成功是一种选择 Success Is a Choice

佚名/Anonymous

All of us ought to be able to brace ourselves for the predictable challenges and setbacks that crop up everyday. If we expect that life won't be perfect, we'll be able to avoid that impulse to quit. But even if you are strong enough to persist the obstacle course of life and work, sometimes you will encounter an adverse event that will completely knock you on your back.

Whether it's a financial loss, the loss of respect of your peers or loved ones, or some other traumatic event in your life, these major setbacks leave you doubting yourself and wondering if things can ever change for the better again.

Adversity happens to all of us, and it happens all the time. Some form of major adversity is either going to be there or it's lying in wait just around the corner. To ignore adversity is to succumb to the ultimate self-delusion.

But you must recognize that history is full of examples of men and women who achieved greatness despite facing hurdles so steep that easily could have crashed their spirit and left them lying in the dust. Abraham Lincoln overcomes a difficult child-hood, depression, the death of two sons, and constant ridicule during the Civil War to become arguably one of the greatest president ever. Helen Keller made an impact on the world despite being deaf, dumb, and blind from an early age. Franklin Roosevelt had polio.

There are endless examples. These were people who not only looked adversity in the face but learned valuable lessons about overcoming difficult circumstances and were able to move ahead.

我们每天都应该让自己做好准备，迎接可以预见的挫折和挑战。如果我们相信生活不可能是完美的，我们就能避免因一时的冲动而放弃追求。但即使你拥有坚强的意志，能够挺过生活和工作中的困难，有时你也会遭遇逆境，它将会在背后给你狠狠的一击。

不管是遭受经济损失，或是失去同辈及亲人的尊敬，还是遭受生命重创，这些重大挫折都会使你对自己产生怀疑，并且怀疑情况能否好转。

我们每个人都可能遭遇困境，而且这种情况时常发生。有些大灾难不是即刻发生就是在角落里等待时机。忽视逆境其实就是在欺骗自己。

但是你必须意识到历史上有许多事例都讲述了克服重重困难之后才获得成功的人。那些困难，足以粉碎他们的意志，让他们流落尘世。亚伯拉罕·林肯战胜了童年的困难、绝望，丧失两个儿子的痛苦以及内战中接踵而来的嘲笑，最终成为美国历史上无可置疑的最伟大的总统之一。海伦·凯勒早年双目失明，又是个聋哑人，但她还是对世界产生了巨大影响，而富兰克林·罗斯福则患有小儿麻痹症。

类似的例子不胜枚举。这些人不仅勇敢地面对困难，而且从中积累了克服困难的宝贵经验，然后勇往直前。

Choose a life of action, not one of ostentation.

—Nepos

要选择行动的一生，而不是炫耀的一生。

——内波斯

obstacle[ˈɔbstəkl]n.障碍

Her father's opposition remained only their obstacle.

她父亲的反对是他们唯一的障碍。

encounter[inˈkauntə]v.遇到；偶然碰到；遭遇

His encounter with the guard dog had completely unnerved him.

他遇上了警卫犬，把他吓坏了。

ridicule[ˈridikju:l]n.嘲笑；愚弄；笑柄

If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.

当孩子们生活在嘲弄的现实中时，他们学会了羞怯。

circumstance[ˈsə:kəmstəns]n.环境；状况；事件

Below most circumstance, the study should be very quiet.

大多数情况下，书房应该是十分安静的。

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我们每天都应该让自己做好准备，迎接可以预见的挫折和挑战。

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即使你拥有坚强的意志，能够挺过生活和工作中的困难，有时你也会遭遇逆境，它将会在背后给你狠狠的一击。

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有些大灾难不是即刻发生就是在角落里等待时机。忽视逆境其实就是在欺骗自己。

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All of us ought to be able to brace ourselves for the predictable challenges and setbacks that crop up everyday.

ought to：应当

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Helen Keller made an impact on the world despite being deaf, dumb, and blind from an early age.

make an impact on：对……产生影响

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