The bell for lunch rang at Glendale Primary School. However, instead of heading to the canteen like all the other children did, Jonah, a new student at the school, went to the library. Other than the noise of the air-conditioner, the library was quiet and there was barely a soul in sight. Far in a comer, he spotted Mrs Lim, the librarian, who was too busy shelving some books to pay any attention to him. The library was near to the canteen. Jonah could hear children laughing and chatting. He wished he was outside playing with some friends but he did not let this bother him.

Suddenly, Jonah heard a sound in the corner. He looked around and saw a pair of eyes looking at him from behind the bookshelves. Jonah turned back，eyes as wide as saucers (茶碟). "Oh dear!" he whispered. He peeked (窥视) over his shoulder again and saw a smaller boy walking towards him.

The boy pulled out the chair next to Jonah and sat down. "I'm Henry. Why are you reading here when you could be playing with your friends instead?" asked he. "Uh... "Jonah looked around the library，avoiding Henry＇s gaze (注视). He did not want Henry to know the real reason why he was in the library. What would Henry think of him if he knew Jonah did not have any friends? It would make Jonah feel more uncomfortable.

As Jonah turned the page, he realized Henry was still sitting there, watching him steadily.

"I know how you feel. Just say hello to someone today," Henry encouraged Jonah. "I promise they'll respond. Once you've made the first move, it just gets easier. "

Jonah appreciated the advice and thanked him before making his way out of the library. In the hallway outside the library, a boy from Jonah's class was crouched on the floor, picking up pens and pencils that had dropped out of his pencil case. Jonah remembered what Henry had advised him to do.

"Hello, I'm Jonah. Let me help you," he offered.

The boy looked up at him. "Thank you! My name is Ruben. "

Victory at last, Jonah thought, feeling proud of himself.

Ten years ago, the professors Brian Lucas and Loran Nordgren encountered a contradiction. On the one hand, we recognize that other people are more likely to make creative breakthroughs when they persevere. On the other hand. when we feel stuck on a problem, most of us fail to sec how successful we'll be if we just keep trying. We tend to believe that our creativity drops over time — that if our best ideas don't come to us immediately, they won't come at all.

Lucas and Nordgren call this misunderstanding the "creative cliff illusion", which refers to the false belief that our creativity sharply declines after an initial period of effort, leading us to underestimate our ability to generate new and innovative ideas with continued perseverance. In one experiment, they asked participants to spend 10 minutes generating "as many original ideas for things to eat and drink at a Thanksgiving dinner as you can. " Afterward, participants were asked to guess how many ideas they would come up with during a second 10-minute period. Most expected to generate far fewer ideas the second time around, but in fact they produced just as many during that second period — 66 percent more than they had guessed. And those were rated by other people as more creative than the initial ideas.

Though we tend to think our ability to come up with ideas is easily consumed, we actually get more creative the longer we focus on a problem or task. One major reason for this is known as the "serial-order effect". Each next creative idea we have is likely to be better than the one that came before.

The serial-order effect isn't always easy to see. Most of us have adopted the belief that creativity should feel easy, or "fluent". And so we associate mental difficulty with pointlessness. But working through bad ideas is a necessary step in the creative process. The first solutions that come to mind tend to be either preexisting ideas or popular wisdom. These are the paths of least resistance. Though avoiding them requires some work, it's the surest way to find original ideas that aren't immediately manifest.

The serial-order effect applies to tasks that last minutes or days, but creativity also improves across years, decades, and even careers. The life's work of most successful entrepreneurs proves it.

Getting into college is a big step for high school graduates, and it comes with a lot of changes. For most students, it's the first time they're living away from home and managing their own life. Not surprisingly, adapting to this new lifestyle can be challenging. The following four tips will make high school graduates better prepared for college life.

Goal setting

When setting goals, whether they're academic, career, or personal, remember they should be attainable but not too easy, so that you really have to push yourself to achieve them, and feel rewarded when you do. Writing down your goals and breaking down each huge, long-term goal into smaller more practical ones can help make it feel more real, and writing out a plan for achieving it can give you a roadmap to success.

Interpersonal skills

At college, you will interact with fellow students, professors, librarians, and many others. Strong interpersonal skills will help you build relationships during this time, and get more out of them. If you feel that your interpersonal skills need some work, practice asking thoughtful questions and listening closely, develop your understanding by putting yourself in someone else's shoes, and enhance your self-confidence.

Studying

With fewer in-class hours and more on-your-own learning, you're required to really digest learning material rather than simply memorize facts. To be successful in college you'll need to learn how to integrate large amounts of information obtained through reading, do research, and write papers. Organization is the key, so if you are not someone who is naturally organized, set up your study schedule.

Budgeting

Managing money is a critical life skill, and for many, it is at college that they develop it for the first time. Start by estimating your financial balance. Then give high priority to the expenses on basic needs and determine how much money to set aside every month to cover those costs. Don't forget about savings … and the fun stuff(movies, dinners out), too.