I love challenging myself. I like to set a goal that seems difficult or even impossible and then do everything I can to reach that goal. It's not always easy, and sometimes I don't reach the goal -- heck, sometimes I don't come anywhere close to reaching it -- but it's still something that I love to do. Sometimes the challenges I take on are physical, such as running a very long distance, and sometimes they're more mental, such as writing a book. Sometimes they're very abstract, such as trying to deal with my fear of heights or my uneasiness in crowds. But no matter what kind they are, I feel fortunate that I'm able to identify challenges and then take them on.
我喜歡挑戰(zhàn)自己,我喜歡設(shè)定看似難以完成甚至不可能實現(xiàn)的目標(biāo),然后盡一切努力達(dá)到這一目標(biāo)。這件事不總是容易做到,有時我達(dá)不到目標(biāo)——管他呢,有時與目標(biāo)還相差甚遠(yuǎn)——但這仍然是我喜歡做的。有時我迎接的挑戰(zhàn)是身體方面的,比如說長跑;有時更多的是精神上的,比如說寫一本書;有時非常抽象,比如說努力擺脫恐高或人多時的不安。但無論是什么挑戰(zhàn),我都感覺很幸運能夠認(rèn)清挑戰(zhàn),然后迎接挑戰(zhàn)。
I actually meet many of them. I've run one hundred miles in 26 hours, I've written a few novels, and I've done some other things that I didn't think I could do at first. Nowadays, though, after taking on so many challenges, I never really feel that something is impossible -- I pretty much know that anything is possible with the right attitude and enough effort. That's not to say that nowadays I meet every challenge successfully, because I don't. I just don't start out by thinking that I can't do it.
我確實完成過很多挑戰(zhàn),我曾用26小時跑了一百英里,寫過幾篇小說,還做過一些其他起初以為自己做不到的事情。然而現(xiàn)在,接受過如此多挑戰(zhàn)之后,我永遠(yuǎn)不會感覺有什么是不可能的——我大體上知道,只要態(tài)度正確,而且足夠努力的話,一切皆有可能。我不是說我現(xiàn)在能成功地應(yīng)對一切挑戰(zhàn),因為我做不到。我只是不會在做事之前就覺得自己不行。
And I've learned that my attitude towards a challenge is one of the most important keys to meeting it. If I see a challenge ahead and I'm overwhelmed or intimidated, then the chances are very good that I won't be successful in meeting it.
我學(xué)會了面對挑戰(zhàn)的態(tài)度是應(yīng)對挑戰(zhàn)最關(guān)鍵的因素之一。如果我看到面前有挑戰(zhàn),就不知所措或者被嚇倒了,那應(yīng)對挑戰(zhàn)時很有可能會失敗。
If, on the other hand, I see a challenge and immediately start thinking of different ways that I might be able to meet it, the chances are good that I shall meet it successfully.
相反,如果我看到了挑戰(zhàn),馬上換個思路,認(rèn)為自己有能力應(yīng)對挑戰(zhàn),那我最終很有可能會成功。