英文原文
The Mindful Finance Jump Starter - A 5-step plan for cultivating the emotional skills that help you make better money decisions. You and your best friend are out having a long-awaited coffee together to catch up. You’re laughing and telling stories, and then after about an hour she shifts the topic and asks you “How is your financial situation?” Ouch. Your financial situation? What an awful term. You suddenly tense up and start to feel a rumbling in the pit of your stomach. You don’t really know what to say. She can see the pained expression on your face, so she suggests that you could consult the latest popular financial genius to solve “the problem of your financial situation.” But will that really help with the stress and tension that emerges every time you think about money? Probably not. What will work much better is to consider not treating your money as an abstract problem and begin to include your personal experiences, emotions, and thoughts at the table when you’re making financial decisions. What will work much better is to bring the open, aware state of mind we call mindfulness into the picture. Our bodies and minds have an almost automatic response to situations—a gut feeling. From a mindful finance perspective, it’s unwise to shut down and ignore these responses. Instead, you can meet them with mental equilibrium and observe the reactions for the messages they can relay. Sometimes a feeling of unease is an indicator that you’re about to make a decision that’s against your better judgment. Other times it may be an indicator of stepping out of a habitual pattern in a way you believe will lead to personal growth. Ultimately, only you can know the difference. Some mindful finance practice can help you make this assessment, or make peace with the uncertainty of a situation. Mindfulness allows our personal experiences, narratives, and emotions to become valuable tools rather than distractions to our financial planning. A gentle, non-judgmental awareness of the present moment helps provide a clear space around financial matters and eases the claustrophobia and constriction we so often feel. Reuniting our personal experiences with our financial life bridges the rift that can exist between our financial self and our ordinary human self, and can minimize the confusion caused by money matters. With a mindful finance approach, the essential aspects of your finances are no longer something that a professional can understand but you cannot. Acknowledging your emotional and bodily experiences while making financial decisions provides a compass you can trust to help you make plans that are in line with your resources, needs, and goals. In other words, financial matters require advanced emotional skills that you can cultivate. The most coveted credential a finance professional can obtain is the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Jason Voss, director of content at the CFA Institute, former star mutual fund manager, and author of The Intuitive Investor, has developed a mindfulness training program for CFA Institute members to address the very difficulties we’re talking about here. Voss has identified some of the areas where challenges can arise in relation to finances: Mental obstacles – in the face of complex information it is difficult to think clearly, your brain can get muddied with information overload. Stress – financial matters give rise to stress. Emotional biases – when fight or flight instincts are triggered analytical decision making is often abandoned for reactionary or habitual responses. “At the CFA Institute, we have created a meditation module because meditation addresses all these challenges, and has other benefits as well,” Voss says, adding, “Meditation is also free and portable, which makes it ideal for anyone to adopt and use.” That’s right, meditating will help you become a better financial planner. The Research While meditation has gained the status of culturally accepted wellness practice these days, it’s the scientific research about meditation that’s causing so many in the financial industry to take note. For example: Meditation changes the structure of your brain: In one study, University of British Columbia researchers examined the results of 21 different neuroimaging studies, with information on almost 300 different meditators. They found that 8 different brain regions were consistently altered in meditators in a way that resulted in higher whole-brain functioning. The areas of the brain that showed changes are the frontopolar cortex which is associated with self-awareness, the sensory cortices and insula which are associated with body awareness, areas of the hippocampus which control memory consolidation and recall, the anterior and mid cingulate which are associated with emotional regulation, and the superior longitudinal fasciculus which governs whole-brain, cross-hemisphere communication. The take away: Meditation improves your ability to synthesize complex information. Most financial advisers ignore the enormous elephant sitting right in the middle of the room: our emotions. Thinking or talking about money tends to produce very strong feelings in people that can span the spectrum from jealousy, anger, and despair, to hope, excitement, and euphoria. A mindful finance perspective can calm the unconscious reactions these emotions can elicit. And the research backs this up: Meditation helps you become less reactive and more responsive: A study in the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy comparing meditators to non-meditators found that those who regularly meditated every week were less likely to be reactive to failures and set backs, less likely to dwell on the past, and more likely to observe their thoughts and feelings nonjudgmentally and non-reactively and therefore less likely to fear their emotions. The take away: Meditation helps you function wisely, even while feeling intense emotions. Mindful finance allows us to engage with financial matters in a way that allows us to note and observe the emotions that are coming up while not judging those emotions or reacting to them. In this way, our emotions don’t drive our financial decisions from a reactive place, but from a considered space of calm, perceptive equilibrium. Our emotions become learning experiences that provide important information for making good financial decisions. For example, if we can notice and “lean into” our fears rather then push them away, we can gain a better sense of what level of risk we can tolerate in our financial affairs. The 5-Step Mindful Finance Jump Starter In order to cultivate mindfulness surrounding your financial life, I suggest you try this exercise: Schedule a meeting with yourself. Set aside a specific block of time for a meeting with yourself about your finances in a quiet, uplifted setting. Don’t do any other preparation for your meeting. Take a moment to pause before you begin. Meditate for 5-20 minutes to start your meeting. Here’s a great introduction to how to start practicing meditation from Jack Kornfield. All you need is a quiet spot to sit, and then, just breathe. When you catch your mind wandering, return to the feeling of your breath wherever you feel it most: in your belly, your lungs, or your nose, for example. Cultivate a gentle, non-judgmental awareness of what’s happening and use this frame of mind as a reference point throughout the meeting. When you feel emotions start brewing, notice them and let them pass by without reacting or judging them one way or another. Try this journaling exercise. Next, write down answers to these prompts—don’t overthink, just write: —My personal finances cause me stress because... —Some obstacles I currently have in my financial life are... —When I think about money and my personal finances I feel... —I decided to have this meeting with myself because... After you’re done writing, tuck your answers away to reflect on later. Sit in silence. Meditate for 2-10 minutes to end your meeting. Review your writing. Be curious and gentle towards yourself. Consider telling someone you trust that you had this meeting. Share with them whatever you feel comfortable sharing, in particular about the experience more than specifics. There is no need to share anything you feel uncomfortable sharing.
中文翻译
正念理财启动器——一个五步计划，用于培养情感技能，帮助您做出更好的金钱决策。您和最好的朋友外出喝咖啡，期待已久地叙旧。你们笑着讲故事，大约一小时后，她转移话题问您“您的财务状况如何？”哎哟。您的财务状况？多么糟糕的术语。您突然紧张起来，开始感到胃里一阵翻腾。您真的不知道说什么。她能看到您脸上的痛苦表情，于是建议您可以咨询最新的流行理财天才来解决“您的财务状况问题”。但这真的能帮助您每次想到钱时出现的压力和紧张吗？可能不会。更好的方法是不要将您的钱视为抽象问题，并在做出财务决策时开始纳入您的个人经历、情感和想法。更好的方法是将我们称之为正念的开放、觉察的心态带入画面。我们的身心对情境有几乎自动的反应——一种直觉。从正念理财的角度来看，关闭和忽视这些反应是不明智的。相反，您可以用心理平衡来面对它们，并观察这些反应所能传递的信息。有时，不安的感觉表明您即将做出违背更好判断的决定。其他时候，它可能表明您正以一种您认为会带来个人成长的方式走出习惯模式。最终，只有您能知道区别。一些正念理财实践可以帮助您做出这种评估，或与情境的不确定性和平共处。正念让我们的个人经历、叙述和情感成为有价值的工具，而不是我们财务规划的干扰。对当下时刻温和、不评判的觉察有助于在财务事务周围提供清晰的空间，并缓解我们经常感到的幽闭恐惧和紧缩感。将我们的个人经历与财务生活重新结合，弥合了我们的财务自我和普通人类自我之间可能存在的裂痕，并可以最小化金钱事务引起的困惑。采用正念理财方法，您财务的基本方面不再是专业人士能理解而您不能的东西。在做出财务决策时承认您的情感和身体体验，提供了一个您可以信赖的指南针，帮助您制定符合资源、需求和目标的计划。换句话说，财务事务需要您可以培养的高级情感技能。金融专业人士可以获得的最令人垂涎的证书是特许金融分析师（CFA）称号。CFA协会内容总监、前明星共同基金经理、《直觉投资者》作者Jason Voss为CFA协会成员开发了一个正念培训计划，以解决我们在此讨论的困难。Voss确定了与财务相关的挑战可能出现的一些领域：心理障碍——面对复杂信息时难以清晰思考，您的大脑可能因信息过载而混乱。压力——财务事务引起压力。情感偏见——当战斗或逃跑本能被触发时，分析性决策往往被反应性或习惯性反应所取代。“在CFA协会，我们创建了一个冥想模块，因为冥想解决了所有这些挑战，还有其他好处，”Voss说，并补充道，“冥想也是免费和便携的，这使其成为任何人采用和使用的理想选择。”没错，冥想将帮助您成为更好的财务规划师。研究虽然冥想如今已获得文化接受的健康实践地位，但正是关于冥想的科学研究引起了金融行业许多人的注意。例如：冥想改变您的大脑结构：在一项研究中，不列颠哥伦比亚大学的研究人员检查了21项不同神经影像研究的结果，涉及近300名不同的冥想者。他们发现，冥想者中有8个不同的大脑区域持续改变，导致更高的全脑功能。显示变化的大脑区域包括与自我意识相关的前额极皮层、与身体意识相关的感觉皮层和岛叶、控制记忆巩固和回忆的海马体区域、与情绪调节相关的前扣带回和中扣带回，以及管理全脑、跨半球通信的上纵束。要点：冥想提高您综合复杂信息的能力。大多数财务顾问忽略了房间里的大象：我们的情感。思考或谈论金钱往往会在人们中产生非常强烈的感觉，范围从嫉妒、愤怒、绝望到希望、兴奋和欣快。正念理财视角可以平息这些情感可能引发的无意识反应。研究支持这一点：冥想帮助您变得不那么反应性，更响应性：《认知心理治疗杂志》的一项研究比较冥想者和非冥想者，发现那些每周定期冥想的人不太可能对失败和挫折反应过度，不太可能沉溺于过去，更可能非评判性和非反应性地观察他们的想法和感受，因此不太可能害怕他们的情感。要点：冥想帮助您明智地运作，即使在感受强烈情感时。正念理财让我们以注意和观察出现的情感而不评判或反应的方式参与财务事务。这样，我们的情感不会从反应性的地方驱动我们的财务决策，而是从冷静、感知平衡的考虑空间。我们的情感成为学习经验，为做出良好财务决策提供重要信息。例如，如果我们能注意到并“倾向”我们的恐惧而不是推开它们，我们可以更好地了解我们在财务事务中可以承受的风险水平。五步正念理财启动器为了培养围绕您财务生活的正念，我建议您尝试这个练习：与自己安排一次会议。在安静、提升的环境中，为一次关于您财务的与自己会议留出特定时间段。不要为会议做任何其他准备。开始前暂停片刻。冥想5-20分钟开始您的会议。这是Jack Kornfield关于如何开始练习冥想的很好介绍。您只需要一个安静的地方坐下，然后，只需呼吸。当您发现思绪飘散时，回到您呼吸的感觉，无论您感觉最明显的地方：例如，在腹部、肺部或鼻子。培养对正在发生的事情温和、不评判的觉察，并将这种心态作为整个会议的参考点。当您感到情感开始酝酿时，注意它们并让它们过去，而不以任何方式反应或评判。尝试这个日记练习。接下来，写下这些提示的答案——不要过度思考，只需写：——我的个人财务让我感到压力，因为...——我目前在财务生活中遇到的一些障碍是...——当我想到金钱和个人财务时，我感到...——我决定与自己开这次会议，因为...写完后，收起您的答案稍后反思。静坐。冥想2-10分钟结束您的会议。回顾您的写作。对自己保持好奇和温和。考虑告诉您信任的人您开了这次会议。与他们分享您感到舒适的任何内容，特别是关于体验而非具体细节。没有必要分享任何您感到不舒适的内容。
文章概要
本文探讨正念在中年财务规划中的角色，提出五步正念理财启动器计划。文章强调将个人情感和体验融入财务决策，而非视为抽象问题，通过冥想培养情感技能以应对财务压力、心理障碍和情感偏见。研究显示冥想能改变大脑结构，提升综合信息能力和情绪调节，帮助人们在财务事务中更冷静、明智地行动。文章以CFA协会的正念培训为例，说明正念在金融行业的应用价值，最终提供具体练习步骤，促进财务自我觉察和规划。
高德明老师的评价
这篇文章就像教我们怎么在管钱的时候不慌不忙，先深呼吸，感觉一下自己心里的小情绪，比如紧张或者害怕，然后看着它们像云一样飘走，这样就能更聪明地决定怎么花钱和存钱啦！它说我们可以用冥想来练习，让自己变得更平静，这样面对复杂的钱的问题时，脑子不会乱成一团，反而能想得更清楚，就像给大脑做了个升级，让它工作得更好哦！从佛学的各个宗派视角来看，这篇文章体现了大乘佛教的慈悲与智慧结合，特别是显宗中观和瑜伽行派强调的“心物不二”理念。正念理财将情感与财务融合，正契合《显密圆通成佛心要集》所倡导的“即事而真”，在世俗事务中修持菩提心。准提法作为显密圆通的法门，其“观心为要”的修行与此文的正念观察情感异曲同工，都指向在日常生活（如财务决策）中觉醒心性。文章从应用角度，正念理财可解决人们的十个问题：缓解财务焦虑、提升决策清晰度、减少冲动消费、增强风险承受力、改善家庭财务沟通、培养储蓄习惯、平衡工作与理财压力、克服投资恐惧、提升自我价值感、促进财务目标实现。这彰显了准提法“即身成佛”的实践性，将修行融入经济生活，以正念转化烦恼为智慧资粮。