英語(yǔ)美文朗讀 第551期 Live a successful life with intent，not regret
什么是成功的人生？
To answer this question, we must observe the paradox of our priorities. How we pursue lifestyles built on our resumes. Yet as we knowingly approach death, we yearn to be remembered by every quality, except that resume.
要回答這個(gè)問(wèn)題，我們必須研究一下我們做事的優(yōu)先次序。我們?cè)诤?jiǎn)歷的基礎(chǔ)上，追求自己的生活方式。 但是當(dāng)我們生命垂危之際，我們卻渴望被人們銘記自己簡(jiǎn)歷之外的所有品質(zhì)。
You see, during the course of our lives, we seek success of every tangible sort. But when it comes to looking back on a life once lived, those tangible things, the measuring cups of our entire existence seem emptier than ever. I have never read nor have I written a eulogy that expressed how accomplished a person was or how brilliant of a worker they were. Even the most celebrated innovators are not eulogized by the impact of their inventions, but by their motives, the bonds they formed, acts of kindness, and what they meant to the people around them.
你看，我們活著的時(shí)候，追求的是各種有形的成功，但是當(dāng)回首往事時(shí)，那些有形的東西，以及證明我們生活過(guò)的事物，此刻卻像量杯一樣空空如也，比以往任何時(shí)候都更空虛。我從未讀過(guò)或?qū)戇^(guò)因一個(gè)人成就巨大或技藝嫻熟而被人頌揚(yáng)的悼詞。即便是最著名的發(fā)明家，人們津津樂(lè)道的并非是他們的發(fā)明，而是他們的動(dòng)機(jī)，因他們而形成的紐帶，他們善意的行為以及他們對(duì)周圍人的意義。
So if you wonder what a successful life really feels like, all you have to do is close your eyes and think about what you want your eulogy to sound like. What words will be used by loved ones describing and celebrating your legacy when you die? List those words. Internalize this list, memorize it, stare at it everyday. What you're staring at is your personal definition of success.
所以，如果你想知道成功的人生是什么樣子的，你只需要閉上眼睛，想象一下你的悼詞內(nèi)容。在你死后，你的親人們會(huì)如何形容和贊美你的遺贈(zèng)？把那些詞語(yǔ)列成清單，放在心上，記在腦子里，而且要每天都盯著它。因?yàn)槟闼⒁暤?，恰恰就是你個(gè)人對(duì)于成功的定義。
It sounds crazy, but everything else you're pursuing, everything else you whine and worry about is secondary. And if you're going to do those secondary things, make sure they serve your list. Make sure they increase your capacity to live by those qualities. Stop chasing things that aren't on your list. Because that list is all you have and that, my friends, is the only way to live a successful life with intent, not regret.
這聽(tīng)起來(lái)很瘋狂，但其他你所追求、抱怨、擔(dān)憂的任何事情，都是次要的。并且，如果你要做這些次要的事情，在做之前，要確保這些事對(duì)完成你的清單有幫助，要保證它們可以提高你的能力，從而讓你具備那些品質(zhì)。要果斷放棄那些不在你清單上的事情，因?yàn)檫@張清單就是你的所有，而且這是你成功的唯一途徑，否則你將抱憾終生。
What's on your list?
你的清單上有什么呢？
