英語(yǔ)美文朗讀 第559期 I know I need to change something

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like, if you live each day as if it were your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.

 

在我17歲的時(shí)候，我讀到了一句話，說的是，如果你把每天都當(dāng)作生命中的最后一天來過，終有一日，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，你會(huì)有所成就。

 

It made an impression on me. And since then, for the past 33 years, I've looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been No for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

這句話讓我印象深刻。從那時(shí)開始，在接下來的33年中，每天早上，我都看著鏡子中的自己，問自己，如果今天是我生命中的最后一天，我會(huì)想做什么？這件事，是我今天本來打算要去做的事嗎？如果，連續(xù)幾天，我的回答都是，不，那么，我就知道，我需要做出改變了。

 

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fallaway in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

我很快就會(huì)走到生命盡頭，記住這一點(diǎn)，我就能夠正確地做出重大決定。因?yàn)椋氲揭鎸?duì)生命的終結(jié)，你才會(huì)意識(shí)到真正重要的東西是什么，而其他的所有東西，比如別人的期待，所有的榮耀，對(duì)落魄和失敗的恐懼，這些都不重要了。

 

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

你終有一天要走到生命盡頭，記住這點(diǎn)，它能讓你不顧一切地去奮斗，而不是害怕失去什么。你本來就是一無所有了，你有足夠的理由去追尋內(nèi)心的向往。

 

The first step before anybody else in the world believes it, is YOU have to believe it. There's no reason to have a plan B, because it distracts from plan A.

不管別人信不信，最重要的是，你自己首先要相信這一點(diǎn)。你沒必要去留后路，因?yàn)檫@只會(huì)讓你分心。

 

I honestly believe that if you're focused, and passionate, and driven, you can achieve anything you want to achieve in life.

我相信，如果你足夠?qū)Ｗ?，你有足夠的熱情，你有足夠的?dòng)力，你就能做成你想做的任何事情。

 

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

你的時(shí)間是有限的，所以不要浪費(fèi)自己的時(shí)間，去過別人的生活。不要隨大流，如果你這樣做，你只是按照別人的意愿去生活而已。不要讓別人的聲音蓋過你內(nèi)心的聲音。最重要的是，你要有勇氣，跟著內(nèi)心走，跟著直覺走，它們最清楚，你想要的是什么。

 

And ladies and gentlemen, I started working on my dream and most people don't work on their dreams, why? For many years I didn't. One is because of fear, the fear of failure. What if things don't work out? And the fear of success. What if they do and I can't handle it?

女士們，先生們，我早已開始為夢(mèng)想努力，但很多人并不為自己的夢(mèng)想努力，為什么？以前，在長(zhǎng)達(dá)幾年的時(shí)間內(nèi)，我也沒有這樣做。一方面是因?yàn)楹ε率?，要是努力卻沒用怎么辦？另一方面是因?yàn)楹ε鲁晒?，要是我做到了，但卻無法長(zhǎng)期保持，怎么辦？

 

The other thing is that most people, ladies and gentlemen, they get comfortable. They stop growing. They stop working on themselves. They stop stretching. They stop pushing themselves. And they end up becoming very cynical about life. And they throw in the towel on themselves, on their families, and on their dreams.

女士們，先生們，很多人都貪圖安逸。他們拒絕成長(zhǎng)，他們停止提升自己，他們不再拓展自己，他們不再鞭策自己，他們變得憤世嫉俗。他們投降了，向自己投降，向家人投降，向夢(mèng)想投降。