I assume I'm below average——Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

96% of cancer patients in a hospital claim to be in better health than the average cancer patient.
93% of motorists consider themselves to be safer-than-average drivers.
90% students see themselves as more intelligent than the average student.
94% of college professors said they are better-than-average teachers.

Ironically, 92% said they are less biased than average, too.

The psychology term for this is illusory superiority.

To me, this was like finding out I'm a cylon, or this is the Matrix.  Hard to accept facts.

At first, like almost everybody, I thought, “Yes, but I really am above average!”  Then I realized I was doing it again.

So I decided to gamble on the opposite:

I now just assume I'm below average.

It serves me well.

I listen more.  I ask a lot of questions.

I've stopped thinking others are stupid.  I assume most people are smarter than me.

To assume you're below average is to admit you're a beginner.  It puts you in student mind. It keeps your focus on present practice and future possibilities, and away from any past accomplishments.

Most people are so worried about looking good that they never do anything great.

Most people are so worried about doing something great that they never do anything at all.

You destroy that paralysis when you think of yourself as such a beginner that just doing anything is an accomplishment.

 

 

直译就是"保持饥饿，保持愚蠢" 。也就是说，乔布斯告诫年轻人，永远怀有强烈的求知欲，以及虚心求教的态度。

 

我原以为，这句话只是一句励志格言。今天看到一篇文章 ， 才意识到它其实是一种纠正人类心理缺陷的对策。

心理学研究发现：

　　* 96%的癌症病人，认为自己比其他癌症病人健康。

　　* 93%的司机，认为自己的安全意识高于普通司机。

　　* 90%的学生，认为自己的智力在平均水平之上。

　　* 94%的教授，认为自己的教学水平高于学校的平均水平。

　　* 92%的访问者，都认为自己比一般人更公正。

 

这种对自己的高估是普遍存在的。心理学有一个专门名词，就叫做"虚幻的优越性" （illusory superiority）。

正是由于这个原因，乔布斯才会说"stay foolish"，因为大多数人意识不到这一点。他们觉得自己不是foolish，而是smart（聪明）。一个典型表现就是，许多人都急于让别人知道自 己的看法，哪怕对方根本没有询问你。

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现在变一下，如果你假设自己比别人笨、知道的东西比别人少，会怎样？

你将会发现，这不会对你造成任何伤害，反而有很多好处。

为什么？

因为你会更多地倾听，更多地提问。

你承认自己是一个新手，这使你把自己放在学生的位置。它让你更关注当前的情况，以及未来的变化，而不是陶醉于过去的成就。

大多数人太关注自己的形象，觉得显露无知是很丢人的事情，所以他们宁愿假装懂得，也不愿开口询问。他们一心想让别人看到，自己干得多么漂亮，但是又 不肯接受丑陋的结果，所以到头来一事无成。

只有你承认自己的落后，才能破除这种自我麻痹。因为不管你做出了什么结果，都代表了你的进步。

让我们听取乔布斯的建议，在内心中，与其相信自己是聪明人，不如相信自己是一个愚蠢的人，勇敢地把无知暴露出来。