Thinking about Your Life 思考生活

　　How many times have you heard the expression that most people spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning their lives. I would expand that expression by adding that most people spend more time "thinking" about their vacation than they do thinking about what’s important in their life.

　　While rest and relaxation¹ are a must in living a balanced life, it’s not what we were created to do. After all, the Master Creator took his RR (Rest and Recreation) on the seventh day, only after six days of "definitely directed thought."

　　Wallace D. Wattles, wrote "There is no labor² from which most people shrink as they do from that of sustained and consecutive³ thought; it is the hardest work in the world." And yet it is the first and primary labor of achievement.

　　What is your life’s purpose or your personal mission statement? Is it written down? Do you review it and think about it often? Is your life organized around your purpose and a set of goals that support that purpose?

　　Without purpose and goals - definitely directed thought - you are like the proverbial "ship without a rudder." There is power in your purpose and in your goals. It is the power that takes you over obstacles, the fuel that propels you toward the life you envision.

　　你有多少次听到大多数人总是在谈论如何度假，而不是规划生活本身。而且，很多人总是在“想着”度假，而不去想生活中重要的事情。

　　尽管休闲和放松是平衡生活的必需品，然而我们活着并不是为了这些，造物主把休息日放在第七天，放在“明确直接的构思”的日子之后。

　　华莱士·D·沃特尔斯写道：“没有任何一种体力劳动能使大多数人畏缩不前，但持久连续地思考却能做到这一点；它是这世界上最困难的工作。”却也是为取得成功所做的首要和基本的劳动。

　　你的生活目的和人生使命是什么呢？你把它写下来了吗？你是否重新审视过，经常思考这件事呢？你的生活都是围绕这个目标进行的吗？你是否设置一系列小目标来实现这个大目标呢？

　　缺乏志向和目标（明确直接的构思），你就会像谚语中说的“无舵之船”。志向和目标给人以动力，帮你克服困难，推动你驶向理想的彼岸。

　　单词解析：

　　1.relaxation n. 松弛，放松，消遣

　　His day is evenly divided between work and relaxation.

　　他一天的时间一半花在工作上，一半用在娱乐上。

　　2.consecutive adj. 连续的

　　We shall have meetings on two consecutive days, Monday and Tuesday.

　　3.proverbial adj. 谚语的，如同谚语的，众所周知的

　　He is the proverbial square peg⁴ in a round hole.

　　他正是谚语中所说的那种方枘圆凿不得其所的人。

　　4.envision vt. 想象，设想

　　But the competition of man against man is not the simple process envisioned in biology.

　　但是人反对人的竞争不是象生物学中所想象的那种简单过程。

1 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

4 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。