英文转写文档：
During the Spring Festival, I met a few relatives and cousins. Through our interactions, I was shocked by how pervasive learned helplessness is.
I have a relative who graduated from a first-tier university a year ago. He said no employer wanted him. I asked, “Did you go to any job fairs?” He said no. I asked, “Did you revise your résumé?” He said no.
I tried to help him improve his résumé, but it had only two lines. He said he had nothing to write because he had almost no projects or internships during college. I suggested that he could try to get a few internships now. He said no one would want him because he had already graduated.
He also refused to go to interviews because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to answer the questions. I told him he could prepare in advance. If he failed an interview, he could reflect on what went wrong, improve, and try again. Or he could develop small applications at home for fun, or even imitate his dad and start a small business. He shook his head.
This is not a special case. I have met several relatives who fall into the same trap of thinking. Their conclusion is that there is nothing they can do — and they don’t even want to try.
This mentality fits into what psychologists call learned helplessness. You may have heard of the famous experiment in which three groups of dogs were placed in cages and given electric shocks at intervals. One group could press a lever to stop the shocks and escape. Another group pressed a lever that didn’t work, and eventually gave up trying to escape.
Some psychologists believe learned helplessness comes from childhood neglect or repeated discouragement. Others argue that helplessness is an automatic human tendency, and that hope is something that must be learned.
To break learned helplessness in dogs, researchers placed them in a completely new environment and physically moved their legs. Eventually, the dogs realized they could escape the cage.
This suggests that for people with learned helplessness, create a new enviornment for yourself. Get yourself moving. Leave the places that trapped you.
This suggests that for people with learned helplessness, creating a new environment matters. Get yourself moving. Leave the places that have trapped you.
Every outcome in our lives is the result of many factors, both internal and external. We cannot attribute all success solely to internal factors like ability, effort, or attitude. Likewise, we cannot attribute all failure entirely to external factors like unsupportive parents, friends, or environment.
Of course, many things are out of our control. But there are always things within our control.
For example, when I was obese, I blamed the abundance of temptations in the world and believed I had a genetic predisposition to obesity, so I thought I couldn’t control it. But once I switched to a natural diet and started running three kilometers every day, my weight returned to normal. It has remained healthy for more than fifteen years.
There is always something we can do. We are not victims of our lives.
I like the Chinese proverb: 尽人事，听天命 do your best and leave the rest to fate. When you look back, you will have no regrets.
