七大自我奮鬥黃金原則助你成就完美人生

人的一生是學習的一生，禍兮福兮，起起伏伏。我們從成功中總結經驗，從失敗中汲取教訓，不斷奮鬥是生活的常態，少走彎路是永恆的盼望。如何少走彎路？煉心乃是根本，一切皆由心出。七大黃金原則助你成就完美一生。

Want to know how to change your life, achieve pretty much anything, and make yourself rich to boot? There is a huge “self help” industry out there eager to help you do it.

想知道如何改變自己的一生，如何獲得非凡的成就，尤其是，如何提升自己的身價嗎？介紹一項偉大的“自我奮鬥”計劃，助你實現自己的夢想。

I bump up against this world frequently when researching and writing about lifelong learning, and I have to admit a bit of a love-hate relationship with it. On the one hand, so much of the advice that gets peddled seems hackneyed, poorly written, and derivative of concepts already established hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago.

我做終生學習方面的研究，寫這方面的文章，憤筆疾言鍼砭時弊是常有的事。我承認，對此我是愛恨交加。一方面，時下流行的有關終生學習方面的建議數量不少，卻都是陳詞濫調，文筆拙劣，照搬起碼是數百年前的老觀點。

On the other hand, there is obviously a deep human need to return again and again to the issues and concepts that pervade self-help literature. Some current writers do a very good job of returning to these issues and examining them in a fresh way. And I have to assume that many people do learn and grow from it – or at least try. Repetition, as they say, is the Mother of learning.

另一方面，人類顯然在內心深處有一種需求，想要一次次地去回顧那些有關自我奮鬥的論說中無所不在的問題和概念。現在有些作家這方面做得很好，不單是重拾這些問題，而且從全新的視角審視這些問題。我確實覺得，很多人從中學到了東西，並且因此而進步了——或者，至少是付出努力了。正如他們所言，重複是學習之母。

So, I started thinking about the key themes and lessons that seem to show up in the self-help literature with which I am familiar. Knowledge of them can certainly be of use to the average lifelong learner.

故此，我開始思考那些我所熟悉的此類論說中的關鍵課題。瞭解這方面的知識，對一般的終生學習者而言無疑是很有用的。

Here are the seven that strike me as most fundamental. It seems to me that most other themes or habits fall into one of these seven buckets.

其中，有七大原則我認爲是最基本的，其它課題（或習慣）大都可以歸爲七大原則之一。

1. Desire 理想

This is almost always #1 in the standard self-help literature. If you want to achieve “it,” you have to really want it. More importantly, with very few exceptions you must be conscious of the fact that you want it and you must be very clear about what it is. When it will happen, what it will look get the picture.

有關自我奮鬥的各種論說中，該原則幾乎總是位居榜首。欲取之，必先欲之。更重要的是，大多情況下，你必須確信自己有此理想，而且必須清楚是何理想，何時產生，有何特性等，你要能描繪出來。

2. Authenticity 真我
While most self-help literature is about change – changing your life, becoming a different person – it is almost always rooted in the notion that you have to “know yourself” (or know thy self, depending on how far back you go) and be yourself if you want to succeed and be happy in your success. Make sure the “it” that you desire aligns with who you truly are.

雖然大多數有關自我奮鬥的論說都在講改變——改變你的一生，做個全新的人等，但幾乎都植根於一個理念：如果你想成功並快樂着，你就要“瞭解自己”（或者說了解本我，這要看你對自己瞭解有多深），並且要堅持做你自己。記住，你的理想和你的真我相輔相成，並行不悖。

3. Drive 動力

As the old saying goes, “If wishes were horses, beggars could ride.” It is one thing to want something; it is another thing entirely to have the will to get it. Motivation plays a starring role in self-help literature, and for good reason: very few of us come equipped with self-sustaining will power. Closely related concepts like being “pro-active” and persistent come into play here.

古諺有云：“理想若是馬，乞丐都能騎。”有理想是一回事，有決心實現理想是另一回事。自我奮鬥論中，動力是奮鬥成功的主要因素，理由很充分：很少有人有足夠的意志力。類似的概念還有積極向上、持之以恆等。

4. Discipline 自律

You can want it and have the will to pursue it, but you still need to cultivate and practice appropriate, consistent habits if you expect to succeed. It is important to remember that “discipline” derives from the Latin “disciplina,” meaning teaching or learning. Desire and drive alone do not add up to discipline. It must be learned.

你有理想，也下定決心追求理想，但你還需要培養於你有益的行爲習慣，並持之以恆堅持下去，你纔有可能獲得成功。一定要記住，英文中“自律”（discipline）一詞源於拉丁語詞“disciplina”，意爲自我教育，既有“教”，也有“學”。自律並非理想和動力的簡單相加，必須依靠後天習得。

5. Reflection 自省

Reflection is arguably one of the key habits of discipline, but it also serves to counteract mindless discipline. In short, it is an important enough concept in self-help literature to stand on its own. Achieving your goals requires being conscious and thoughtful about how you are performing along the way. Doing so enables you to appreciate your progress and also to adjust as needed

自省是自律原則中的關鍵因素之一，這點無可非議，但跟無意識的自律又不一樣，自省強調有意識的一面。簡言之，在自我奮鬥的論說中，自省原則自成一體，非常重要。想要達到目標，就應該做個有心人，隨時關注自己的進展，這樣才能對其合理評價，適時調整。

6. Connections 人際關係

While self-help literature by its nature tends to be very focused on the individual, I can't think of a single example I have come across that doesn't also emphasize the importance of our connection to others.

自我奮鬥論本質上往往強調個人的奮鬥，但我想不到任何一個自我奮鬥成功的案例能隔斷個人與他人的聯繫。

Among other things, connections may help you enhance your own abilities – as in the concept of the “master mind” pioneered by Napoleon Hill (and represented earlier in Ben Franklin’s “junto”). They may help keep you accountable – as is common in 12-step groups. Or, they may help you reconcile yourself with the past – by saying thank you to those who have had a positive impact on your life, for example, as is so common in “happiness” literature.

別的不說，人際關係首先會幫你提高自己的能力，拿破崙·希爾（Napoleon Hill）首倡的“大師”概念中包含了這個觀點（本傑明·富蘭克林（Ben Franklin）在18世紀創立的費城俱樂部“Junto”中也曾提及）。人際關係也會幫你樹立責任感，這在12步戒酒者聚會組織（參見12 Step Groups 網站）中很常見。人際關係還會幫你接受自己的過去，比如，向那些曾經對你人生有積極影響的人表示感謝。論述“幸福”的文獻中，這樣的例子比比皆是。

7. Faith 信仰

I don't necessarily mean “faith” in a religious sense – thought certainly there is a great deal of self-help literature with a religious orientation. All of the self-help literature I have encountered posits a “higher power,” whether that is a “God” in a religious sense or something more ethereal. I also place concepts like “making your own luck,” “attitude,” and “resilience” in this bucket because each is rooted in the notion that things somehow work out if you simply believe they will.

這裏的“信仰”並不一定帶有宗教色彩，儘管很多的自我奮鬥論說確實具有宗教傾向。我所讀過的自我奮鬥論著中，無一例外宣揚“至高權力”，要麼是宗教意義上的“上帝”，要麼就是某種虛無縹緲的神靈。我認爲“信仰”還應該包括“把握自己的命運”、“態度”、“精神復甦”等概念，因爲這些概念的實質都是隻要有信，就有可能。

回帖話題：Here's a challenge to readers: Where have you found any or all of these concepts expressed most meaningfully for you? And what am I missing? Please comment and share your sources! 最後給我們的讀者提兩個問題：上述七大原則中，你認爲哪些最有意義？是否還有我沒考慮到的地方？歡迎大家各抒己見。