How to De-influence Your Life?如何“反種草”？

毛思玉/譯

Right now， I have three different insulated water bottles sitting on my desk. My makeup station is so cluttered it would take me a good three minutes just to find my mascara. My closet is full of clothes I don’t think are cute anymore， and underneath my bed I have bags， purses and who knows what else that I’ve forgotten about.

此刻，我的桌子上擺著三個(gè)不同款的保溫杯。梳妝臺(tái)凌亂不堪，光是找睫毛膏就得花上整整三分鐘。衣柜塞得滿滿當(dāng)當(dāng)，都是我不再喜歡的衣服。床底下堆著手提包、錢包，誰(shuí)知道還有什么我已經(jīng)忘記的東西。

It’s not a unique position. Like many other people， I have fallen victim to influencing.

這般堆放，并非個(gè)例。和許多人一樣，我也成了“種草”的受害者。

In today’s world of fast fashion， light-speed trend changing and ever-growing social media， it has become almost impossible to not be influenced by advertisements， TikTok tutorials or recommendations from your favorite content creator.

如今的世界，快時(shí)尚遍地開(kāi)花，潮流瞬息萬(wàn)變，社交媒體肆意生長(zhǎng)。我們幾乎不可能不受到影響，無(wú)論這影響是來(lái)自廣告、TikTok教程，還是自己最喜歡的內(nèi)容創(chuàng)作者的推薦。

That is， until now.

但是時(shí)候作出改變了。

One of the newest， and perhaps also one of the healthiest， social media trends is now “de-influencing.” Essentially， de-influencing is when creators tell you why you don’t need to buy popular products in an effort to promote financial stability， sustainable shopping and mental health.

“反種草”是目前社交媒體上最新的潮流之一，或許也是最有益的潮流之一。從本質(zhì)上說(shuō)，“反種草”就是創(chuàng)作者告訴你為何無(wú)須跟風(fēng)購(gòu)買熱門產(chǎn)品，其目的在于提高財(cái)務(wù)穩(wěn)定性，促進(jìn)可持續(xù)消費(fèi)，改善心理健康。

So， how do we take the premise of de-influencing and apply it to our own lives？ How do we escape the cycle of buying things when we don’t know what we truly want？

那么，我們?cè)鯓幼霾拍茏プ　胺捶N草”潮流，并在生活中踐行這種理念呢？怎樣做才能跳出不知真正所需卻仍買個(gè)不停的惡性循環(huán)？

There definitely isn’t a one-size-fits-all toolkit. If you’re looking to de-influence your life， these tips can help.

萬(wàn)能的解決方案固然不存，但以下建議有助于你在生活中“反種草”。

Never buy on a whim1

不要沖動(dòng)消費(fèi)

If you see something you like or are tempted by a social media recommendation， put a pin in it2. Take a day （or a week if it’s a big purchase） and see if you still want it after the initial “high” has passed.

看見(jiàn)自己喜歡的產(chǎn)品或受社交媒體上的推薦誘惑時(shí)，先將其擱置一旁。用一天（若是大額消費(fèi)，就用七天）的時(shí)間思考，看看最初的沖動(dòng)消退后，自己是否仍然需要這個(gè)產(chǎn)品。

Keep note of multiples

切記不要重復(fù)購(gòu)買物品

If you already have three water bottles， do you really need another one？ Whenever you’re about to buy something， consider what you’ve already got. It’s likely you have a perfectly workable alternative， whether it’s a lipstick in a similar shade or yet another fast fashion dress.

如果你已經(jīng)擁有三個(gè)水杯，真的還需要再買一個(gè)嗎？每次購(gòu)物前先回想一下自己已有的東西。你很可能已經(jīng)擁有完全可行的替代品，無(wú)論是色號(hào)相似的口紅，還是另一條快時(shí)尚裙子。

Repurpose or fix broken products

維修舊物或更換用途繼續(xù)用

Before you replace an item， look at how you could repair or repurpose it to avoid waste. Homeware can be customised with fabric or paint， while a tailor can make light work of rips and tears in clothes.

換新之前，先嘗試維修舊物或更換其用途，以避免浪費(fèi)。家居用品可以用布料或涂料改造，裁縫則可以輕而易舉地縫補(bǔ)衣物的裂縫和破洞。

Work out your own “ride or die3” products

找出你真正需要的產(chǎn)品

Influencer recommendations can be useful when looking for that holy grail4 item， but it’s your verdict5 that matters most. If you do buy something based on a social media endorsement， don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead， go through the pros and cons for your needs （including things like skin type and whether you’ll use it day-to-day） and have an audit of what you own. Get rid of anything that doesn’t work or has been left at the back of a drawer， keep what works， and hopefully your capsule collection6 will make you less susceptible to influencing.

如果你在尋找夢(mèng)寐以求的產(chǎn)品，網(wǎng)紅的推薦或許很有參考價(jià)值，但你自己的判斷才是最重要的。如果你確實(shí)因?yàn)樯缃幻襟w的宣傳而購(gòu)買了某產(chǎn)品，也不必自責(zé)。你應(yīng)該根據(jù)自己的需求（比如是否適合自身膚質(zhì)、是否每日使用）審視該產(chǎn)品的利弊，并審核自己已有的產(chǎn)品。扔掉失效或閑置已久的，保留有用的，但愿你的“膠囊系列”能讓你少受“種草”影響。

Shop secondhand

淘二手貨

Charity shops and sites like eBay and Vinted are great for when you want that hit of retail therapy7 but don’t want the guilt that comes with fast fashion. They have the added benefit of saving you money on buying new—plus you’ll never get caught in the same outfit as someone else.

如果你想收獲購(gòu)物療法的快感，但又不想因?yàn)橘?gòu)買快時(shí)尚服飾而內(nèi)疚，慈善商店和eBay、Vinted等網(wǎng)站就是非常好的選擇。淘二手貨還有一個(gè)好處，那就是能幫你省下購(gòu)買新衣服的錢，而且你永遠(yuǎn)不用擔(dān)心和別人撞衫。

（譯者為“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸粏挝唬罕本├砉ご髮W(xué)）

1 whim心血來(lái)潮；一時(shí)的興致；突發(fā)的奇想。? 2 put a pin in sth暫時(shí)擱置。

3 ride or die全心全意支持的。? 4 holy grail圣杯，此處指努力追求的目標(biāo)，夢(mèng)寐以求之物。? 5 verdict（經(jīng)過(guò)檢驗(yàn)或認(rèn)真考慮后的）意見(jiàn)，決定，結(jié)論。? 6 capsule collection膠囊系列，通常包括便于搭配和穿著的基本款和經(jīng)典款。此說(shuō)法可追溯至20世紀(jì)70年代，倫敦精品時(shí)裝店“衣櫥”（Wardrobe）的老板蘇茜·?？怂梗⊿usie Faux）首推“膠囊衣櫥”（capsule wardrobe）系列，主打?qū)嵱煤么┣也皇艹绷饔绊懙慕?jīng)典款。此處的“膠囊”有“濃縮的精華”之義。? 7 retail therapy 購(gòu)物療法，通過(guò)購(gòu)買服裝等讓人高興起來(lái)的方法。