英语美文朗读 第539期 This is courage

Knowledge. Strength. Wealth. Status. Excellence. Many different words, many different meanings, but they do share one important thing, and that is that they are all OUTCOMES.

 

知识，力量，财富，地位，卓越。它们是互不相同的词语，各自有不同的意义。但是，它们有一个很重要的共同点，那就是，它们都是结果。

 

They are not obtainable by themselves, just like an effect can't take shape without the cause that contributed to its materialization. They need something else. A seed, a root, a foundation.

它们自己本身都是难以获取的，这就好比说，没有起因，就不会产生结果。它们的出现，需要有别的事物才行，比如一粒种子，一条根，一个基础。

 

If excellence were the tallest building in your city, and you ripped it apart piece by piece, until only the core existed, only that foundation. What you would see, is COURAGE. Because courage is the thing that gives you a platform to build on.

如果，卓越，是你们城市里最高的建筑，你一层层把它剥开，直到你看到它的核心，它的基础。你将会看到的，就是，勇气。因为，勇气，是你做任何事的基础。

 

Every starting block is comprised of unknowns. Every endeavor, every journey, every time you start something new, you are by definition a rookie. You're at the bottom of some pecking order.

最开始时，一切，都是未知数。每次努力，每场旅途，每次你尝试新事物的时候，你都是个新手，你就在食物链的最底端。

 

And I want you to never be fearful of these situations, but to be THANKFUL for them. They're the roots that allow the tree to grow, and the only thing required for you to move forward is having the courage to say YES.

我想让你不要害怕这些，而是要对此心怀感激。它们是一棵树生长的根基。要想向前走，你只要做到一件事，那就是，勇敢地说，YES。

 

Life is opportunity. The world around you is opportunity. Some people close their eyes and ignore it. Others choose to see it. Courage is never closing your eyes. Everything around you is courage.

人生，就是机遇。你周围的世界，就是机遇。很多人，闭上自己的眼睛，把这一切忽略掉了。而其他人，选择看见这个事实。勇气，就是永远不要闭上自己的眼睛。你周围的事物，都是勇气的产物。

 

That building you're walking by. Someone had the courage to start that construction company. The music you are listening to. Someone had the courage to put their art out there, into the world, to embrace the critics, the naysayers, the envious. THEY DIDN'T STOP. And now their creativity is flowing out of your headphones and into your life.

你正在经过的那栋楼，它存在，是因为有人曾拥有勇气，去创办一家建筑公司。你正在听的音乐，它存在，是因为有人曾拥有勇气，把自己创作的艺术公开，让全世界都听得见这音乐，去面对所有的批评，诋毁，还有妒忌。就算如此，他们也不停止自己的脚步。如今，他们的创造力，正通过你的耳机，走进你的生活。

 

Courage is the understanding that simple and easy are very different words. It is incredibly simple to work harder than the person next to you. It is simple to make sacrifices, to move out of your comfort zone. You don't need to understand Einstein's theory of relativity to be able to do those things. Oh, but side note. They're insanely difficult.

勇气，就是明白，简单，并不意味着，容易。想比你身边的人更努力？这非常简单。付出牺牲，走出舒适区，这些都很简单。做这些事，你不需要明白爱因斯坦的相对论。但，提醒你一句，这些事情都非常困难。

 

At first, they will kill you inside. You'll be nervous, scared, self-conscious. Courage is the understanding that FEAR becomes PROGRESS, that being nervous transforms into excitement, and that what once ate away at you will become the fire that reshapes your life.

首先，它们会摧毁你的内心。你会感到焦虑，恐惧，尴尬。勇气，意味着，你要明白，恐惧会变成一个过程，焦虑会变成兴奋，曾经打败你的事情会变成你心中的火苗，重塑你的人生。

 

Allow yourself to stumble through the beginning. Let yourself fail. That guy running a 5 minute mile. At one point he ran it in 8. That woman worth a billion dollars. At one point was worth a million, 100K. Maybe she was broke.

最开始的时候，你要允许自己跌跌撞撞，允许自己失败。你看那个人，现在，他跑一英里，只需要五分钟，但，曾经，他要花八分钟才能做到。你看那个人，她现在身家十亿，但，曾经，她只有一百万，十万，也许她曾经遭遇破产。

 

It takes no courage to run the same speed your whole life. It takes no courage to stay stagnant. Courage is saying to yourself, I am worth more than I have now. I am faster than that stopwatch is showing, I am better than this grade reflects.

一辈子都保持同样的速度，不需要勇气。停滞不前，不需要勇气。勇气，就是告诉自己，我值得拥有更好的。我可以比现在跑得更快，我可以取得更好的成绩。

 

Courage is when your actions take on a life of their own. When they embody that winning mentality. When your friends, your peers, and the people in your life give you a hard time, because you are not the same person today that you were yesterday.

勇气，就是你自觉地做出行动。勇气，就是你的行动体现出胜利者的心态。勇气，就是当你的朋友，你的同伴，你生命中的人都来为难你，因为你做出了改变，这种时候，你还能勇敢面对。

 

Courage is smiling and moving forward. It's when the first setback comes, and the second, and the third, and the fourth, and you go straight through it. You adapt. You never lose sight of what you want.

勇气，就是保持微笑，继续前进。勇气，就是你遇到第一次挫折，接下来第二次，第三次，第四次，每次你都成功应对。你逐渐适应了一切。你一直都记得自己想要什么。

 

Courage is believing so strongly in your ability that you welcome discomfort today. Just so you can turn it into an advantage tomorrow.

勇气，就是你坚信自己有足够的能力，就算今天吃点苦，也没关系，因为只有这样，你才能利用这些挫折，把它们变成将来的优势。

 

Courage isn't listening to this, taking your quick blast of adrenaline into the living room and streaming Netflix. No, it's thinking about what you want more than anything else and driving toward it, one courageous step at a time.

勇气，并不意味着，听听现在这个音频，激动万分，然后跑回客厅去，继续刷剧。不，不是这样的。勇气，是要思考，你最想要的，是什么，然后朝着它努力。一步步地走，每一步都走得很勇敢。

 

That is courage.

这，才叫做勇气。