雙語美文：如何養(yǎng)成活到老學到老的習慣

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

“真正的發(fā)現(xiàn)之旅不僅是尋找新大陸，也要有一雙善于發(fā)現(xiàn)的眼睛。——馬可波羅

Assuming the public school system hasn’t crushed your soul, learning is a great activity. It expands your viewpoint. It gives you new knowledge you can use to improve your life. Even if you discount the worldly benefits, the act of learning can be a source of enjoyment.

假設(shè)公共教育系統(tǒng)沒有摧毀你的精神，學習還是非常偉大的一件事的。能擴大你的視野，帶來新知識改進生活。即使帶來的利益不會那么豐盛，但學習本身就是一種享受。

But in a busy world, it can often be hard to fit in time to learn anything that isn’t essential. The only things learned are those that need to be. Everything beyond that is considered frivolous. Even those who do appreciate the practice of lifelong learning, can find it difficult to make the effort.

在這個繁忙的世界中，根本很難抽出時間去學習那些非必需品的東西。我們只會把注意力更多的放在必須要學的事情上面。其他一切都會被視為無用功。甚至那些一直推崇活到老學到老的人們也會發(fā)現(xiàn)到最后不過是喊喊口號罷了。

Here are some tips for installing the habit of lifelong learning:

下面是幫助你培養(yǎng)終身學習習慣的小建議哦：

1) Always have a book

隨身帶本書

It doesn’t matter if it takes you a year or a week to read a book. Always strive to have a book that you are reading through, and take it with you so you can read it when you have time. Just by shaving off a few minutes in-between activities in my day I can read about a book per week. That’s at least fifty each year.

一年也好，一星期也罷，隨身帶本書吧，有時間的時候別忘了翻一翻。光是利用每天活動間隙的這點時間，我一周都能看完一本書了哦。一年也就是50多本。

2) Keep a “To-Learn” List

列個待學清單

We all have to-do lists. These are the tasks we need to accomplish. Try to also have a “to-learn” list. On it you can write ideas for new areas of study. Maybe you would like to take up a new language, learn a skill or read the collective works of Shakespeare. Whatever motivates you, write it down.

我們都有事情的待辦清單。有些任務(wù)是我們需要去完成的。不妨也來列個待學清單，寫上新領(lǐng)域的學習想法。比如你想學一門新語言，一個技能或是閱讀完莎士比亞系列著作。無論你想干嘛，都寫下來吧。

3) Get More Intellectual Friends

交更多好學的朋友

Start spending more time with people who think. Not just people who are smart. But people who actually invest much of their time in learning new skills. Their habits will rub off on you. Even better, they will probably share some of their knowledge with you.

和那些樂于思考的人多接觸，這可不是單單和聰明的人，而需要你去和真正愿意花時間學習新技能的人在一起。他們的習慣會影響到你，最好的莫過于還會跟你分享一些知識呢。

4) Guided Thinking

多思考

Albert Einstein once said, “Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” Simply studying the wisdom of others isn’t enough, you have to think through ideas yourself. Spend time journaling, meditating or contemplating over ideas you have learned.

愛因斯坦曾經(jīng)說過：“任何讀死書卻不動腦子的人只會越來越懶得動腦了”。僅僅研究其他人的智慧遠遠不夠，你需要有自己的想法?；c時間記錄、冥想，思考那些你學過的東西吧。

5) Put it Into Practice

付諸實踐

Skill based learning is useless if it isn’t applied. Reading a book on C isn’t the same thing as writing a program. Studying painting isn’t the same as picking up a brush. If your knowledge can be applied, put it into practice.

紙上談兵永遠沒有意義。讀一本C語言的書和寫程序完全是兩個概念。學習畫畫和拿起畫筆也不能相提并論。如果你知道如何使用知識，就趕緊付諸于實踐吧。

6) Teach Others

教別人

You learn what you teach. If you have an outlet of communicating ideas to others, you are more likely to solidify that learning. Start a blog, mentor someone or even discuss ideas with a friend.

教別人也是學習的過程。如果你有一套很好的與人交際的方法，你也可能鞏固自己的學習。不妨開個博客，指導下別人，或是跟朋友討論討論吧。

7) Clean Your Input

清空輸入

Some forms of learning are easy to digest, but often lack substance. I make a point of regularly cleaning out my feed reader for blogs I subscribe to. Great blogs can be a powerful source of new ideas. But every few months I realize I’m collecting posts from blogs that I am simply skimming. Every few months, purify your input to save time and focus on what counts.

有些學習方式非常容易消化，但特別容易忘記。我會定期整理我訂閱過的博客閱讀器。好的博客應該是新想法的源泉，但沒過幾個月我就發(fā)現(xiàn)自己只是簡單地略讀和收藏帖子。每隔一段時間不妨清理一下記錄，來省下時間關(guān)注真正重要的東西吧。

8 ) Learn in Groups

小組學習

Lifelong learning doesn’t mean condemning yourself to a stack of dusty textbooks. Join organizations that teach skills. Workshops and group learning events can make educating yourself a fun, social experience.

活到老學到老不是說要把自己一直投入在枯燥的教科書里。加入一些教授技能的團體。團隊或小組學習能讓你在輕松愉悅的社交中學習。

9) Unlearn Assumptions

忘掉想法

You can’t add water to a full cup. I always try to maintain a distance away from any idea. Too many convictions simply mean too few paths for new ideas. Actively seek out information that contradicts your worldview.

滿杯無法再加水。我始終會讓自己遠離某些想法。太多的斷論只會讓自己的思維越走越窄。積極的尋求信息開闊你的視野吧。

10) Find Jobs that Encourage Learning

找到鼓勵學習的工作

Pick a career that encourages continual learning. If you are in a job that doesn’t have much intellectual freedom, consider switching to one that does. Don’t spend forty hours of your week in a job that doesn’t challenge you.

找那種能激勵你不斷學習的工作吧。如果你的職業(yè)不能給予足夠的學習自由，那就趕緊跳槽。不要把一周四十個小時的時間浪費在不能帶來挑戰(zhàn)的職位上面。

11) Start a Project

開始個計劃

Set out to do something you don’t know how. Forced learning in this way can be fun and challenging. If you don’t know anything about computers, try building one. If you consider yourself a horrible artist, try a painting.

準備去做一個你完全未知的事情吧?？窟@種辦法逼著自己學習既有趣又有挑戰(zhàn)。如果你不了解電腦，不妨去組裝一下。如果你覺得自己沒有藝術(shù)細胞，就去畫一副畫吧。

12) Follow Your Intuition

跟著感覺走

Lifelong learning is like wandering through the wilderness. You can’t be sure what to expect and there isn’t always an end goal in mind. Letting your intuition guide you can make self-education more enjoyable. Most of our lives have been broken down to completely logical decisions, that making choices on a whim has been stamped out.

活到老學到老就像是在荒野中漫游。你不能保證接下來會發(fā)生什么，腦海中也不會有一個終極的目標。跟著直覺走能讓你的自學過程更加有趣。我們的生活大多時候都被邏輯思維劃分成了好幾部分，何不憑著突然迸發(fā)的奇思妙想做個選擇呢?

13) The Morning Fifteen

早上十五分鐘

Use the first fifteen minutes of your morning as a period for education. If you find yourself too groggy, you might want to wait a short time. Just don’t put it off later in the day where urgent activities will push it out of the way.

把早上起床后的十五分鐘作為學習階段吧。如果你覺得自己還沒睡醒，你可能就會稍微等等。但是千萬別把緊急的事情放在晚些時候去做，這樣只會越拖越晚。

14) Reap the Rewards

收獲成果

Learn information you can use. Understanding the basics of programming allows me to handle projects that other people would require outside help. Meeting a situation that makes use of your educational efforts can be a source of pride.

學習有用的信息。了解基本的編程讓我可以處理一些項目，而其他人也許需要搬來救兵。用自己學到的知識解決問題真的能帶來自豪感哦。

15) Make it a Priority

列為優(yōu)先

Few external forces are going to persuade you to learn. The desire has to come from within. Once you decide you want to make lifelong learning a habit, it is up to you to make it a priority in your life.

外界其實很少會有逼迫你學習的力量。這種力量往往來自于內(nèi)心。一旦決定要把終生學習作為一個習慣，那么就是時候把這列為你生活的優(yōu)先了。