克服10種埋沒潛能的生活方式

Do you know that most people never utilize more than 0.1% of their true potential in their lifetime?

你可知道，很多人一輩子也沒發(fā)揮出他們真正潛能的0.1%這么多?

It's true. The thing is, human potential is unlimited. Unlike computers, you'll never come across a situation where your brain says the hard drive is full. You can constantly push your limits, reaching greater heights, only to find that you're not even reaching a fraction of your true worth! Believe it or not, you harness more power than you can ever imagine.

事實就是如此，人類的潛能是無限的。人腦不像電腦，大腦的"硬盤"永遠不會不夠用。你可以持續(xù)地提高你的極限，努力達到更高的目標，最后你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，你也只是發(fā)揮了一點點潛能而已。毋須質疑，你限制了自己不可估量的潛能。

Unfortunately, many do not utilize their true potential, and lay it to waste by engaging in tasks that are a poor use of their time and energy. Here are 10 sure-fire ways to live below your true potential:

不幸地是，許多人無法發(fā)揮所有的潛能，還把發(fā)揮的潛能放在一些浪費時間精力的工作上。以下列舉出10種保證讓你高能低用的生活習慣：

1.Harp on the past instead of focusing on the present.

總是舊事重提，而不著眼當下。

Some people spend their lives living in the past. They lament about what has been, what they could have done, and why they didn't do that. However, the past is the past, and no matter how much time we spend thinking and lamenting about it, it doesn't change anything. To spend time moping about what has been is to waste the person you can be.

有些人總是活在過去的時光里。他們?yōu)闀r過境遷而悲傷，為曾經(jīng)的輝煌而傷神，為未竟的事業(yè)而悔恨。但是，過去已然過去，無論我們用了多久來哀嘆，它也不會有任何改變。浪費時間為了過去的事情而郁郁寡歡，會毀掉本來的你。

There were times in the past when I wondered how things would have been if I did X instead of Y. Or if I did Z instead of Y. However, after that I'd ask myself, "How would this change anything?" Me sitting here and thinking about the past does absolutely nothing to change things and improve my life. Instead, it is only by thinking forward and taking action that I'm able to live a truly fulfilling life.

在過去,有些時候我也會想如果我做了這件事而沒做那件事，結果會怎樣。可之后，我便會問自己，"這會做何改變么?"我坐在這，沉浸在往日時光中，完全無法改變什么，也不能讓我的生活更好。而只有一心向前并積極行動，我才會過擁有一個真正有意義的生活。

What kind of future do you want to create? What actions can you take to create this ideal future? What have you learned from the past that will help you in this journey? Asking and acting on questions like these will help you to maximize your present moment so you can live your best life going forward. For some practical guidance on living in the present, I recommend The Power of Now.

你想要什么樣的未來?你想做些什么來得到這個理想生活?你從過去得到了什么教訓可以助你一路前行?探索并實踐這樣的問題，就會幫助你延伸當下的一刻，你會向前并得到美好的生活。如果想得到更多關于如何活在當下的建議，請參閱《The Power of Now》一書。

2.Get caught up in the details vs. the big picture.

為瑣事發(fā)愁VS.著眼大局。

If you're a perfectionist, you might find yourself caught up with perfecting details on a regular basis. If so, you're not alone - I'm the same way. I spend a lot of time editing the nitty-gritty, so that everything can be perfect and the way I envision it to be. For example in my articles, I can spend an hour or more looking for the perfect photo that expresses the exact intention of my article. I can spend hours just improving my blog and forums so that my readers can get the perfect experience.

如果你是一個完美主義者，你會發(fā)覺自己經(jīng)常在處理一些小細節(jié)。如果這樣，你也不是一個人在 這么做，我也是這樣的。我會用許多時間在編輯些基本的事實，然后所有的事情都會是完美無暇的，也會按是我設想的那樣呈現(xiàn)出來。比如說，在我的文章里，我會花費一個小時或者更多的時間去尋找最匹配的照片，這些照片會準確地表達出文章的旨意。我會耗費幾個小時去打理我的博客和論壇，所以讀者們在閱讀時會感覺非常棒。

However, I have come to realize that by spending all my time on the details, I'm not making the best use of my time. According to the 80/20 principle, 80% of the results we can achieve comes from 20% of our actions. In trying to achieve the remaining 20% to get the perfect 100% outcome, we have to spend 80% more effort!

但終究我卻意識到，我確實在這些小細節(jié)上十分用心，可是我并沒有最好地利用時間。根據(jù)80/20原則，80%的結果得益于20%的時間。為了得到最后的20%結果以達到完美的100%，我們必須要耗費80%這么多的努力!

Some of us may think that we should do everything to achieve the best outcome. While I agree with this, it fails to hold true outside of certain situational contexts. For example, while it may be gratifying to get the best picture for each blog article, the extra time spent looking for that best picture prevents me from working on higher value tasks, such as writing new books or creating new challenges for my readers. It goes without saying that one hour spent on the latter adds more value than one hour spent looking for a picture.

有些人也許覺得我們應該竭盡全力以達到最好的目標。我雖然也贊同這一點，可是這點在某些情況下并不奏效。比如說，雖然為每篇博客配一張完美的圖確實令人慶幸，可是為了這而花費的時間卻阻止了我做更大價值的工作，比如寫一本新書或者為我的讀者帶來更多的挑戰(zhàn)。后者的價值要高于尋找一張圖片，這點不言而喻。

By looking at the big picture, it helps you realize what does matter and what doesn't so that you can then channel your energy accordingly. The Gifts of Imperfection is a good read on this topic.

著眼大局可以幫助你看清什么更重要，然后你可以根據(jù)重要性重新分配精力。在《The Gift of Imperfection》一書中會有更好的詮釋。

3.Let yourself be affected by minor issues.

被小事所影響。

Sometimes we may be affected by a hurtful comment or discouraged by a small setback. While these emotions are justified, often times these events are insignificant in the long run. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: "Will this matter in one year's time? Three years? 5 years? 10 years? 30 years?" If not, then it's probably not worth your energy to think about these things. Concentrate on things that do matter in the long run instead.

有些時候我們也許會被一個傷人的言論所影響，或者一個小挫折而阻礙。雖然產(chǎn)生的情緒是正常的，可是在長遠來看這些事情通常并不重要。一種去檢驗這個事情是否值得去想的方法就是問自己："一年后我還會在意這個事情么?三年后呢?五年后呢?甚至十年后和三十年后呢?"如果答案是否定的話，那這件事就很可能并不值得你的精力去思考這件事情。把注意力集中在那些長遠來看很重要的事情上吧。

4.Blame others for your plight.

將你的苦境歸咎于別人。

Is there anything you're blaming others for in your life? Are you blaming the economy for not getting the job you want? Your parents for giving you "fat" genes? Your boss for your workload? The world for lack of opportunities around you? The universe for not giving you the life of your dreams?

在生活中有沒有什么事情，你總是歸咎于別人的問題?你是否會因沒有理想的工作而責怪經(jīng)濟環(huán)境的不佳?責備你的父母給你遺傳的"胖子"基因?指責你的上司給你的工作負擔?或者譴責這個世界不給你多一些機會?還有這個宇宙沒有為你營造一個夢想中的人生?

The extent to which you can live your dream life depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame someone/something for what you're going through, you deny responsibility. You give others power over that part of your life. For example, if you blame your parents for your obesity, you'll continue to remain obese because in your mind they are the reason why you're obese. You'll never have the power to change the situation until you take responsibility for it. When you take 100% responsibility for your life, be it your career status, your health, your relationship status, your finances, your friendships, etc, that's when you're set to achieve the life of your dreams.

你有多大可能實現(xiàn)夢想取決于你承擔了人生中的多少責任。當你責怪了別的人或者別的東西，你就在否認承擔責任。你賦予別人的權利超過了你自己的。譬如，當你責怪你父母導致了你的肥胖，你還會繼續(xù)這么胖下去，因為你認為他們才是導致肥胖的原因。你永遠不會行使自己的權力去改變這個情況直到有一刻你承擔了這個責任。當你為你的生命承擔起100%的責任，無論是你的事業(yè)情況，健康狀況，愛情，財務狀況，還是友情等等，那一刻你就在著手實現(xiàn)人生夢想了。

5.Complain.

抱怨。

It's okay to complain once in a while as a way to vent, but doing it too often makes you a magnet for negativity. Whenever you complain, you give your power away to the universe. For every second you spend complaining, that's one second you could have spent creating the life you want. Rather than lament, think about the actions you can take to improve your situation instead. Every time you do, that's one step toward the life you've been dreaming about.

抱怨一兩次去發(fā)泄感情當然無可厚非，但是如果總是抱怨會讓你成為一個負極磁場。無論何時只要你去抱怨，你就在給宇宙注入能量。你用來抱怨的每一秒鐘，都本應是用于創(chuàng)造更美好的生活的。如果你可以為了改善生活而采取的措施，而不是一味地抱怨。這樣，你便向你的夢想跨進了一步。

6.Try to do everything by yourself.

事必躬親。

Are you someone who likes to do everything yourself? So do I - but over the years I realize that this prevents me from achieving more. In trying to do everything, including the nitty-gritty, less important details (see #2), that means you're not able to do the higher level, important things like your biggest goals and dreams. Start by delegating, outsourcing or removing the less important tasks and scaling yourself up to do the more important ones. You'll notice a big difference in your productivity.

你是一個什么事情都要自己去做做看的人么?我也是，但是我卻發(fā)現(xiàn)這卻讓我失去很多。我去嘗試做所有事情，比如一些基本的事實，不重要的細節(jié)(參閱第二條)，那都會意味著你不能做更重要的事情，比如你的最高目標和最好的夢想。學會委派，外包業(yè)務或者把一些不重要的事情移除出你的計劃，擴展自我到更重要的事情中去。你會發(fā)現(xiàn)到你的成果會產(chǎn)生很大的變化。

7.Set small goals.

設立小目標。

Many people set small goals because they're afraid to fail. Actually what they're really afraid of is to realize that they've always had all the power to achieve everything they want and that they have wasted their own time and dreams. You have all the potential and power in this world to achieve everything you want. Stop settling for less and set your highest goals today. You owe it to yourself.

許多人喜歡設立小的目標，因為他們害怕失敗。實際上，他們害怕的卻是意識到他們有能力去做很多事情，而他們卻浪費了這些時間和夢想。你是有能力去做每一個你想做到的事情的。不要再設立小小的目標，而在今天把眼光放的更遠大一些吧。這是你欠自己的一個目標!

8.Bottle up unhappiness.

把不開心封鎖起來。

Bottling up your emotions is like creating a bomb that will eventually self-implode. Every time you bury an emotion, you're weighing yourself down with baggage. The best way to deal with your emotions, whether happy ones or unhappy ones, is to lay them out on the table and face them. Don't hide from your problems. When you do you're just hiding from yourself. I found a great way to clear emotional baggage is to use the brain dumping exercise, where you dump your emotions in a journal for about 10-15 minutes. Try it—you'll feel lighter almost immediately.

封鎖情緒就好像在設置一個炸彈，它們遲早都會爆炸的。每一次你放進去一些情緒，你的行李就會沉重一些。處理情緒最好的方法，就是無論開心或者不開心，都要把它們公開或者表現(xiàn)在臉上。不要把你的問題藏起來。如果你這樣做，就是讓自己逃避問題。我找到一個很好的方法去清除感情行李就是練習用大腦去甩掉它們，這樣你可以在10-15分鐘內去除這些情緒。嘗試一下，你馬上就會覺得很輕松!

9.Think that you cannot do it.

覺得你無法做到。

As Henry Ford put it, "Whether you think you can or think you can't – you are right." There is nothing more powerful in the world than our beliefs. Our beliefs are the lenses we use to see the world. If we think we don't have the power, then our minds will find the evidence to support that thought. If we think we have the power to achieve what we want, then similarly, our minds will automatically lock down on all the evidence that supports that thought.

正如亨利福特所言，“無論你覺得你行不行，你都是對的。”世界上沒有什么比我們的信念更加強大有力了。這些信念就是我們來聚焦這個世界的鏡頭。如果我們覺得自己不具備這個能力，那大腦就會找到證據(jù)來證明這個想法。如果我們覺得自己有能力達到它，那同樣地，我們的大腦也會自動地鎖定一些證據(jù)來支持這個想法。

Our limitations have little to do with the world, society, people, or anything like that – our limitations have always been within us – our beliefs. My personal motto is that as long as there's the will, there's always a way. Nothing is impossible to achieve in this world. For some practical positive thinking guidance, I recommend The Magic of Thinking Big.

我們的極限和這個世界、社會、人類或者其他什么東西都無關，只和我們自己的信念有關。我個人的信條就是：有志者，事竟成。沒有什么不能做到。更多的積極思考的指導，請參閱《 The Magic of Thinking Big》一書。

10.Procrastinate on your goals.

拖延你的目標。

Procrastination is the best way to bury your potential. Do you want your goals to never come true? Sure, procrastinate on them. I've never in my life seen a happy procrastinator. Everyone I know who procrastinates usually holds a heavy heart, because deep down they want to achieve their goals. Deep down they know they are meant to live their dreams. So stop procrastinating. Start by first identifying what you're passionate about, then go from there. As long as you're doing what you love, you can never go wrong.

拖延是埋葬你的潛能最好的方法。你想讓你的目標永遠不要被實現(xiàn)么?如果你想，那你就盡情地拖延吧。在我的生活里我從來都沒見過一個快樂的拖延者。每一個我認識的愛拖延的人都背負著一個沉重的包袱。因為延緩了追逐目標的腳步，減慢了實現(xiàn)夢想的速度。所以不要拖延了。最開始只要你確定了自己的興趣所在，然后就努力去做。只要你在做你熱愛的事情，你就永遠都不會出問題。