Jonathan Swift的八条智慧箴言 愿你享受你的生活

“may you live all the days of your life.”
愿你享受你的生活！！！
“there were many times my pants were so thin i could sit on a dime and tell if it was heads or tails.”
很多次因为我那精深的裤子所以我可以坐在一个极狭小的地方诉说这些所谓的事情。
jonathan swift was an anglo-irish writer that lived a couple of centuries ago (1667-1745).
乔纳森·斯威夫特(1667-1745)是生活在几个世纪以前的英爱作家。
he is perhaps most known for classics like gulliver’s travels and a modest propsal. the latter being the ironic and shocking essay where he suggested that impoverished irish people should sell their babies as food to rich people. such works has earned swift a reputation as one of the finest satirists of all time.
他可能因为他经典著作《格列佛游记》和《一个小小的建议》闻名于世。其中《一个小小的建议》是一部极具讽刺意义的小说，书中他“建议”贫困的爱尔兰人可以将他们的孩子卖给富人以此来获得食物的保障。类似的著作为斯威夫特赢得了历史上最厉害的讽刺作家的荣誉。

since swift was a writer there is a ton of things to quote. he is 8 of my favourite pearls of wisdom at the moment.
作为一个作家，斯威夫特有很多的东西可以为我们所引用，这里是我最喜欢的他的八条智慧箴言。
1. don’t fear being wrong.
不要害怕犯错
“a man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying… that he is wiser today than yesterday.”
一个人不应该为他现在的错误而感到尴尬和不安，因为这只能说他他今天比昨天更加聪慧。
this is a great point. so much of what we learn in society is about how you should not fail and not make mistakes. in school we are taught to get good grades and play by the rules. and so always taking a safe route and not taking risks can become an ingrained behaviour as we learn to associate failure with shame and pain.

这是一条伟大的言论。我们在社会中学习最多的是我们如何避免失败和错误。在学校里我们努力获得好的成绩并谨守纪律。所以我们一直在寻找所谓安全的成长路线，避免冒险，我们认为这样我们就可以养成极好的行为习惯，其实这只不过是因为我们总是认为失败就是耻辱和悲痛。
but one should really not be afraid of making mistakes. or admitting that he or she has been wrong. by recognizing that you can release the negative emotions that may dwell within and move on to the next thing. admitting that you have been wrong also makes it easier to clearly analyse what you did and what you can learn from the experience.
但是一个人不应该害怕犯错误也不应该害怕承认他（她）曾经犯过错误。认识到这一点你就可以抛掉你可能久久不能释怀的消极心情影响更好的走向下一步。承认你所犯的错误也可以使你跟容易和清晰的分析你以前所做的事情并从中吸收经验。

2. money is useful. love of it is hazardous.
金钱是有用的，但是过分追求是危险的
“a wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.”
聪明的人放在脑子里而不是心里。
money is very useful. but if you let it take the wrong place in your life it can wreck havoc.
毋庸置疑，金钱是非常有用的，但是如果在生活中如果你放错了位置，那么将会是毁灭性的。
it can create greed and much negativity in your life. and if you love the money, you’ll probably just want more and more. no matter how much you get. and it may not fill you up and finally make you happy as you may have hoped.
它会使你变的贪婪并并引起你生活消极的方面。如果你沉溺于金钱，那么你就想拥有更多的金钱，无论你已经有了多少。而它永远不会满足也不会使你像你想象的那么开心。

the drive to always wanting more can become like filling a bucket with a hole in it. and as you slowly realize that this won’t work as you had hoped bitterness and negativity can start to fester in your life.
这种驱使就像往有洞的水桶里加水。你希望得到的永远不会得到这样慢慢的痛苦和消极就会开始在你的生活中滋生和蔓延。
now, it’s important to not let this reasoning lead you to believe that money is evil. money is a tool. it can help you to achieve many positive things.
当然，这样说并不是要你以为金钱是邪恶的，金钱仅仅是一个工具，他会帮助你得到很多你想到的东西。
it’s just that a love of money can be destructive.
但是过分沉溺就会是毁灭性的。
3. dig where you stand.
深掘你所立之地
“although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, yet perhaps few know their own strength. it is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of.”

虽然人们总是抱怨不知道自己的弱点，但是也可能很少人清楚他们的优势。对于人就像对于我们脚下的土地，也许它下面有大堆的金子但是土地的主人却不知道。
i think this is true. it’s very easy to fall into an addictive pattern of criticizing yourself and others. but what are the positive things in you and the people around you?
这是真实存在的。人们很容易谴责自己和他人。但是你是否注意了自己和你周围的人的优点。
if you just look for things to criticize then that is what you will see. if you look for things to criticize in yourself that is what you will see in yourself and pay attention to in others.
如果你只是在你所看到的事物中虚造谴责的对象。如果你只是总寻找自己的弱点并自责，过分注意其他人。
so what can you do? you can start digging where you are standing. instead of asking yourself those negative questions continually, ask yourself: what is good about me? ask yourself where you strengths and talents lie. and don’t give up at once just because a negative mindset may initially not let you see what’s good and positive about you.

所以你该怎么做那？你应该深掘你脚下的土地了。不要再不停的问自己那些消极的问题，尝试这样问自己：我有那些优点？问问自己在那些地方没有尽力。不要出现一个消极的念头时候马上变的消沉你应该好好看看这些是否有对自己有利的一面。
what you focus on most of the time is what you will see of reality. knowing your weaknesses and learning from mistakes is helpful. but to dwell on criticism and the negative parts will just keep you in a loop where you create more of that for yourself.
你这样想的多了你就会看到事情的本质。知道你自己的缺点并且从中学习将会是非常有益的。但是如果总想着消极的一面会使你陷入无法自拔的恶性循环。
at some point it’s useful to move on from that and start to shift your focus to the positive. and see what gold that will help you uncover.

从这些消极的方面转移你的思想到积极的一面，你就会发现你说未发觉的黄金所在。
4. go further than you may think you can.
比你想象的走的更远
“i’ve always believed no matter how many shots i miss, i’m going to make the next one.”
我始终相信不管我射偏了多少次，我还是会把握下一次。
one big problem with success is that you may want it right now. or at least very soon. no wonder, advertising continually bombards us with messages of how we can become thin or rich in just 30 days. and when that promise doesn’t work we go out to buy a new product that “will surely be the magic pill that will solve the problem quickly”. and so on.
我们对成功总是迫不及待。广告里总是不断轰炸般的宣传我们可以在30天里瘦下来或者成为富翁。但这个承诺没有成功我们就会马上购买另一种“可以迅速解决问题的神奇药丸”的产品，等等。

now, i’m not saying that a lot of the stuff out there doesn’t work. it probably does. i’m just saying that it may take more time, patience and work than advertised to get you where you want to go.
这里我并不是说所有的东西都没有效果，虽然大部分情况下是这样的。我想说的是这些都比广告中宣传的需要更多的时间，耐心才能发挥效果。
it’s useful to take a break from advertised perspectives and let more realistic perspectives seep into your mind. learn from people who have gone where you want to go. talk to them. read what they have to say in books or online. this will not give complete plan but a clearer perspective of what is needed to achieve what you want.
从相信广告宣传中暂时停下来，学会更多更加实际的东西。从有类似经验的人那里学习，和他们多交流。从书籍中或网络中了解他们的说法。这些可能并不会给你一个完整的计划但是可以为你达到自己的目标提供一个清晰的蓝图。

and then you plug away. you don’t let setbacks or failure discourage you. you go out and try again. and just when you feel like giving up you go on a little further. and a little further.
然后尽可能努力的学习或实践。你不想让失败和挫折使你失去信心。你不停的尝试。当你想要放弃的时候记得再往前走一点点，仅仅一点点。
because it’s often darkest before the dawn.
因为黎明前往往是黑暗。
5. be good to yourself.
善待自己
“the best doctors in the world are doctor diet, doctor quiet, and doctor merryman.”
这世界上最好的医生是合理饮食，适当安静，快快乐乐。
it’s nowadays common to run yourself into the ground and then, as you feel like a shadow of your former self, to seek help.

你跌倒了，在你内心总是存在以前的阴影，去寻找帮助吧。
but a big part of keeping your health – mentally and physically – in good shape is to prevent problems before they even show up and force you to go to the doctor.
保持健康的一个诀窍（不论精神上的或身体上的）就是在病出现你不得不去看医生之前有效防止它们的发生。
swift brings some common sense into this challenge. by doing simple things consistently, by making them ingrained habits one can avoid many problems down the line.
斯威夫特在这点上和我们存在共识。坚持做这些简单的事情，并养成良好的习惯可以防止这些问题到最后严重的发生。
· doctor diet. eat not too little or too much. eat slowly to really enjoy the taste and avoid overeating, an upset stomach and added stress.
· 合理饮食。不要吃太多或太少。慢慢吃好像自己在享受美食的味道避免暴饮暴食，这样你就会胃很不舒服并且增加你内心的压力。

· doctor quiet. always being around noise and other people can drain you. it’s important to find some quiet time for yourself regularly to avoid being overloaded. being out in nature is one good way to reconnect with the quiet and stillness and is often forgotten in the busy daily life.
· 适当安静。如果经常处在一个喧闹的环境中你就会没有自己的空间。为自己有规律的安排点时间避免过载负荷。到野外走走是回归宁静的一个好办法，它会暂时忘却繁忙的日常生活。
· doctor merryman. how happy and positive one wants to feel is often to a large degree a choice. you can cultivate a negative attitude towards everything. or a positive one. a few tips for creating a positive and optimistic attitude can be found here, here and also here.
· 快快乐乐。快乐和积极的态度往往很大程度上在于自己的选择。你可以自己选择自己是消极还是积极。保持积极的秘诀是随时挖掘自己的快乐，快乐不再他处，就在这里。

now, this may sound like almost stupidly simple advice. and the information is very simple. many very helpful things are very simple.
这看起来是不是有点太简单了。其实很多有用的东西都很简单。
more advanced tips may sound intriguing because one may associate complicated with better. but everything has to have foundations. without those everything you build on top of them will only work at a limited capacity or sometimes just crumble.
许多锦言看起来很模糊，那是因为人们总是以为好的就是复杂的。但是任何东西都有一定的基础做铺垫。没有这些基础你说笃信的只可能在一定范围内发挥效用有时甚至是支离破碎的。
6. put down the extra, unnecessary baggage you are carrying.
甩掉那多余的，不必要的负担
“the latter part of a wise person’s life is occupied with curing the follies, prejudices and false opinions they contracted earlier.”

聪明人知道如何改变自己以前形成的愚笨，偏见和虚伪。
we pick a whole lot when we are young. some of it is helpful. a lot of it will hold you back and create a lot of unnecessary suffering in your life.
年轻时候我们学会了很多东西，一些是有用的。但是有些是不好的会在生活中给你带来很多不必要的苦恼。
you may have learned things from society - or sometimes gotten stuff drilled into your head - when you were young. you may have taken what someone said or did to you once or repeatedly as an absolute truth about you and your life.
年轻时候你会从社会中学到很多东西，这些东西深刻于你的头脑里。你会相信有些人的说法和言行并把他当作你生活中的真理重复着做。
but as a grown up, as you start to examine your life and beliefs you may discover that those things was just things that happened. they are in the past. you are here now.

但是随着你的长大，你开始发现这些东西都过时了，他们只使用于过去，而你生活在现在。
and by grasping that it’s you who are always in control of your life - that you are creating it right now - you understand that unhelpful beliefs or what happened doesn’t have to mean that much really.
了解到真是你自己才真正控制这你自己的生活，你终于理解那些所谓的信念并不是那么有用或不可颠破。
you can choose to drop them and continue with a lightness in your step down a road that you are creating for yourself now.
你可以选择适当的放弃他们然后用适合你自己的步伐照亮自己的未来。
7. learn to create a connection.
“good manners is the art of making those people easy with who we converse. whoever makes the fewest people uneasy is the best bred in the room.”
好的礼貌是可以使我们交谈的人更加容易接触的艺术。谁让更少的人感觉自然谁就是房间里的明星。

a big chunk of social skills seems to be making other people feeling comfortable and good about themselves. to create and exchange a stream of positive emotions.
一个很重要的社交技巧就是如何交流过程中如何让别人感觉舒服和自我良好。这时你需要创造和交流形成一个积极的情感氛围。
how do you go about doing that in a practical way? a few suggestions:
在实际交往中你准备怎么做那？几个建议：
· like yourself. i think this is very important because a person who likes him/herself is someone people find appealing. this is however not something that may be that easy for everyone. people may see themselves as ugly, stupid, poor or something along those negative lines.
a few tips that you can apply - over a longer time-period - is to stop comparing yourself to other people, taking tip # 3 in this article to heart and start looking at the positive in yourself and following the tip above and start weeding out old beliefs about life and yourself that doesn’t help you anymore. you can also check out 9 great ways to make yourself absolutely miserable for more stuff to avoid doing to yourself.

· 自信。我认为这是很重要的一点因为一个人自信了才能让别人感觉有吸引力。但是对每个人来说这并不是容易做到的。你可能会觉得自己丑陋，愚蠢，贫穷或者其他消极的方面。
你可以试试以下几点：看一下《不要和别人过多比较》，把文章中的第三条记在心里并且照着上面说说的建议开始摒弃那些关于自己和生活对你无益的信念。你也可以尝试阅读《9个让你痛不欲生的做法》了解更多而避免犯类似的错误。
· be interested in the other person. this one is connected to the previous point about liking yourself. because when you like yourself you don’t need other people to validate you all the time as you hog the spotlight. you may choose to stand in the spotlight, but there is less of a craving for it. and now it becomes easier to shift your focus from “me, me, me!” to the person you are talking to. it becomes easier to be genuinely interested and create a connection. have a look at five awesome and five awful conversation topics for more on this.

· 对别人表现出兴趣。这点和上一点相信你自己是有关联的。因为你自信了你就不需要感觉在别人眼里你是否是焦点。你会自己选择站在聚光灯下，但是你会感觉这根本没有必要。现在就需要把焦点从自己身上转换到你要交流的人身上，这样就会很简单的让别人产生兴趣获得交流。你可以尝试阅读《五点很棒的和五点很糟糕的谈话要点》了解更多。
· be warm, open and positive. well, people tend to like warm, open and positive people. and most people reflect back the behaviour they encounter. so creating such habits for yourself can go a long way in relationships with other people. a quick tip for going into an interaction in the right frame of mind is by assuming rapport.
· 热情，开放和积极。人们倾向于喜欢热情，开放和积极的人，并且人们会把他们这些精神因素反射回来。所以养成这些习惯将会对你以后和人们的交际大有裨益。进入交流你需要注意的一点就是你首先要在你的意思里创造融洽。

8. be open to the idea that you can always learn.
开放你的思想你就会一直进步
“no man was ever so completely skilled in the conduct of life, as not to receive new information from age and experience.”
在生活中没有人一直能对什么都应付自如，除非他不断从年龄和经历中不断吸取知识。
being open to this will open up your mind. if you think you know everything, great insights will just pass you by.
保持开放的心态就会开放你的思想，如果你以为你已经无所不知，那么深刻的见解就会错过。
by being open you’ll see, feel and learn things you wouldn’t otherwise. but be careful of focusing too much on learning from books, blogs etc. they have a place and can help you correct things may have done backwards for all of your life.
保持开放的思想你就会不断的感觉和学习知识。但是要注意你放在书本和博客上的精力。它们可以帮助你改正那些可能使你生活倒退的东西。
but the most important thing is to live. and to learn from your experiences. because it is there you find true understanding of things.
最重要的事情是学会生活，同时从你的经验里学习。因为正是在那里你才能学会生活的真谛。