双语美文：终身受益的9种自我提高法

 　　Already run one mile aday? Why not try seven?

　　你已经在每天一公里长跑了?为什么不试试一天七公里呢?

　　What makes someone uncomfortable depends on the person, but what's universally true is the value of recognizing boundaries and continually pushing them.

　　让人们感到不适的事情因人而异，但有一条普遍性的原则，即认识到自己能力的界限并不断挑战自己的界限，这是非常重要的。

　　Here are some uncomfortable things that other Quora users have found helped them grow:

　　下面是一些知乎网上的网友提供的事例，这些事情做起来让他们不舒服，却也帮助他们成长。

　　1.Question everything

　　质疑周遭的一切

　　The most uncomfortablething one can do is to question everything that is taken for granted and seek answers. Try to see the other side of the norm.

　　最让人不适的事情就是质疑一切被人们习以为常的事情，并且去寻找答案，尝试去认识常规事物的另一面。

　　2.Be honest

　　保持诚实

　　Being the most honestyou've ever been with someone in your life will be one of the most uncomfortable things you can do, but it could also be the most valuable.

　　在你生活中遇到的某人面前保持前所未及的诚实态度，这也将是你做过的最令人难受的事情之一。不过它也可能成为最有价值的一件事。

　　To do this, hesuggests writing a list of all the people to whom you have something -good orbad -to say; writing down the honest feelings you need to convey to them in aletter; handing the person the letter; and writing down what happened and howthe experience affected¹ you and the other person.

　　为了做到这一点，你应该列一张清单，写下那些你对他有话要讲的人的名字，无论你想说的是好事还是坏事;用最坦诚的言语将你的感受写在信里传达给他们，亲手将信交给对方，将你所谈及的事情对你对他的影响写下来传达给他。

　　3.Wake up extremely early

　　起床超级早

　　Ekin ?calan loves towake up before sunrise because it provides the perfect study-and-workenvironment. While everyone else sleeps, waking at 5 a.m. is the perfect, wayto begin the day in silence.

　　有网友非常喜欢在日出之前起床，这段时间往往是学习工作的最佳时段。在凌晨5点，别人都还在睡觉的时候你已经起床，让你的一天从完美的静谧中开始，这种感受非常美妙。

　　4.Watch your pennies.

　　看住自己的钢镚儿

　　From auto² repairs andlife insurance to coffee and french fries, keep track of every penny you spendfor several months.

　　从自动修理机到咖啡、薯条等基本生活物资，给你所花的每分钱记个账，坚持几个月。

　　And try paying foreverything you can with cash. If you have to reach in your wallet and pull outcash, you will often think twice about how much you need something.

　　试着在买任何东西的时候都用现金支付。当你在买东西的时候，一旦你需要把手伸进口袋，取出现金，你就会慎重考虑你是否真的需要它了。

　　5.Track what you eat

　　记下你吃过的食物

　　Keeping track of allthe food you eat and all the exercise you do in a day can be challenging, butthis helped one web user see the harm she was doing to her body.

　　记录下你一整天里吃过的所有食物以及做过的锻炼活动，这会是一项挑战。可是这样做让一位网友了解到了，她曾对自己的身体造成怎样的伤害。

　　"I didn't realizehow little of some nutrients³ I was getting and how much sugar and fat I wasgetting daily until I started to do this regularly," she writes.

　　“过去我从未意识到自己每天摄取的营养多么少，吃下的糖分和脂肪多么过量，直到我开始每天做记录。”她写道。

　　6.Eat only nutritiousfood

　　只吃有营养的食物

　　After you track yourfood, start eating only what is truly nutritious⁴ — This will change your lifeforever.

　　记录下自己的每日饮食之后，开始做到只吃真正有营养的食物吧——这样做会永远改变你的生活。

　　This will be uncomfortable for a number of reasons: It's hard; it's socially limiting; itcan be more expensive if you are used to eating off the dollar menu; it's notas tasty when you start, and it takes more time.

　　你会感到不适，有很多原因：做到这件事很难;它会让你的社交生活受限制;你的开销会比过去吃快餐的时候大得多;刚开始的时候，你感到这些食物并不可口，又要花更多时间准备。

　　But the outcome is100% worth the effort. "Being a weird⁵ health nut and out performingeveryone else is so much more fun than blending in -and that's not just athletically⁶. It's mentally as well."

　　可是你所得到的收获绝对值得你这样付出。“做一个坚持健康饮食的傻瓜，比其他任何人都注重健康，这样做比跟其他人一起吃垃圾食品要好得多——这不仅对你的身体有益，对你的大脑也有益。

　　7.Practice publicspeaking

　　练习在公众面前演讲

　　It may be scary tothink about, but you never know when you may be called upon to speak in public.Practice, while daunting⁷, is the key to improving your communication skills.

　　这件事想想都让人害怕，可你永远都不知道什么时候会被叫到去台上讲话。多加练习——尽管你会很紧张——是提高你的口头表达能力的关键。

　　It's scary as helluntil you realize that everyone around you feels the same.

　　你会吓得要死，直到你发现，其实身边每个人都和你的感受一样。

　　8.Accomplish an almostimpossible goal

　　完成一个几乎不可能达到的目标

　　The most uncomfortablething you can do is to set and achieve a goal that's harder than something you'veever done before.

　　给自己定下目标，要做到一件比你做过的任何事都困难的事，然后真的达成目标。这可能是最让你感到不适的事情。

　　To do that, think about a thing you're comfortable doing every day and amplify⁸ it until you getto a point where you become really scared of doing it. If you run a mile everyday, the idea of running seven might terrify you. Set this as your one-yeargoal.

　　为了做到这一点，可以设想一件自己每天都做并且应付自如的事情，然后将它的难度增大，直到你感到自己对它感到颇为恐惧。如果你每天可以跑一公里，努力每天跑七公里的目标可能会吓到你。可以将它设为你的年度目标。

　　9.Pick just one thingto master at a time

　　每次只选择一件事情并完成它

　　Your approach to self-betterment might be trying as many things as possible and seeing what works. But using theopposite tactic⁹, though uncomfortable, is key.

　　或许你提高自己的方法是，试着完成很多很多事情，越多越好，看看自己能做到哪一件。然而，用一种相反的策略才是完成这些事情的关键，尽管这会让你感到不适。

　　If you're constantlychanging interests, you're never going to discover your own internal progress.So pick one thing and become progressively committed to mastering it. Itdoesn't matter what it is, anything will do, as long as you do.

　　如果你想做的事总是在变幻，你永远不会察觉到自己内在的进步幅度。所以你应该选定一件事，下定决心，一步一步地完成它。这件事是什么不重要，任何事情都可以，只要你真正去做。

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

5 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

6 athletically   

adv.竞赛地，运动比赛地，具运动员风范地

参考例句：

• Tall, athletically built, but with a slight, shy stoop to his shoulders. 高个子，运动员身材，但有点轻微的水蛇腰。 来自互联网
• She does not hate sports on TV, she is athletically biased. 她不讨厌体育频道，只是对运动有些偏见。 来自互联网

7 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

8 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

9 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。