With the white beard and hair Santa may look old, but he doesn't seem to be getting any older. What are his secrets to longevity? How does the Jolly Old Elf keep up year to year? I managed to get Santa on the phone in a rare interview:
1. The "Ho-Ho-Ho" Secret
"My trademarked 'Ho-Ho-Ho' is more than just my natural expression of joy," began Santa. "It's my form of stress relief. Things can get quit hectic this time of year and the elves can be especially difficult about all the overtime. I find that laughter and smiling are the best ways to dissipate stress and lighten my mood. If I could bring one gift to all the grown ups this Christmas, it would be more smiles and laughter."
2. Mrs. Claus
"My next secret is Mrs. Claus," continued Santa. "She is the most wonderful wife and I couldn't do anything without her. She doesn't like the spotlight, but have to give her credit for making sure I take care of myself and keeping from obsessing too much over my work. Just being with her takes years off my life."
3. Chimney Squats
"You may not know it from my waistline, but I am quite fit. I have to train all year round to be strong enough to leap up through millions of chimneys on Christmas Eve," continued Santa. "I have a whole team of elves working with me everyday to exercise. They are always after me to leave the cookies behind, but I just love cookies so . . ." he said with a distant look in his eyes.
4. Managing Elves
"I can't begin to tell you how much I love working with elves. I think they are one of the reasons I stay so young," Santa explained. "When you have a thousand or so elves preparing millions and millions of gifts for the Big Day, you have to have some pretty good management skills. This keeps my mind working and engaged all year long." Santa recommends that anyone who want to stay sharp find ways to be creative and engage in daily problem solving and mental challenges.
5. Giving and Thinking Positive
"My final longevity secret: Think positive. I look forward to every year and the joys and challenges it brings. I just love my giving gifts and spreading joy during the Christmas season. It gives my life meaning and value. That, in my opinion, is the number one secret to longevity." With that, Santa gave a mighty "Ho-Ho-Ho" and excused himself to check on an assembly line.
擁有白胡須和白頭發(fā)的圣誕老人也許看上去很老,但是似乎看不到他在變老。那么他的長壽秘訣是什么呢?年復(fù)一年這個“歡快的老精靈”是怎樣的保持下去的?我和圣誕老人進(jìn)行了一次成功的電話參訪。
Santa Claus1.“HO-HO-HO”秘訣
圣誕老人開口就說:“我的標(biāo)志性‘HO -HO-HO’笑聲不僅僅是我喜悅的自然表現(xiàn),也是我釋放壓力的方式。今年這個時候事情變得很艱難了并且和孩子們相處從來不是一件容易的事。我發(fā)現(xiàn)笑聲和微笑是釋放壓力的最好方式并且使我的心情明亮起來。如果我能在這個圣誕我能給成年人帶去什么禮物,那就是更多的微笑和笑聲。”
Mrs. Claus2.圣誕老奶奶
“我的下一個秘訣就是圣誕老奶奶,”圣誕老人接著說。“她是最神奇的妻子,我離開她什么也不能做。她不喜歡聚光燈,但是必須對她為確保我照顧好自己和避免受太多工作的困擾所做得努力進(jìn)行表揚(yáng)。正是因為和她在一起,才使我更年輕了。”
Santa Going Down a Chimney3.蹲伏煙囪
“你可能從我的腰圍看不出這一點,但是我非常適合做這件事。我不得不常年訓(xùn)練以保證我有足夠的強(qiáng)壯能在圣誕前夕跳躍穿梭于無數(shù)個煙囪,”圣誕老人繼續(xù)說。 “我有一群調(diào)皮的小孩陪我每天一起鍛煉,他們總是在我不知道的情況下給我留下些餅干,但是我很喜歡這些餅干,因此······”他帶著深邃的眼神說。
Elves4.管理“搗蛋鬼”
“我真不知道怎樣告訴你我有多么的喜愛和孩子們一起工作。我認(rèn)為這也是我保持年輕的原因,”圣誕老人解釋說,“當(dāng)你要為那么的“搗蛋鬼”準(zhǔn)備上億份禮物,你必須有非常好的管理技巧。這也讓我的大腦一整年的在運轉(zhuǎn)和忙碌中。”圣誕奉勸大家說如果想保持頭腦精明,應(yīng)該找一條有創(chuàng)造性方式且積極的參與解決日常難題和智力挑戰(zhàn)。
Opening presents5.給予和積極的思想
“我最后的長壽秘訣是:積極的思想。我期待著每一年的到來,期待隨之而來的換了也期待隨之而來的挑戰(zhàn)。在圣誕節(jié)期間我只愛送禮物和傳遞歡樂。因為是這些賜予了我生活的意義和價值。依我看來,這就是長壽的第一秘訣。”接著,圣誕老人發(fā)出了洪亮的“HO-HO-HO”的笑聲,并借口說要去檢查流水線就結(jié)束了采訪。