——选自Best Seller Magazine 网站(吉玛译)
Habits define us. And nothing sabotages your creativity and productive life quite like bad habits. In the words of Samuel Johnson “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”
习惯决定自我。没有什么能像坏习惯一样破坏你的创造力和充实高效生活。用萨缪尔·约翰逊的话说,“习惯的枷锁太弱以至于不能被感觉到,直到它们强大到不能被打破。”
To live a balanced, productivity, creative and fulfilling life, ridding yourself of your unproductive habits is an important investment.
要想过一个平衡、高效、有创造力、有成就感的生活,摆脱你的低效习惯是一项重要的投资。
It’s easier to keep going than to take a few minutes to reflect, plan, and to really look at what needs to change for you to create your own version of a productive week, month or year.
比起花几分钟时间去反思、计划,真正思考需要改变什么来创造你自己充实高效的周、月或年,继续保持习惯更容易些。
It’s about time you paid attention to the habits that could be hindering your progress in life and career.
你应该花时间注意那些可能妨碍你在生活和事业上取得进步的习惯。
Kill the excuses!
拒绝借口!
Do you ever catch yourself making excuses when things don’t turn out as you had expected? Have you ever tried to explain away why you didn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t or simply wouldn’t do something?
当事情不像你预料的那样时,你会发现自己在找借口吗?你有没有试着解释为什么你没有,不能,不应该或者干脆不做某事?
I’m too tired. I don’t have the time. I am not capable. Someone else will do it. It’s too late now. Now is not the right time. I am not talented. I am not ready. I’m too scared. Nobody will help me. What if I fail. I don’t feel motivated. I’d rather do nothing. I don’t have the money..yet! Those are the biggest excuses people make.
我太累了。我没有时间。我不能够。别人会做的。现在太迟了。现在不是时候。我不是天才。我没有准备好。我太害怕。没有人会帮助我。如果我失败。我觉得没有动力。我宁愿什么也不做。我还没有钱...是的!这是人们自己找的最大的借口。
It’s easy to come up with excuses and justify not getting started. The longer you fill your head with rationalizations and empty excuses, the less time you have to take action.
很容易找到借口,证明自己没有开始是合理的。头脑中充斥着合理化和空洞的借口越久,你采取行动的时间就越少。
It’s easy to say, “I will start when I have more experience, money, time and resources”. By this time next year, you will have a lot more excuses.
说“当我有更多的经验、金钱、时间和资源的时候,我会开始。”很简单,但是到明年这个时候,你会有更多的借口。
It’s a cycle. And once you get caught in the loop, it, can be difficult to break free and do something meaningful you care about.
这是一个循环。一旦你被困在圈套里,你就很难摆脱自由,做一些你感兴趣,意义的事情。
Many people are living their entire lives without ever standing up and stepping out. But it’s exciting to witness the rare few who dare themselves and step out of their personal bubbles to make a change.
许多人都只生活在自己的世界里,从未站起来走出去。但是,亲眼目睹极少数人敢于站出来,走出他们的人生幻想且做出改变,是件令人兴奋的事。
Most of use live with the stubborn illusion that we will always have tomorrow to do today’s work. We consistently hold on to this belief and keep procrastinating until work becomes a heavy burden.
大部分人以这样一种顽固的幻想活着,我们永远有明天去做今天的工作。我们一直坚持这种信念,一直拖延,直到工作变成沉重的负担。
Left unchecked, we always default toward a more comfortable path. Your comfortable zone provides a state of mental security. You can understand why it’s so hard to kick your brain out of your comfort zone.
如果不加控制,我们总是默认选择一条更舒适的道路。你的舒适区提供了一种心理安全感。你可以理解为什么把你的大脑踢出你的舒适区是如此困难。
Your super connected habit
你的“超级链接”习惯。
If you can be reached via smartphone, email, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, you’re way too available and all these outlets are possible connections that can distract you from your purpose.
如果可以通过智能手机、电子邮件、推特、脸书或LinkedIn联系到你,那么所有这些渠道很容易可能会分散你的注意力。
In his best-selling book,The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas Carr writes, “The Web provides a convenient and compelling supplement to personal memory — but when we start using the Web as a substitute for personal memory, by bypassing the inner processes of consolidation, we risk emptying our minds of their riches.”
在他的畅销书,《浅薄》:互联网对我们的大脑做了什么,尼古拉斯·卡尔写道,“互联网给人类的记忆提供提供了方便的,令人信服的补充, 但是当我们绕过内部流程的整合,开始使用互联网替代个人记忆,我们将面临头脑一片空白的危险。”
Disconnect and watch as your productivity sores.
断“链接”,注意工作效率
Your smartphone might be the biggest productivity killer of all time. Most people just can’t put the phone away. If your phone is connected online, the temptation to stay updated about almost everything is very high.
你的智能手机可能是有史以来最大的多产杀手。大多数人都无法放下电话。如果你的手机连接网络,那么所有事物保持更新的诱惑是非常高的。
If you can, put down that phone (or power it off) for a while when in the office and witness the effect that can have on your level of productivity.
如果可以的话,在办公室的时候放下电话(或关机),看看对你的工作效率有什么影响。
Multitasking is killing your brain
多任务损伤大脑
Multitasking keeps your mind full, busy, and always under pressure. Science has proven that only 2 percent of us can really multitask efficiently. So just give it up already.
一心多用能让你的头脑充实、忙碌,而且受压。科学已经证明只有2%的人能有效地完成多重任务。所以就放弃吧。
Stop multi-tasking, seriously stop. Of all the bad habits, multitasking is among the worst and most common. Multi-tasking does not necessarily make you more productive as you may think. You can actually achieve more in less time when you single task and focus on getting one thing done well.
停止多任务,认真地停止。在所有的坏习惯中,多任务处理是最坏的,也是最常见的。多任务并不一定像你想象中的让你更有效率。专注于做好一件事,你可以在更少的时间内完成更多的任务。
It takes about 23 minutes and 15 seconds to fully return to a task after interruption, according to Gloria Mark, Professor at UC Irvine, in Fast Company. So you may be wasting a lot more time than you think.
加州大学欧文分校的教授格洛里亚•马克表示,在中断之后,百分百回到任务中需要大约23分15秒。所以你浪费的时间可能比你想象的要多。
In his book,The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done, Crenshaw explains the difference between “background tasking” — like watching TV while exercising — and “switchtasking,” juggling two tasks by refocusing your attention back and forth between them, and losing time and progress in the switch.
在《多重任务神话:“什么都做”如何变为什么也没有做成》中,克伦肖解释了两者的区别:“后台任务”——比如在锻炼时看电视——以及“切换任务”,同时兼顾两个任务时,通过将注意力重新集中在两者之间,同时在转换过程中失去时间和进展,。
More is not necessarily better. In fact, in many cases the quality beats the quantity.多不一定更好。事实上,在许多情况下,质量胜过数量。
Focusing on the things that bring the biggest rewards or achievement is a great strategy.
专注那带来最大回报或成就的事情,是一个很好的策略。
Saying YES to everything
对任何事说好
Time is the raw material of productivity and creativity. We are not taught to say “no.” We are taught not to say “no.” “No” is normally considered “rude”. But “yes” makes limits creative and productivuty time.
时间是生产力和创造力的原材料。我们没有学会说“不”。我们被教导不要说“不”。“不”通常被认为是“粗鲁”的。但“是的”会限制创造力和生产力。
Saying “no” means you have time to focus on your own creation, tasks and projects, rather than respondong and reacting to requests.
说“不”意味着你有时间专注于自己的创作、任务和项目,而不是回应和反馈请求。
“You can’t let other people set your agenda in life” says Warren Buffett.
沃伦•巴菲特说:“你不能让其他人安排你的生活日程。
How is how Charles Dickens rejected an invitation from a friend:
查尔斯·狄更斯是如何拒绝一位朋友的邀请的:
“It is only half an hour’ — ‘It is only an afternoon’ — ‘It is only an evening,’ people say to me over and over again; but they don’t know that it is impossible to command one’s self sometimes to any stipulated and set disposal of five minutes — or that the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometime worry a whole day … Who ever is devoted to an art must be content to deliver himself wholly up to it, and to find his recompense in it. I am grieved if you suspect me of not wanting to see you, but I can’t help it; I must go in my way whether or no.”
“只有半个小时”——“只是一个下午”——“只是一个晚上,”人们一遍又一遍地对我说;但是他们不知道,要求自己在任何规定或者设置的五分钟内完成是不可能——或者仅仅有意识的去记住行程,会让你担心一天…曾经致力于艺术的人必须满足于把自己完全交给它,并发现他从中的回报。如果你怀疑我不想见你,我很伤心,但我无能为力;无论如何,我必须走自己的路。”
Acting on the directives of your inner critic!
跟着自己的心走!
“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ― Louise L. Hay
“记住,多年来你一直在批评自己,但这并没有奏效。试着认可你自己,看看会发生什么。——路易斯·海伊克!
You are not good enough! You can’t do it! Don’t even bother trying! It’s too late for you! Nobody will share it, like it, recommend it or even see it! Don’t waste your time! You have no writing credentials. You’re terrible at grammar, punctuation, and using parentheses. No one wants to read your opinions — everyone has their own opinions to sort through.
你还不够好!你不能这么做!不要白费力气!对你来说太晚了!没有人会分享它,喜欢它,推荐它甚至看它!不要浪费你的时间!你没有写作凭证。你的语法、标点和圆括号都很糟糕。没人愿意读你的意见——每个人都有自己的观点要整理。
“Turn down the volume of your negative inner voice and create a nurturinginner voice to take it’s place. When you make a mistake, forgive yourself, learn from it, and move on instead of obsessing about it. Equally important, don’t allow anyone else to dwell on your mistakes or shortcomings or to expect perfection from you.” ― Beverly Engel
放低你内心消极声音,创造一个内在的声音来取代它。当你犯了错误,原谅自己,从中吸取教训,继续前行,而不是执迷于它。同样重要的是,不要让任何人停留在你的错误或缺点上,或对你的完美寄托中。”——贝弗利恩格尔
Psychological research shows that success and wellbeing are associated with high self-esteem, and that people with lower self-esteem suffer a disproportionate share of emotional and behavioural problems.
心理学研究表明,成功和幸福与高自尊有关,而自尊心较低的人在情感和行为问题上所占的比例过高。
The truth is…
事实是…
Nobody is perfect enough to begin anything! You will never be ready for anything..ever! I love to write and share. I’m not a professional writer. I have no writing credentials. I am not Stephen King.
没有人可以完美的开始任何事情!你永远都不会为任何事情做好准备。我喜欢写作和分享。我不是职业作家。我没有写作凭证。我不是斯蒂芬·金。
I have no technique, and I am not trained. But I write anyway. It matters that I show up everyday. I can only get better with practice. My inner critic has gotten weaker with time.
我没有技术,也没有受过训练。但不管怎么样,我写作。我每天都写,这很重要。我只有通过练习才能变得更好。随着时间的推移,我内心的批评变得越来越弱。
Aiming for perfection
追求完美
The root of procrastination is the fear of not doing a good job. Perfection kills creativity. Don’t fuss over details as you move forward. What matters is that you get something done.
拖延症的根源是害怕做得不好。完美杀死创造力。当你前进的时候,不要小题大做。重要的是你完成了一些事情。
The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists. It rewards people who get things done. Give yourself time in your life to wonder what’s possible and to make even the slightest moves in that direction.
真实的世界不会奖赏完美主义者。它奖励的是那些完成任务的人。在你的生活中给自己一些时间去思考什么是可能的,哪怕是在方向上做出最轻微的举动。
Done is better than perfect.
做胜于完美
You will screw up in the process but it’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up for making a mistake or making a wrong choice. It will only lead to self destructive behavior.
你会在这个过程中搞砸,但是没关系。不要因为犯了错误或做出错误的选择而责备自己。它只会导致自我毁灭的行为。
Bob Pozen, author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours, says while perfectionism is a “learned habit,” it can be an “unlearned habit” if you work at it.
《极端生产力:提高你的成绩,减少你的工作时间》一书的作者鲍勃普森说,尽管完美主义是一种“习得的习惯”,但如果你着重于它,它可能是一种“不习得的习惯”。
It’s okay to screw up as long as you are willing to try again. Non- comformists and originals screw up a lot. But they move on, knowing that at some point, the breakthrough will happne.
只要你愿意再试一次,那么搞砸是没有问题的。不墨守成规者人和原始的人会经常搞砸,但他们会继续前进,因为他们知道在某个时刻,总会有所突破。
No matter how many mistakes you make, or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.
不管你犯了多少错误,或者你进步得有多慢,你仍然遥遥领先于那些没有尝试的人。
Creativity flourishes when you don’t seek perfection but focus on getting stuff done. What you do matters, not what you think or say or plan. And doesn’t have to be perfect.
当你不追求完美,而是专注于完成事情时,创造力就会蓬勃发展。重要的是你所做的事,而不是你所想、所说或所计划的事情。而且不一定是完美的。
The real world rewards those who create stuff and get things done. Give yourself space to think and wonder. And don’t be afraid of what might happen.
真正的世界,往往是那些创造和完成事情的人受到奖赏。给自己空间去思考。不要害怕可能会发生的事情。
Creating is the result of thinking like walking. Left foot, problem. Right foot, solution. Repeat until you arrive.
就像走路一样,创造是思考的结果。左脚,问题。右脚,解决方案。重复,直到你的到来。
Give yourself time in your life to wonder what is possible and to make even the slightest moves in that direction.
生活中给自己一些时间去思考什么是可能的,哪怕是在这个方向上做出最轻微的举动。
Delaying the launch of your passion project
推迟富有激情计划的启动
You cannot stay in your comfort zone forever. Career magic happens outside your safe boundary. Until you make that all important decision to take that crucial step, you will feel stuck for a very long time.
你不能永远呆在你的舒适区。万智牌职业发生在你的安全界限之外。在你做出重要决定之前,很长一段时间你会觉得自己遇到瓶颈了。
Don’t just think about it, Act!
别光想,行动吧!
Action begets outcome. Outcome begets more action. You can only create or build when you make a move. Momentum builds through action.
行动产生结果。结果导致更多的行动。你只能在你前进的时候创创造或构建。通过行动构建动量。
You can’t see the results you expect until you overcome your fear of starting and begin to take the first step at actually creating a new business, starting a new project or building the life you want.
你无法看到你期望的结果,直到你克服了对开始的恐惧,迈出开始的第一步,开始创建新的业务,开始一个新的项目,或者创造你想要的生活。
The only thing worse than failure is not starting.
唯一比失败更糟糕的事情是没有开始。
Failure is not final. There are way too many people out there who want to stay in their comfort zone and take no action but still complain of their current life. Don’t be one of them. A single step gets you closer to your dream career.
失败并不是结束。有太多的人想呆在他们的舒适区,不采取行动,但仍然抱怨他们现在的生活。不要成为他们中的一员。一步一步更接近你选择的梦想职业。
Don’t discount the power of action no matter how small.
不要低估行动的力量,不管它有多小。
Figure out the best time outside your normal work hours to get something done. You don’t even have to do most things yourself. You could outsource or get someone else involved.
寻找在正常工作时间之外的最佳时间来完成一些事情。你甚至不需要自己做很多事情。你可以外包或者让其他人参与进来。
Set aside the time for your meaningful project and consider marking it on your calendar so you’ll actually do it. Make time to check in with yourself about your hopes, dreams, and goals.
留出时间做一些有意义的项目,并考虑在你的日程表上做标记,这样你就能真正做到。腾出时间审视自己的希望、梦想和目标。
If you are still not sure about your passion project, Chris Guillebeau has insightful ideas to help you find and launch a project you deeply care about.
如果你还不确定你的激情项目,吉尔博有很好的想法来帮助你找到并启动一个你深切关注的项目。
In his book, Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do,Chris writes, “Finding the work you were meant to do is rarely a linear journey. It’s a process of exploring many little twists and turns that lead us to the place we ultimately belong. THE WINNING”
在他的书《天生如此:如何找到你想要做的工作》中,克里斯写道,“很少有可能一次性找到你想要做的工作。通过探索一个个曲折的过程,我们才能达到最终归属的地方。赢”
Worrying about your weaknesses
担心你的弱点
It’s easier to play to your strengths. Chances are you are paying too much attention to negative information.Millions of people are worried and always thinking about how to get rid of their weaknesses.
这样更容易发挥你的优势。你对负面信息很可能过于关注。成千上万的人都在担心,总是想着如何摆脱他们的弱点。
What if you turn things around and focus on your strengths instead. The bitter truth is, you may never overcome your weaknesses but you could make significant changes to how you live and work if you focus on what you are good at. The key here is that you don’t have to change who you are; you have to become more of who you are.
假使你扭转局势,转而专注于自己的强项会怎么样呢?痛苦的事实是,你可能永远无法克服自己的弱点,但如果你专注于你擅长的方面,你就可以对你的生活和工作做出重大的改变。这里的关键是你不必改变你是谁;你必须变得更像你自己。
“Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Focus on your character, not your reputation. Focus on your blessings, not your misfortunes,” says Roy T. Bennett
“关注自己的优点,而不是缺点。关注你的个性,而不是你的名声。关注你的好运,而不是你的不幸”罗伊·班尼特说道。
In a study by Harvard Business Review, it was noted that while people remember criticism, awareness of faults doesn’t necessarily translate into better performance.
在《哈佛商业评论》的一项研究中,有人指出,尽管人们记得批评,但对错误的认识不一定能转化为更好的表现。
It was further discovered that knowing your strengths offers you a better understanding of how to deal with your weaknesses — and helps you gain the confidence you need to address them.
进一步发现,了解自己的优势能让你更好地了解如何应对自己的弱点,并帮助你获得应对这些弱点的信心。
Inaction
不作为
Despite the many options the new have as a generation, we are still left with a paradox of inaction. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
尽管新一代有许多选择,但我们仍然面临不作为的悖论。西奥多·罗斯福曾经说过:“失败是很困难的,但更糟的是,从来没有尝试过成功。”
On one hand we instinctively tend to stick with the default: get an education, get good grades and purse a career society deems “respectful”.
一方面,我们本能地倾向于坚持墨守成规:接受教育,取得好成绩,获得职业协会认为的“尊重”。
Those careers promises financial security deviod of risks. Safe over risk has always been the choice of millions. It’s a safer bet.
这些职业会给经济保障带来风险。安全高于风险一直是数百万人的选择。这是一个更安全的赌注。
Nobody likes to rock the boat. We feel safe in our comfort zones, where we can avoid the sting of regret.
没有人喜欢自找麻烦。我们在舒适区感到安全,在那里我们可以避免后悔的刺痛。
And yet, at the same time, we regret most of those actions and risks we did not take.
然而,与此同时,对于我们没有采取的大部分行动和没有承担的风险,深感遗憾。
Studies consistently show that when we look back on our lives the most common regrets are not the risks we took, but the ones we didn’t.
研究一致表明,当我们回顾我们的生活时,最常见的遗憾,不是曾经冒的风险,而是我们所没有冒的风险。
Of the many regrets people describe, regrets of inaction outnumber those of action by nearly two to one. Some of the most common include not being more assertive, and failing to seize the moment.
人们所描述的许多遗憾中,相对于采取采取行动感到遗憾的人,对不作为感到遗憾的人数多近两倍。其中最常见的包括不太武断,不抓住时机。
When people reflect later in life, it is the things they did not do that generate the greatest despair.
当人们在晚年反思时,他们没有做过的事情做的事情会产生最大的绝望。
But you can do something about what you truly want in life now. You don’t have to have many regrets when you can seize the moment today. There are more opportunities to completely reinvent your role in the system than ever before.
但是现在你可以做一些你真正想做的事情。当你能把握当下,你不会有太多的遗憾。有比以往任何时候都要多的机会可以彻底改造你在系统中的角色。
Stop giving a f*ck
不要塑造幸福
“A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people’s business.” — Eric Hoffer
当事情有价值的时候,他很可能会在意自己的事情。当它不是的时候,他会把自己的注意力从他自己的无意义的事情上转移到别人的事情上。”—— Eric Hoffer
It is human nature to want to be liked and accepted, hence the insanepursuit of conformity. But you can make a conscious effort to stop giving a damn; to let yourself free.
想要被人喜欢和被接受是人的本性,因此疯狂的追求一致性。但是,你可以有意识地停止给予谴责;让自己自由。
It’s a skill that needs to be practiced, like any other skill. Once you truly understand how to let go, you will see the world from an entirely different perspective.
就像其他技能一样,这是一种需要练习的技能。一旦你真正懂得如何放手,你就会从一个完全不同的角度看待这个世界。
The world is constantly telling you that everything you are not is what makes you happy. The other persons “great” job, a better car, a new and bigger house etc. Giving a f*ck about everything the world wants you to have makes you more miserable about what you are not or don’t have.
世界不断地告诉你,你所没有拥有的一切都能让你快乐的。别人“伟大”的工作,一辆好车,一个新大的房子等等。在世界上任何事情都想让你变得更加痛苦,让你更痛苦的是你不是或没有的东西。
Don’t focus your life and efforts on chasing a mirage. It causes mental health problems you don’t want.
不要把你的生活和精力放在追逐海市蜃楼上。它会引起你不想要的精神健康问题。
You are probably too busy giving a f*ck about so many things around you that you’ve practically stopped living.
你可能忙于自塑造的在你周围的太多琐事,以至于你实际上已经停止了生活。
Mark Manson writes in his book,The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life,“In my life, I have given a fuck about many people and many things. I have also not given a fuck about many people and many things. And like the road not taken, it was the fucks not given that made all the difference.”
马克·曼森在他的《重塑幸福―如何活成你想要的模样》书中写道:“在我的生活中,我塑造了我对很多人和许多事情。”我但是我也从未塑造过任何人任何事。就像我没有走过这条路,但是塑造了那些没有被给予的东西造成了所有的不同。
The key to the good life you really need is giving a damn about what’s important to your growth, career and total well being.
你真正需要的美好生活的关键是要在乎你的成长、事业和幸福的重要性。
When you stop giving a damn about what people think, your self-confidence will definitely shoot through the roof faster than you can ever imagine.You’ll start to believe in yourself and what you can offer the world, without letting outside influences stop you or sway your decisions.
当你不再在乎别人的想法时,你的自信肯定会比你想象的更快地激发出来。你会开始相信自己,相信你能给这个世界带来什么,而不让外界的影响阻止你或动摇你的决定。
The more you desperately want to be like someone else, the more unworthy you feel. The more you desperately want to be happier, the lonelier you become, despite the awseome people surrounding you.
你越是拼命想要像别人一样,你就越觉得自己不值。你越想变得更快乐,你就会变得更孤独,尽管周围的人都敬畏你。
Mental toughness, happiness and living life to the fullest come from knowing what to care about–and most importantly, what not to care about.
精神上的坚强、幸福和生活的充实来自于知道该思考什么,什么是最重要的,什么不该在乎。
Before you go…
在你走之前…
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Link: Bad Habits You Must Break Immediately To Improve Your Life In The Next 100 Days