????一本自助類圖書的序言幾乎總會吐露出書中的訊息：在接下來的章節中，作為讀者的你將學習如何獲得晉升，給人留下更好的第一印象，挽救婚姻或降低膽固醇的技巧，本書將為你鋪就一條通往幸福的康莊大道云云。

????但《解毒劑：無法忍受積極思維的人如何獲得幸福》（ The Antidote: Happiness For People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking）一書與這類主題背道而馳。在第一章中，作者奧利弗?伯克曼解釋稱，在從事了多年心理學領域的報道之后，他得出了一項結論：“很多情況下，為獲得幸福感而付出的努力恰恰使我們陷入痛苦之中。”秉持這個觀點，伯克曼著手探索各種不同于這種努力的替代方案，他將其稱為通往幸福的消極路徑。

????他問了一些問題。于普通人而言，這些消極路徑是否太過極端，以至于難以付諸行動？成功地重新定位至一條消極路徑能否逐步實施（被人羞辱估計是不可避免的，我已準備好了）？它是否肯定會是突然而劇烈的（我將積極且反復地羞辱我自己，以減少我的自我意識）？

????過去幾個月以來，媒體上已經出現了多篇與《解毒劑》一書有關的書評。為了使我的這篇書評展現出不一樣的特色，我想先談談我自己。一如許多剛剛走出校門，從事待遇微薄的實習生工作的大學生，我有時心情很差，總想發脾氣。在早上上班途中讀完這本書后，我確信，失敗不僅是難以避免的，也是有益的。但過分沉溺于自身處境，將落入本書試圖以毫不費力的方式設法避免的陷阱之中。

????在“不安全的潛在好處”（The Hidden Benefits of Insecurity）這個章節中，伯克曼描述了人類不惜一切代價，竭力避免不安全感和不確定性的傾向。“但在追逐所有這些目標的過程中，”他補充說。“我們恰恰關閉了那種使我們渴望的幸福成為可能的官能。”讀到此處，你或許預期伯克曼將討論他的過往經歷：他從事過一份不稱心、但應該會帶來經濟安全感的工作，也曾由于不會說西班牙語而放棄一個去西班牙旅行的機會。但他沒有。他引用了20世紀天主教僧侶、《七層山》（The Seven Story Mountain）一書作者、神秘的托馬斯?默頓的一段話：“一個許多人怎么也搞不明白的事實是，越竭力避免受苦，就會遭受越多的苦難，因為一些更加瑣碎且微不足道的事情會開始折磨你。”伯克曼以一種能夠建立信任感的方式與他的聽眾溝通。他是一位盡職的研究者，一位傾聽者。他所引述的，是專家的意見。

????The introduction to a self-help book is almost always a spoiler: In the chapters that follow, you, the reader, will learn how to get a promotion, make a better first impression, save your marriage, or lower your cholesterol. This will lead to happiness.

????The Antidote diverges from this theme. In the first chapter, author Oliver Burkeman explains that after years of reporting on the field of psychology, he has concluded that "the effort to try to feel happy is often precisely the thing that makes us miserable." Armed with this thesis, Burkeman sets out to explore various alternatives to this effort, which he calls the negative paths to happiness.

????He asks questions. Are these negative paths too extreme for the average person to implement? Can a successful reorientation to a negative path be achieved gradually (I will try to accept humiliation as inevitable), or does it have to be sudden and drastic (I will actively humiliate myself, over and over, in order to diminish my ego)?

????The Antidote has been reviewed several times over the course of the past few months. In an effort to separate my review from the others, I'm tempted to talk about myself. Like many recent college graduates working as underpaid interns, I sometimes feel out-of-sorts. Reading this book on my morning commute convinced me that failure is both inevitable and beneficial. But to dwell on my personal circumstances would be to fall into a trap that this book manages, effortlessly, to avoid.

????In a chapter titled "The Hidden Benefits of Insecurity," Burkeman describes the human tendency to avoid insecurity and uncertainty at all costs. "But in chasing all that," he adds, "we close down the very faculties that permit the happiness we crave." Here you might expect Burkeman to discuss the time he took an unfulfilling job that promised economic security, or the time he turned down a trip to Spain because he didn't speak Spanish. Instead he quotes the 20th century Catholic monk and mystic Thomas Merton, author of The Seven Story Mountain: "The truth that many people never understand, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you." Burkeman speaks to his audience in a way that establishes trust. He is a dutiful researcher and a listener. He quotes experts.