You are what you think about. Can you create a better life by simply thinking about it? Of course not– that’s absurd. But if your mind is dominated by negative thoughts, it’s hard to get motivated to make positive changes that will improve your life. Please consider these 10 dangerous thoughts you should avoid.

我思故我在。但仅靠思考就能创造更美好的生活吗？显然不是——这也太荒谬了。不过，要是你脑子里尽是些消极想法，那就很难作出积极改变进而改善自身生活。下面这10个负面想法你必须尽量避免。

1. “I guess this is as good as it gets.”

“我觉得这样就差不多了。”

The second you become complacent, your progress in life will come to a screeching halt. No matter how good you are at something, you could always stand to improve in some aspect. Learn a new craft, hobby or language to keep your mind creative and fresh. Discover ways to increase the quality of your work or decrease the time it takes to complete tasks you’re already good at (then you’ll have more time for the important things that really make you happy!). Make sure personal growth isn’t just something you talk about–make it a daily event.

一旦你骄傲自满，生活进步就会戛然而止。不论你对某件事多么擅长，总有可以不断提高的地方。学习一项新技能、发展一个新爱好或掌握一门新语言，让思维保持新鲜活力。想办法提高工作质量或减少完成娴熟任务的时间，这样你就能争取更多时间去做开心而重要的事情了！请记住：个人成长靠的不是嘴上功夫——而是日复一日的具体行动。

2. “I’ll just do the easy stuff.”

“我还是挑容易的事做吧。”

That thing that you dread doing more than anything else? The odds are, THAT is the very thing you need to do. Do you think employers are interested in hiring people who are only capable of accomplishing simple tasks that anybody else on the planet could perform? Of course not. Whether it’s for the purpose of making yourself more marketable in the workforce, improving your body and health or whatever the case may be, you need to embrace the fact that you sometimes have to do things that you don’t enjoy.Buckle down and do the thing you don’t want to do because like it or not, that’s probably the very thing you need to do.

你对那件事怕得要死？问题在于，那件事恰恰是你需要去做的。你以为公司愿意聘用只会做任何人都能完成的简单事情的员工吗？当然不可能。不论是为了在职场上更好地推销自己，还是为了保持身体健康，你都得面对这样的事实：有时你不得不做自己讨厌的事情。静下心来认真做你不愿意做的事情吧，因为不管喜不喜欢，这可能正是你亟需解决的问题。

3. “I don’t care about the details, tell me what to do!”

“我不在乎细节如何，直接告诉我该怎么做吧！”

If you don’t understand why a particular task needs to be done, it is unlikely you’ll be able to pay it the proper attention it deserves. And if you don’t ask follow-up questions about things you don’t understand, your results will suffer. Take ownership of every project. Do you have any ideas to contribute that might make the end result better? Say so. No one is going to fuss at you for asking questions or offering suggestions that will improve the end result.

如果你不清楚为何要做某件事，那你很可能会对它马虎大意。如果遇到不明白的问题你又不主动请教，那你可有苦头吃了。每项任务都该拿出主动精神。是不是有好想法能让结果更佳？那就说出来吧。如果你的问题或建议能改善最终结果，没人会反对阻止你的。

4. “I’m not good enough.”

“我不够。”

If you tell yourself you’re not good enough, pretty enough, old enough, smart enough, or (insert adjective of your choosing here) enough, your lack of confidence will reflect in your words, stature, and mannerisms. Why should someone believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself? Surround yourself with positive people who will motivate you. Read books, articles, and studies about what you’re passionate about until you can truthfully say you are an expert in your field. Stop looking for the reasons you can’t do something and find the reasons you can. People often say, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link,” but this statement is blatantly false. You are as strong as your strongest link.

如果你总认为自己不够、不够漂亮、不够资历、不够聪明或诸如此类，那么，这种自卑思想会从你的言行举止中透露出来。既然你连自己都不相信，那别人为何要相信你呢？多跟积极的人交往吧。多去阅读、多加思考，找出自己的优势，然后自信说出自己对某方面很擅长。别再找借口说自己不能怎样，多找理由暗示自己能够干什么。人们总说“人是不堪一击的”，但这完全荒谬至极。你可以坚强如铁。

5. “It will never work.”

“这事儿根本没辙。”

Stop telling yourself you will fail because self-fulfilling prophecies almost always come true.

不要暗示自己会失败——因为心理暗示往往会成真。

6. “I’m a bad person.”

“我不是个好人。”

Everyone makes mistakes. No matter what wrong you feel you have done to a person, agonizing over a past event that cannot be undone will not make the situation better (and will make you feel a lot worse). Whether you ate something you know you shouldn’t have, said something hurtful that you wish you could take back or made a mistake on the job, don’t live in the past. If you apologized and explained yourself, then it is time to move on. Focus your energy to the future because that’s where progress happens.

人人都会犯错。不管你觉得自己如何对不起某人，为了过去的事而一味自责也无济于事，甚至还会让你更愧疚。不论是吃了不该吃的东西、说了不该说的狠话，还是犯了不该犯的工作错误，既然事情已经过去，就不要再耿耿于怀。如果你已经作了道歉和解释，那就让它过去吧。把精力投入到未来，那才是进步的开始。

7. “What will they think about me?”

“别人会怎么看我啊？”

While you should do everything you can to make people around you comfortable, you shouldn’t sacrifice your genuine personality in order to please other people. Embrace your authentic self and share it with the world. If a person doesn’t like you for who you are, that is their problem (and their loss).

虽然你应该尽量与周围的人融洽相处，但也不必为了讨好别人而委屈自己的本性。请拥抱本真自我、向他人展现真我吧。如果别人不喜欢本真的你，那也是他们的问题和损失。

8. “I’ll do it when the time is right.”

“等时机适合我就去做。”

There is no such thing as a “perfect time” to do anything. If you keep waiting for the right time to move to a new town, talk to that cute bartender or begin a new fitness plan, you will never take action. Challenge yourself to burst out of your comfort zone. I know comfort makes you feel safe, but how fulfilling is it to spend your life thinking about doing things that you never actually do? Act now or regret it later.

世上根本就没有所谓的“完美时机”。如果你继续等待完美时机再搬往新城市、跟吧台招待聊两句或开始健身新计划，那你永远也不会采取行动。给自己一点挑战，走出舒适区吧。虽然舒适区让你感到安全，但整天只空想不曾做过的事又有什么意义呢？

9. “I wish I could look more like _____.”

“我希望看上更……”

Please understand that when you see scantily clad models in magazines, you are looking at doctored up images of people who most likely have put themselves through incredibly restrictive diets and/or excessive fitness routines in the weeks or months leading up to their photo-shoot. In other words, such a body would not be attainable for the average person. Accept your body as it is. Aim to improve your physique, but stop comparing it to other people with figures that are out-of-reach.

你要知道，那些你羡慕的苗条杂志模特说不定是整了容、为了上照而不得不忍受严格节食或进行数周数月健身的人。换句话说，普通人是不可能拥有那种身材的。接受自己的身体，努力锻炼体型，但不要跟那些遥不可及的人攀比。

10. “No one cares.”

“没人会在乎。”

Yes, they do. Even if you’re not on the best terms with your family, I can’t imagine that they don’t care about you. And even if you’ve lost touch with a lot of your friends, I bet they would be happy to hear your voice in a surprise phone-call. You have impacted more lives than you could begin to comprehend. Send an e-mail or write a letter to an old friend that you haven’t talked to in months or years. Call an aunt, uncle or cousin who made a positive impact on your development as a child. Join an online support community, message board or networking group of like-minded people who could become new friends. You are not alone– you are far from it. If you just moved to a new home, you might want to check out this article about how to make a bunch of friends in any new city.

不，有人在乎。哪怕你现在跟家人关系不甚融洽，我也不相信他们真的不在乎你。如果你已很久没有联系朋友，打个电话过去的话，我打赌他们会非常高兴能再次听到你的声音。你在他人心中的地位远远没你想得那么微不足道。给数月或几年未曾联络的老朋友发封邮件或写封书信吧。给孩提时曾积极引导自己的伯父伯母或表兄打个电话吧。加入网络互助联盟或信息群，结交一些志趣相投的新朋友吧。你并不是一个人——不是！如果你刚搬到新家，那就参考这篇文章，学习如何在新城市认识新朋友吧。

The first step to a better life is to think better thoughts.

美好生活的步就是拥有积极思维。

I hope this list of dangerous thoughts was helpful. You can’t create a better life by the mere act of thinking about it, but it is a positive first step in the right direction.

我希望以上消极思维清单能有所帮助。美好生活不是单凭想象创造出来的，但积极想象却是迈向正确方向的步。