翻译自：There Is No Self-Improvement if You’re Not Already Pretty Good (需要科学上网)
If you clicked on this article, odds are you’re interested in self-improvement — personal growth — whatever you like to call it. You want to get better at whatever it is you do, or you want to start doing something new in order to make yourself better.
当你点开这篇文章，可能是你对“自我提高”或者“个人成长”感兴趣，随便你怎么叫它。你想要改善当下的境况，或是开始新的尝试来提升自我。
You’ll find numerous articles around the web that will give you numerous tips, tricks, and hacks with the promise of self-improvement. Many of the tips are really great. Putting them in place and following them strictly can really have a great impact on your productivity, mindfulness, or whatever it is that they promise to improve.
你会发现网络上有无数的文章，以自我提升为诺，告诉你千百个提示、诀窍或技巧。
其中许多建议都很好。恰当地运用并且严格遵循这些技巧能够真的极大影响你的效率，注意力，或者别的可以改善的方面。
But there’s a catch. There’s always a catch.
但是其中有诈,一贯如此.
The more focused you are on improving yourself, and the more you consume this self-improvement literature, the higher the risk that you will fail to realize the benefits of all that time and energy. The reason is simple: the more time you focus on what you need to improve, the more time you’re spending looking at what you’re not satisfied with. But here’s the paradox: if you only focus on what you’re not satisfied with about yourself, you give yourself very little reason to put in the effort to get better.
你越是关注改善自我，关于自我提升的文章看得越多，你耗费时间和精力来变得优秀的目标就越是难以实现。道理很简单：你越多时间关注你需要改善的方面，你就会花更多时间盯着对自己不满意的部分。然而，这里有个悖论：如果你只是关注对自己不满的方面，你就更没有理由去努力变得更好。
Why is this? Well, think about it in terms of a house. If you were to inherit the home that you grew up in, and it was in pretty bad condition, and you had the choice to restore it or sell it and avoid all the work required to get it back in shape — what would you do?
为什么会这样？好吧，以房子为例来想一下。假如你继承了一所生长于斯的房子，它现在状况糟糕，你可以选择翻修它或者把它卖掉以避免各种繁杂的修缮工作，你会怎么做？
Your answer depends on how you feel about your childhood home. Did you have a good childhood? Are the warm memories attached to that house? Is it a house that you really love? Or do you just see all of the things wrong with the house, and want to wash your hands of it?
你的回答取决于你对童年时代的家感觉如何。
你是否曾有一个美好的童年？那所房子是否承载了温馨的记忆？它是不是你眷恋的那幢房子？或者你只是看房子的所有的毛病，然后想和它洗脱干系？
That house is an analogy for you. If you don’t feel good about yourself already, it’s difficult to muster up the energy necessary to put work into improving. Anyone who has ever skated on the outskirts of depression can attest to this.
那房子喻指着你自己。
如果你已经对自己不满，那更是难以积聚必要的精力去提升自身。任何一个徘徊在沮丧边缘的人都可以证实这一点。
So here’s my simple suggestion: spend some time celebrating yourself. Not necessarily a huge celebration, but just a quick pat on the back for what you’ve done so far, who you are, and the good heart you have. Just a quick thought or two while you’re driving to work, or cleaning up. Think of what you’ve overcome, think of your strength. Remind yourself that you’re a good person, that you mean well, and that you’re doing the best you can. 因此我有一个简单的建议：花点时间为自己喝彩。
不需要一个盛大的庆典，只需为你已经完成的事情、你是谁、你的善良轻轻喝彩。想一下你克服了什么困难，想一下你的长项。提醒你自己你是一个好人，你是好的，你正在做到最好。
After that — after you’ve acknowledged that you’ve done well so far, and that you are already good, then you can get ready to throw all the work into personal growth. You can read the books, look at the courses, and start the new morning routine you read about. You can begin unleashing the giant within, and all that.
当你已经知道自己到目前为止做得很好，而且你已经非常好之后，你才能准备好将所有的工作投入到个人成长中去。你可以看那些书，学习那些教程，并且开始新的你读到的那些早晨事务。你能开始释放内心的巨人和所有的潜能。
But without that first part — without a little self-love — you can’t really hope to make yourself better. So take it step by step. Give yourself a hug.
但是如果没有第一步，没有一点自爱，你不可能真的企图让自己变得更好。因此，循序渐进吧，首先给你自己一个拥抱。