The Real Courage
真正的勇气
Anonymous/佚名
A man was really worried about his son,who was sixteen years old but had no courage at all.So the father decided to call on①a Buddhist monk to train his child.
The Buddhist monk said to the boy’s father,“You should leave your son alone here.I‘ll make him into a real man within three months.However,you can’t come to see him during this period②.”
Three months later,the boy‘s father returned.The Buddhist monk arranged a boxing match③between the child and an experienced boxer④.
Each time the fighter struck the boy,he fell down,but at once the boy stood up;and each time a punch⑤knocked him down again,then the boy stood up again.Several times later,the Buddhist monk asked,“What do you think of your child?”
“What a shame!”The boy’s father said,“I never thought he would be so easily knocked down.I needn‘t have him left here any longer.”
“I’m sorry that that‘s all you see.Don’t you see that each time he falls down,he stands up again instead of crying?That‘s the kind of courage you wanted him to have.”
If each time you are knocked down you have the courage to stand up again,that is the real courage.
一位父亲对自己的儿子颇感头疼,儿子已经16岁了,却缺乏勇气。于是父亲决定请一位僧人来训练儿子。
僧人对孩子的父亲说,“你把孩子留在这里吧。我会在三个月内让他成为一个真正的男子汉。不过,这期间.你不能来看他。”
三个月后,孩子的父亲来了。僧人安排孩子和一位有经验的拳击手进行擂台赛。
拳击手一出手,孩子就被打倒在地,但他又马上站了起来:又被打倒,又站起。这样,几个回合后,僧人问那位父亲:“你觉得自己的孩子怎么样?”
“真是丢脸!”孩子的父亲说,“想不到他这么不堪一击。我看没必要让他再呆下去了。”
“我真遗憾你就只看到了这一点。难道你没看到每次他被击倒后都没哭,反而站了起来?那就是你想让他拥有的勇气。”
如果每次被打倒后都有勇气重新站起来,那才是真正的勇气。
生词一角
①call on v.访问;邀请;指派;呼吁
②period n.日期;期间
③match n.比赛;竞赛
④boxer n.拳师
⑤punch n.(用拳的)一击;一掌
To Feel Better,You Need to Think Better
心之所想,行之所依
Anonymous/佚名
It’s the classic story with a twist,a traveling salesman gets a flat tire on a dark,lonely road and then discovers he has no jack.He sees a light in a farmhouse.As he walks toward it,his mind churns:“Suppose no one comes to the door.”“Suppose they don‘t have a jack.”“Suppose the guy won’t lend me his jack even if he has one.”The harder his mind works,the more agitated①he becomes,and when the door opens,he punches the farmer and said yells,“Keep your lousy jack!”
That story brings a smile,because it pokes fun at a common type of self-defeatist thinking.How often have you heard yourself say:“Nothing ever goes the way I planned.”“I‘11 never make that deadline.”“I always screw up.”
Such inner speech shapes your life more than any other single force.Like it or not,you travel through life with your thoughts spell gloom and doom,that’s where you‘re headed,because put-down words sabotage②confidence instead of offering support and encouragement.
Simply put,to feel better,you need to think better.Here’s how:
这是一则经典故事一名推销员深夜行车,不料,车子在一处无人过往的公路段抛锚了。此刻,他才发现自己没带千斤顶。恰在此时,他看到一线灯光从一问农舍透出来。于是,他朝那里走去,边走边想:“要是没有人开门怎么办?”“如果他们没有千斤顶怎么办?”“或是他们有但不借给我又该怎么办?”他越想心里越不踏实。在门打开的同时,他打了农夫一拳,并大声吼道:“把你那该死的千斤顶收起来吧!”
这个故事听来很可笑,它是对那种自我挫败者的思维的一大讽刺。曾有多少次你对自己说过这些话呢“没有一件事是按我的预想进行的。”“我不可能按时完成。”“我总会把事情搞砸。”
这种内在想法比任何外在因素更能影响你的生活。不论你是否相信,这种悲观消极的思想都会伴随你一生。你必须直面这个问题,因为,贬低自己不会给你带来任何支持和鼓励.只会削弱你的自信心。
总之,要想自己过得开心,就得往好的方面想。以下有几点建议:
Tune into your thoughts The first thing Sue said to her new therapist was,“I know you can‘t help me,Doctor.I’m a total mess.I keep lousing up at work,and I‘m sure I’m going to be canned.Just yesterday my boss told me I was being transferred.He called it promotion.But if I was doing a good job,why transfer me?”
Then,gradually,Sue‘s story moved past the put-downs.She had received her M.B.A.two years before and was making an excellent salary.That didn’t sound like failure.
At the end of their first meeting,Sue‘s therapist told her to jot down her thoughts,particularly at night if she was having trouble falling asleep.At her next appointment Sue’s list included:“I‘m not really smart.I got ahead by a bunch of flukes.”“Tomorrow will be a disaster.”“I’ve never chaired a meeting before.”“My boss looked furious this morning.What did do?”
She admitted,“In one day alone,I listed 26 negative thoughts.No wonder I‘m always tired and depressed.”
Hearing her fears and forebodings read out loud made Sue realize how much energy she was squandering③on imagined catastrophes④.If you’ve been feeling down,it could be you‘re sending yourself negative message too.Listen to the words churning inside your head.Repeat them aloud or write them down,if that will help capture them.
转变思想苏对她的心理医生说的第一句话就是:“医生,我很清楚,你帮不了我。我做什么都不如意,工作也一塌糊涂。我觉得自己要被老板炒鱿鱼了。昨天,老板要把我调离.他说这是晋升。可是,如果我做得很好,他为何要调我走呢?”
接着.苏又慢慢转移了话题。两年前,她获得了MBA学位,有一份高薪工作。由此看来,她算不上是一个失败者。
第一次心理治疗结束后,心理医生让苏把想法写出来.特别是在晚上失眠时写。第二次治疗时,医生看到苏这样写道:“我一点也不聪明。”“我总遇到倒,霉的事。”“明天肯定很倒霉。”“我从来没组织过一次会议。”“早上,老板看起来很生气,我该如何是好呢?”
她承认,“就一天工夫,我列出了26条消极的想法。难怪我总是情绪低落,困倦乏力。”
医生大声念着苏的忧虑和猜疑。苏突然意识到,她把太多的精力浪费在假想无端的灾难上。情绪低落时,这可能是给自己制造的麻烦。试着聆听回响在耳畔的声音,反复地大声说出来或写下来吧,或许会对你有所帮助。
Isolate destructive words and phrases Fran’s inner voice kept telling her she was“only a secretary.”Mark‘s reminded him he was“just a salesman.”With the word only or just,they were downgrading their jobs and,by extension,themselves.
By isolating negative words and phrases,you can pinpoint the damage you’re doing to yourself.For Fran and Mark,the culprits were only and just.Once those words are eliminated,there‘s nothing destructive about saying“I am a salesman”or“I am a secretary.”Both statements open doors to positive follow ups,such as,“I’m on my way up the ladder.”
别让消极思想乘虚而入弗兰心里总在想:“你不过是个秘书。”马克也常提醒自己:“你只是个推销员罢了。”就是这些“不过”或“只是”让他们轻视自己的职业,从而贬低了自己。
只有阻止这些消极思想的侵入,你才能清楚地看到,这种结果正是自己造成的。对弗兰和马克来说,这些“不过”和“只是”就是罪魁祸首。只要消除这些悲观字眼,说“我是个推销员”或“我是秘书”就不会带来任何伤害了,并且,这样说还能给思想注入积极的因子,比如,我们可以说:“我会更上一层楼。”