen, I was immediately attracted to the opportunity. I excitedly (submit)my application in April without hesitation. After a month of anxious waiting, finally (receive)that confirmation email was one of the best moments of the year!
During a mere 10 days, I met 37 students from 21 different countries (globe). Simply saying these young minds were friendly would not be enough , beyond that, they were intelligent, curious and passionate about the study fields they were in (pursue)of and the future of the European Union (EU) along with the whole world.
The program was ambitious, (fill)with various lectures and trips. We were enlightened about data protection, human rights, Brexit, climate protection, and the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
I undoubtedly learned many countless things from academic perspective, but-even more importantly-I was overjoyed to realize my passion law on this trip, which might turn out to be a life-changing moment when I look back on this later in life. Ultimately, the best part of this course was the people I met along the way. Together, we managed to create so many (forget)memories, just like a family. I know that I shall always miss the summer of 2022, those 10 days in Germany and those vivid people.
Boys like to be considered to be popular with others. Martin was such a young and generous boy, who thought he had loads of good friends in school. He was always showing off to his family members that he had the maximum number of friends in school. Also, he claimed how friendly he was with everyone. His family members wanted him to recognize the reality, thus not being cheated in the future.
One day as he was talking triumphantly about his friends at home again, his father called him for a bet. Father said, "Martin, I bet you for the cycle you wanted." Martin. "What's the bet?" Father thought for a while and answered, "I bet you do not have as many friends as you think. Everyone is not your real friend. I'm sure many of them are nothing more than your classmates, in other words, they are just your fair-weather friends." Martin, without a second thought, accepted the challenge.
However, he had no idea how to test whether his classmates were real friends or not, so he asked his father about the testing way. A bright smile spread across the face of his father, "Wait a minute. I have just exactly what you need. It is a special item in my collection. Let me go and bring it." Martin waited curiously. Several minutes later, Martin's father returned, walking towards him, looking like he was carrying something heavy. But Martin could not see anything.
His father explained, "You see, this is a magic chair. It is invisible, and it is rather difficult to sit on it. You take this to your school. If you manage to sit on it, the special chair will activate its magic. Then you will be able to tell who are your real friends."
The next day, brave and determined, Martin took the magic invisible chair to school.
注意：
●续写词数应为150左右；
●请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:During lunchtime, he gathered his friends and asked them to form a circle.
Paragraph 2:Now he could find out who were his real friends.
