“May you live all the days of your life.”

 

愿你享受你的生活！！！

 

“There were many times my pants were so thin I could sit on a dime and tell if it was heads or tails.”

 

很多次因为我那精深的裤子所以我可以坐在一个极狭小的地方诉说这些所谓的事情。

 

Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish writer that lived a couple of centuries ago (1667-1745).

 

乔纳森·斯威夫特(1667-1745)是生活在几个世纪以前的英爱作家。

 

He is perhaps most known for classics like Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Propsal. The latter being the ironic and shocking essay where he suggested that impoverished Irish people should sell their babies as food to rich people. Such works has earned Swift a reputation as one of the finest satirists of all time.

 

他可能因为他经典著作《格列佛游记》和《一个小小的建议》闻名于世。其中《一个小小的建议》是一部极具讽刺意义的小说，书中他“建议”贫困的爱尔兰人可以将他们的孩子卖给富人以此来获得食物的保障。类似的著作为斯威夫特赢得了历史上最厉害的讽刺作家的荣誉。

 

Since Swift was a writer there is a ton of things to quote. He is 8 of my favourite pearls of wisdom at the moment.

 

作为一个作家，斯威夫特有很多的东西可以为我们所引用，这里是我最喜欢的他的八条智慧箴言。

 

1.       Don’t fear being wrong.

          不要害怕犯错

 

“A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying… that he is wiser today than yesterday.”

 

一个人不应该为他现在的错误而感到尴尬和不安，因为这只能说他他今天比昨天更加聪慧。

 

This is a great point. So much of what we learn in society is about how you should not fail and not make mistakes. In school we are taught to get good grades and play by the rules. And so always taking a safe route and not taking risks can become an ingrained behaviour as we learn to associate failure with shame and pain.

 

这是一条伟大的言论。我们在社会中学习最多的是我们如何避免失败和错误。在学校里我们努力获得好的成绩并谨守纪律。所以我们一直在寻找所谓安全的成长路线，避免冒险，我们认为这样我们就可以养成极好的行为习惯，其实这只不过是因为我们总是认为失败就是耻辱和悲痛。

 

But one should really not be afraid of making mistakes. Or admitting that he or she has been wrong. By recognizing that you can release the negative emotions that may dwell within and move on to the next thing. Admitting that you have been wrong also makes it easier to clearly analyse what you did and what you can learn from the experience.

 

但是一个人不应该害怕犯错误也不应该害怕承认他（她）曾经犯过错误。认识到这一点你就可以抛掉你可能久久不能释怀的消极心情影响更好的走向下一步。承认你所犯的错误也可以使你跟容易和清晰的分析你以前所做的事情并从中吸收经验。

 

2.       Money is useful. Love of it is hazardous.

           金钱是有用的，但是过分追求是危险的

 

“A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.”

 

聪明的人放在脑子里而不是心里。

 

Money is very useful. But if you let it take the wrong place in your life it can wreck havoc.

 

毋庸置疑，金钱是非常有用的，但是如果在生活中如果你放错了位置，那么将会是毁灭性的。

 

It can create greed and much negativity in your life. And if you love the money, you’ll probably just want more and more. No matter how much you get. And it may not fill you up and finally make you happy as you may have hoped.

 

它会使你变的贪婪并并引起你生活消极的方面。如果你沉溺于金钱，那么你就想拥有更多的金钱，无论你已经有了多少。而它永远不会满足也不会使你像你想象的那么开心。

 

The drive to always wanting more can become like filling a bucket with a hole in it. And as you slowly realize that this won’t work as you had hoped bitterness and negativity can start to fester in your life.

 

这种驱使就像往有洞的水桶里加水。你希望得到的永远不会得到这样慢慢的痛苦和消极就会开始在你的生活中滋生和蔓延。

 

Now, it’s important to not let this reasoning lead you to believe that money is evil. Money is a tool. It can help you to achieve many positive things.

 

当然，这样说并不是要你以为金钱是邪恶的，金钱仅仅是一个工具，他会帮助你得到很多你想到的东西。

 

It’s just that a love of money can be destructive.

 

但是过分沉溺就会是毁灭性的。

 

3. Dig where you stand.

     深掘你所立之地

 

“Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, yet perhaps few know their own strength. It is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of.”

 

虽然人们总是抱怨不知道自己的弱点，但是也可能很少人清楚他们的优势。对于人就像对于我们脚下的土地，也许它下面有大堆的金子但是土地的主人却不知道。

 

I think this is true. It’s very easy to fall into an addictive pattern of criticizing yourself and others. But what are the positive things in you and the people around you?

 

这是真实存在的。人们很容易谴责自己和他人。但是你是否注意了自己和你周围的人的优点。

 

If you just look for things to criticize then that is what you will see. If you look for things to criticize in yourself that is what you will see in yourself and pay attention to in others.

 

如果你只是在你所看到的事物中虚造谴责的对象。如果你只是总寻找自己的弱点并自责，过分注意其他人。

 

So what can you do? You can start digging where you are standing. Instead of asking yourself those negative questions continually, ask yourself: what is good about me? Ask yourself where you strengths and talents lie. And don’t give up at once just because a negative mindset may initially not let you see what’s good and positive about you.

 

所以你该怎么做那？你应该深掘你脚下的土地了。不要再不停的问自己那些消极的问题，尝试这样问自己：我有那些优点？问问自己在那些地方没有尽力。不要出现一个消极的念头时候马上变的消沉你应该好好看看这些是否有对自己有利的一面。

 

What you focus on most of the time is what you will see of reality. Knowing your weaknesses and learning from mistakes is helpful. But to dwell on criticism and the negative parts will just keep you in a loop where you create more of that for yourself.

 

你这样想的多了你就会看到事情的本质。知道你自己的缺点并且从中学习将会是非常有益的。但是如果总想着消极的一面会使你陷入无法自拔的恶性循环。

 

At some point it’s useful to move on from that and start to shift your focus to the positive. And see what gold that will help you uncover.

 

从这些消极的方面转移你的思想到积极的一面，你就会发现你说未发觉的黄金所在。

 

4.       Go further than you may think you can.

           比你想象的走的更远

 

“I’ve always believed no matter how many shots I miss, I’m going to make the next one.”

 

我始终相信不管我射偏了多少次，我还是会把握下一次。

 

One big problem with success is that you may want it right now. Or at least very soon. No wonder, advertising continually bombards us with messages of how we can become thin or rich in just 30 days. And when that promise doesn’t work we go out to buy a new product that “will surely be the magic pill that will solve the problem quickly”. And so on.

 

我们对成功总是迫不及待。广告里总是不断轰炸般的宣传我们可以在30天里瘦下来或者成为富翁。但这个承诺没有成功我们就会马上购买另一种“可以迅速解决问题的神奇药丸”的产品，等等。

 

Now, I’m not saying that a lot of the stuff out there doesn’t work. It probably does. I’m just saying that it may take more time, patience and work than advertised to get you where you want to go.

 

这里我并不是说所有的东西都没有效果，虽然大部分情况下是这样的。我想说的是这些都比广告中宣传的需要更多的时间，耐心才能发挥效果。

 

It’s useful to take a break from advertised perspectives and let more realistic perspectives seep into your mind. Learn from people who have gone where you want to go. Talk to them. Read what they have to say in books or online. This will not give complete plan but a clearer perspective of what is needed to achieve what you want.

 

从相信广告宣传中暂时停下来，学会更多更加实际的东西。从有类似经验的人那里学习，和他们多交流。从书籍中或网络中了解他们的说法。这些可能并不会给你一个完整的计划但是可以为你达到自己的目标提供一个清晰的蓝图。

 

And then you plug away. You don’t let setbacks or failure discourage you. You go out and try again. And just when you feel like giving up you go on a little further. And a little further.

 

然后尽可能努力的学习或实践。你不想让失败和挫折使你失去信心。你不停的尝试。当你想要放弃的时候记得再往前走一点点，仅仅一点点。

 

Because it’s often darkest before the dawn.

 

因为黎明前往往是黑暗。