生活英語聽力文章：你的言語對別人有分量嗎？
Is Your Word Really Your Bond?
你的言語和自己真的融合嗎?
The stories told, daily lessons posted, and life experiences shared are all about helping you grow in every area of your personal and professional life.
這些故事告訴我們?nèi)粘Ｕn程和生活經(jīng)驗(yàn)都可以使人在生活和工作中的各個(gè)領(lǐng)域都成長起來。
In today’s lesson, I want to bring attention to one of the core elements of your character—being a person of your word. There are very few subjects more important than your personal character. Being known as a person who honors your word is as simple as doing what you said you would do when you said you would do it.
今天的課程中，我想要大家注意自己身上特質(zhì)的關(guān)鍵因素--成為你自己。很少課程會比個(gè)人特質(zhì)更加重要。成為一個(gè)尊重自己的人就和什么時(shí)候應(yīng)該說什么和應(yīng)該做什么一樣簡單。
Why Your Word Matters
你的言語為什么重要?
In short, honoring your word plays a powerful role in how you are viewed by others. In the longer-term, it also plays a large part in how you view yourself. And, quite frankly, it dictates whether you are a person who is respected and accepted or disrespected and scorned.
總之，尊重自己的言語在別人怎么看待你方面起了重要的作用。長期來看，言語也在你怎么看待自己方面起了很重要的作用。坦率的說，其也表明了你是否被人尊重、認(rèn)可或者是不尊重、被嘲諷的人。
It’s ironic that although nearly everyone will admit to valuing the importance of keeping your word, fewer and fewer people actually do it. As a result, when I see people who consistently live up to their commitments, my respect for them soars.
諷刺的是，即使每個(gè)人都覺得保留自己重要的言語是非常有價(jià)值的，然而越來越少人能真正做到。因此，當(dāng)我看到對自己的承諾始終如一的人時(shí)，我對他們的崇拜瞬間飆升。
While honoring your word does include big things like marriage and business agreements, it also includes the little things you say you will do—such as calling when you said you would, remembering to let your neighbor’s pet in as you promised, and getting the report turned in on time.
然而，說話算話不但包括像婚姻合同和商業(yè)合同這樣的大事，還包括你要做到的一些小事--比如，別人叫你做的事情，或者因?yàn)槟愠兄Z過同意你的鄰居養(yǎng)寵物，還有把成績單及時(shí)上交。
Just as there are benefits to doing what you say you will, there are repercussions when you don’t. When we allow ourselves to back out of our commitments, it usually results in guilt and time wasted in our attempt to avoid those we’ve let down. I’ve learned it takes more time and emotional energy to circumvent or repair a damaged relationship when we’ve shirked a commitment than it does to keep it!
因?yàn)檠孕幸恢掠泻芏嗪锰帲孕胁灰恢聲r(shí)會帶來麻煩。當(dāng)我們言行不一時(shí)，我們常常會心里內(nèi)疚而且會浪費(fèi)那些我們辜負(fù)的人的時(shí)間。我知道的是，當(dāng)我們逃避而不是面對那些辜負(fù)的人時(shí)，會繞道而走或者是修復(fù)一段破裂的關(guān)系要花更多的時(shí)間和精力。
Keep Your Commitments
遵守承諾
Undoubtedly there have been and will continue to be times when you agree to do something that you later regret. However, once you have agreed to do something, don’t back out or procrastinate. Don’t hope the other party will forget or wait for them to remind you. When you have given your word that you will do something, you must do it and do it when it is expected.
毫無疑問的是，你事先承諾事后反悔的次數(shù)屢見不鮮。然而，一旦你答應(yīng)了別人，不要食言或者耽擱，也不要妄想別人會忘記這件事或是等別人提醒你。當(dāng)你已經(jīng)給出承諾時(shí)，你就必須要做到并且使其盡善完美。
After you have fulfilled your obligation (however painful), learn from the experience. Why was it so hard to follow through? Was it a matter of time, or were you ill-equipped in the first place? Whatever the reason, figure it out and know that it should factor into the next time you are asked to do something similar.
在你履行了自己的職責(zé)(卻是痛苦的)，你可以從中學(xué)到很多。為什么這么難堅(jiān)持到底呢?是時(shí)間問題嗎?還是你自己無能為力?不管原因是什么，找到真正的原因并且避免下一次犯相同的錯誤。
Not only is living up to your commitments vital in building the trust and respect of others, but it is critical in building your own self-respect. Whether you realize it or not, when you fall back on your promises, it erodes your self-image and self-esteem. Think of the last commitment you failed to fulfill? How did this experience make you feel about yourself?
做出諾言讓別人對你產(chǎn)生信任和尊重是很開心的，但是并不利于自己自尊心的發(fā)展。你的食言會不利于你的形象和自尊，不知你是否意識到了這一點(diǎn)。回想你自己最后一次食言的時(shí)候，你會對自己怎么看?
Think Before You Commit
做出承諾前要仔細(xì)思考
Becoming a person whose word can be trusted and relied upon boils down to a few basic things.
成為一個(gè)說到做到的人是做人的基礎(chǔ)。
1. Think before you commit. With very few exceptions, you don’t have to immediately say yes or no to a request. Take an hour, an evening, or a day to think it through. Consider all that is involved and decide whether or not it’s something you are willing to commit your time and energy to. If not, politely decline.
做出承諾前仔細(xì)思考。因?yàn)槠诖叫?，就不會貿(mào)然給出答案。花一個(gè)小時(shí)、一個(gè)晚上或者一天細(xì)細(xì)思考?？紤]到所有因素看看你無時(shí)間和精力幫助別人再做決定，沒有就禮貌的拒絕。
2. Once you have given your word, don’t give yourself the option to back out.
一旦你話已出口，不要妄想收回承諾。
I have asked myself hundreds of times, “What was I thinking when I made that commitment?” When this happens, I muster everything I have to uphold my end of the bargain. I do that because I feel so strongly that honoring my word is essential to who I am. It’s one of my core values. As a result, I am very careful with the commitments I make.
我問過自己無數(shù)次：“我做出承諾的時(shí)候我在想什么?”當(dāng)事情發(fā)生的時(shí)候我就會聚集一切能夠讓我守諾的所有事物，因?yàn)槲矣X得遵守承諾代表了我個(gè)人。這是我的核心價(jià)值，因此我非常注意我所給出的承諾。
My Challenge to You
我給你的挑戰(zhàn)
Starting today, become a person who lives up to your word and does what you say you will even when circumstances change.
Uphold your word with a good attitude. Remember that it was you who said “yes” in the first place.
Take every opportunity to learn from your commitments so that you can make better decisions in the future.
Finally, do you have any unfulfilled commitments? Do them now. You will feel better.
Keeping your word is one of the most effective ways to earn the respect of others and build a solid reputation, both personally and professionally.
從今天開始，成為一個(gè)守諾的人也可以說是對當(dāng)狀況改變的該說什么的挑戰(zhàn)。贊成自己的言語是一種好的態(tài)度。要記得是你自己在第一時(shí)間答應(yīng)別人。抓住每一個(gè)從自己的諾言中學(xué)習(xí)的機(jī)會，你就可以在未來做出更好的決定。最后，你還有未兌現(xiàn)的承諾嗎?現(xiàn)在就兌現(xiàn)，你會感覺更好。一種最有效的方法之一是--言出必行，可以贏得別人尊重并獲得崇高的榮譽(yù)。
