英语故事:如何做你一直想要做的事

【英文原文】

I’m willing to bet that there’s something you’ve always wanted to do.

It could be that you’ve always wanted to write a novel.  Maybe you want to visit Africa or want to see the Northern Lights.  Perhaps you’d love to open a little coffee shop or brasserie in your neighbourhood or maybe you’ve had brainwave for a neat little product that just might change the world.

You’re not alone.  We all have things we dream about and things we’d love to do, and it’s rare that these things ever see the light of day.

Fear steps in – sometimes in the guise of practicality and sometimes wearing the hat of playing it safe – and provides all kinds of reasons why you can’t have what you want.

So you persuade yourself that it’s a pipe dream and that it could never actually happen because you wouldn’t know where to start, couldn’t afford it and it probably wouldn’t work anyway.  You lose faith in your ability to make your dream reality, and lose a little faith in yourself in the process.

The tragedy is that the more you apply a filter to what you wish for and train yourself to think small, the less confident you become in your ability to do anything that matters very much.  Worse than that, you set yourself tiny dreams that aren’t hard to reach, and you reach them.

But hang on a second. What if those big things were possible?  What if you really could make some or all of it happen?  What if it turned out that you did have what it takes to see something special come to life?  Wouldn’t that be something you’d leap at?

Here are my 3 steps to doing what you’ve always wanted to do.

1. Open it up
First of all you need to do some leg work.  Investigate what might be needed to get going, look for resources that can inform and help, seek out other people who might have done something similar and talk to those who’ve been there, done that.

There’s no risk here – it’s simply learning about what’s involved, picking up the key strategies that have been used successfully before and gathering together the ideas and resources that you believe will help you to get things moving.

Write down all the questions you have about what you want to do and then go answer them.  It’s possible that as you open things up you find that the reality isn’t what you expected and that it isn’t really your thing after all.  That’s fine – now you know.  But the opportunity to answer the questions you have and fill in those blanks is invaluable, and you might just find yourself getting pretty darn excited about what you’re discovering.

2. Make your choice
You’ve opened it up and answered a heap of questions you had – now you need to make your choice.  There are 2 ways to help with this decision making.

Look at what really matters to you, not what doesn’t matter. If engaging with this project is something that really resonates with you then listen to that.  If you’ll grow and get enjoyment out of doing this, no matter how it turns out, then listen to that.  Don’t let any fears you have squash and stamp on what matters.
Consider where your priorities are and what might need to change. You have other things going on (your family, finances, career, hobbies, relationship, etc) and you need to be clear about what’s at the top of your list.  You need to figure out what compromises you’re willing to make in terms of the time and energy you have available, and you need to figure out the boundaries and deal breakers of your priorities.  You might find that your priorities are such that now isn’t the right time to get going with this, but that doesn’t have to be the end of it.  Just figure out what criteria needs to be satisfied for you to start.
Once you’ve figured those 2 things out, make your choice and commit to it. That commitment is what will carry you through, and it’s an attitude and a way of behaving that shapes your experience and behaviour as you go forwards.

3. Do one thing
When you’ve made your choice to start, do one thing today.  Just one thing.  Then do one more thing tomorrow.

That’s all.

Do one thing, then another, then another (no matter how big or small) and you’ll make progress.  By doing just one thing a day you’ll be 365 steps forward a year from now.  Don’t get overwhelmed with the apparent size or complexity of what you’re tackling.  No task is bigger than your capability and you just need to chunk it down into bite-sized pieces and tackle each one in turn.

And if something doesn’t turn out the way you expected or hoped, don’t sweat it.  You have the next day to try things a different way or tackle things from another direction.  You’ll never be able to control how everything turns out so don’t beat yourself up – just keep checking where you are, making your choice and taking another step.

These 3 steps can be applied universally to do the things you’ve always wanted.  So tell me, what do you want?

【中文译文】

我愿打赌：有些事你一直想去做。

有可能你一直想写一部小说，也许你想游览非洲或者想去看北极光，或许你想在你家附近开一家小咖啡馆或啤酒店，又或许你曾灵机一动想出一件极佳的小产品，而那恰恰有可能改变世界。

你不是唯一一个这样的人。我们都有梦寐以求的东西和想要去做的事情，但这些事却很少得以实现。

恐惧的介入——有时以实用性作伪装，有时打着谨慎行事的幌子——为你不能得到你想要的提供了各种各样的借口。

因此你说服自己：那不过是个白日梦，永远不可能实现，因为你不知道从哪里开始、负担不起或者总之是可能不会成功。你对你实现梦想的能力失去信心，并且在这过程中对你自己失去一点信心。

悲剧就是你越是筛选你的愿望训练自己思考更小的事情，你越是对自己做关系重大的事情的能力信心不足。更坏的是：你给自己设立了很小的不难达到的目标，并且达到了。

但是等一下，要是那些大事是可能的呢？要是你真的能够实现部分或全部呢？要是原来你真的具有能使某特殊的事得以实现的能力呢？这不会是你能欣然接受的吧？

如何做你一直想要做的事？以下是我的三步法。

1. 开始行动

首先你需要做一些情况调查工作。研究开始行动可能需要什么，寻找能够提供信息和帮助的资源，找出可能做过类似事情的人，与那些到过那里、做过那些事的人交谈。

这没有风险——这只是学习有关知识，获得曾经成功运用过的关键策略，收集那些你认为有助于使工作开展起来的想法和资源。

写下所有与你想做的事情有关的问题，然后一一回答。可能当你开始做的时候，你发现事实并不是你所期待的，最终发现那不是你真正想要的。这很好——现在你知道了。但是回答这些问题和填那些空格的机会是无价的，你可能只是发现自己对正在发现的一切感到极其兴奋。

2. 做出选择

你已经开始行动了，回答了一堆问题——现在你需要做出选择。有2个方法有助于做决定。

     ·关注对你事关紧要的，而不是不紧要的。如果使用这一方法能与你产生共鸣，那就用这个方法吧；如果这么做让你感觉是一种享受，无论结果如何，那就用这个方法吧。不要让你的任何恐惧搞垮关系重大的事。

     ·考虑事务的优先顺序以及何事可能需要修改。你还有其他事情要做（你的家庭、财务、事业、业余爱好、人际关系等等），你要清楚什么是你的头等大事。你需要弄清楚以你所有的时间和精力，你愿做什么样的妥协；你还需要弄清楚设置优先顺序的界线和关键因素。你可能会发现你的事务的优先顺序是这样的，现在不是开始做这件事的合适时间，但这并非就是最终结果。只要弄清楚要满足什么标准你就可以开始行动。一旦你弄清楚了这2件事，就做出你的选择并全力以赴。这种全力以赴的精神会帮你度过难关，这是一种态度和行为方式，在你前进的过程中形成你的经验和习性。

3. 做一件事

当你决定开始的时候，今天做一件事。只做一件事。然后明天做另一件事。

就这样。

做一件事，然后另一件，然后另一件（无论大小），这样你会一步步前进。通过每天只做一件事，一年后你就前进了365步。不要被你要处理的事情表面上的规模和复杂性征服。没有任务比你的能力还大，你只需要把它分成一个个容易解决的小任务然后依次处理。

如果一些事结果并非你所期待或希望的，别担心。第二天你可以尝试用另一种方法或从另一个角度来处理事情。你永远不可能控制事情的结果，所以不要烦恼——只要坚持查看你做到了哪一步，做出选择并采取另一个措施。

这3步可广泛应用于做任何你一直想要做的事。那么告诉我，你想要什么?