However, he encountered a problem that plagues everyone: He couldn’t motivate himself to do it.

不過他遭遇到折磨著所有人的難題：他無法激勵自己這麼做。

No matter how much he tried, his guitar remained in the case.

不論他多努力，他的吉他依舊靜靜地躺在箱子裡。

Achor’s problem is a common one:

Achor 的難題很普遍：

If you want to change a habit in the long-term, in the beginning, you have to rely on willpower.

如果你想要長期改變這個習慣，一開始必須要依靠意志力。

But willpower is a finite resource and can’t be relied on.

但意志力屬於有限資源，所以無法仰賴。

In other words, the more decisions you make on a daily basis, the more likely you are to experience what psychologists call "decision fatigue".

換句話說，你每天做的決定越多，就越可能經歷心理學家所謂的「決策疲勞」。

Once you experience decision fatigue, improving habits—especially at the end of a stressful day—becomes less of a priority.

你一旦開始經歷決策疲勞，要改善習慣就變得不那麼重要，尤其在飽受壓力的一天過後。

Habitual, negative behaviors, like watching television instead of going to the gym, become routine.

像是看電視不上健身房等慣性壞習慣也會變成常規。

Given a choice, we almost always go with the disempowering habits instead of the habits that are good for us.

如果可以選擇，我們幾乎一定會選擇有害的習慣而捨棄對我們有好處的習慣。

They offer us a path of less resistance and become the easier choice.

它們給予我們阻力較少的通道，進而成為較輕鬆的選擇。

But what if you had a tool to reshape that path entirely?

那如果你有一個完全重塑這條道路的工具呢？

A tool that made positive habits more accessible.

一個讓好習慣變得更容易養成的工具。

In Achor’s example, he realized that having to remove his guitar from the closet increased the effort he needed to start practicing—even if that effort only cost him an extra 20 seconds.

就 Achor 為例，他發現要把吉他從櫃子裡拿出來開始練習增加了他要耗費的心力，雖然這分力只會多耗費他 20 秒。

Those 20 seconds meant the difference between doing his habit and not.

這 20 秒就是習慣做與不做之間的差距。

He came to a resolution: Put his guitar in the center of his apartment.

他得到了一個結論：把吉他放在公寓正中央。

The results?

那結果呢？

He practiced guitar for 21 days straight without exception.

他毫無例外地連續練習了 21 天的吉他。

Achor called this the 20 Second Rule.

Achor 稱之為 20 秒定律。

He says, "Lowering the barrier by just 20 seconds was all it took to help me form a new habit."

他說：「讓我養成新習慣，僅僅只需要將阻礙降低 20 秒。」

The 20 Second Rule not only can be used to build new empowering habits, but it can be used to ease the transition between negative and positive ones as well.

20 秒定律不只可以被用在養成新的好習慣．也能夠被用來舒緩從壞習慣轉換到好習慣的衝擊。

Achor’s next experiment was to replace watching television when he returned home from work with reading and writing his book.

Achor 下一個實驗室要將下班後看電視的習慣改成閱讀以及寫書。

This time, he took the batteries out of the remote and moved them—you guessed it—20 seconds away.

這次，他把遙控器電池拿出來，移到——沒錯！距離 20 秒遠的地方。

Here are his findings:

以下是他的發現：

The next few nights when I got home from work, I plopped down on the couch and pressed the "on" button on the remote, usually repeatedly, forgetting that I had moved the batteries.

接下來幾個晚上，我下班回到家時，會癱坐在沙發上然後按下遙控器的「開」鍵，常會因為忘記自己拿出了鑰匙而重複按壓。

Then, frustrated, I thought to myself, "I hate that I do these experiments."

然後我就會很沮喪地想：「真討厭自己總愛做這些實驗。」

But sure enough, the energy and effort required to retrieve the batteries—or even walk across the room and turn the TV on manually—was enough to do the trick.

但相當然地，去拿電池所需要耗費的精力（甚或走到房間另一端手動打開電視）都足以達成目標。

There are multiple ways you can experiment with the 20 Second Rule.

你有很多種可以利用 20 秒定律做實驗的方式。

Just remember, as a rule of thumb:

根據經驗來講，要記得：

You need to decrease the activation energy you need to do positive habits and increase it to do negative [habits].

你需要減少做好習慣所需投入的精力，然後提升做壞習慣必須耗費的力氣。

If you want to replace a bad habit like drinking alcohol after work, consider moving your pint glasses to another room or leaving alcohol that’s best served chilled unrefrigerated.

如果你想要改掉下班後喝酒的壞習慣，可以考慮把啤酒杯放到另一個房間或把冷藏後最好喝的酒精放在室溫當中。

No one wants to drink a beer or white wine that hasn’t been chilled.

應該不會有人想要喝不冰的啤酒或白酒吧！

If you’d like to minimize the number of hours you spend online, delete the social media apps on your smartphone.

如果你想要最小化使用網路的時間，那就刪除智慧型手機上的社群相關應用程式。

The extra effort needed to go to the app store, download the app, and enter your account details will help with fighting this habit.

需要前往商店、下載應用程式並輸入帳戶資料所需要的多餘精力將能夠幫助你截掉這個習慣。

If you want to eat more healthy, consider doing a weekly grocery shop for the whole week.

如果你想要吃得更健康點，可以考慮每週購物時採買一整週的食材。

Prepare your lunch and dinner meals in advance, so when you are hungry, the extra effort needed to go and buy something new will help you pick the already prepared healthy food.

提前準備好你的午、晚餐，那麼當你餓的時候，需要外出購買餐點的額外心力就能夠促使你拿起已經準備好的健康餐。

If you want to make brushing or flossing your teeth a habit, put your toothbrush right next to your bed so you can just grab it and start brushing your teeth.

如果你想要養成刷牙或用牙線的習慣．把你的牙刷放在床邊，可以隨手拿起後就開始刷牙。

It's easier to start brushing your teeth and then go to the bathroom than to first go to the bathroom and start it there.

直接開始刷牙再去浴室比先去浴室再開始刷牙要簡單多了。

If you liked the video, leave a like and comment below: How would you apply the 20 second rule and to what habit?

If you liked the video, leave a like and comment below: How would you apply the 20 second rule and to what habit?

Anyway, don't forget to subscribe and thanks for watching!

Anyway, don't forget to subscribe and thanks for watching!