You’re scared of the future. Admit it. You always have been. In middle school, you were scared of all your friends going to different high schools and never speaking to each other again. (You were right. Living in a different school district spelled death for many tween friendships but you survived it, didn’t you?) In high school, you were fearful of college, of moving away and adjusting to ‘adult life” (LOL at you for thinking college resembled anything close to adult. At best, it was a very expensive summer camp that lasted for four years!) but then, would you believe it, you did that too. You stuck it out, never dropped out, never buckled under the pressure. Your future quickly became your present and you didn’t run away screaming.
你害怕未来。承认吧。你一直都是。初中时，你害怕你的朋友们全部去了不同的高中，从此不再有机会见面了。（你是对的，住在不同的学区这件事宣告了很多青少年友谊的结束，但是你熬过了这些，不是吗？）在高中，你害怕大学生活，害怕离开家去适应所谓的“成人世界”(你认为大学里的一切都代表着成人世界其实很可笑。最多，它也只是一场很贵的持续四年的暑期夏令营。)但是那时候，你能相信吗，你其实可以征服这一切。你坚持下来，你没有退学，你从没被压力打倒。你那时的未来迅速的成为你的现在，但你并没有尖叫着逃开。
Now you’re scared of what exactly? Your friends marrying and leaving you behind, of once a month catch up lunches with someone you used to call your best friend, of not finding somebody to love you in time and missing out on these so-called important life changes, of being the only one in the room who wants another drink, of getting fired and being taken back to the dreaded feeling of post grad unemployment, of your limbs failing you, of your anxiety keeping you frozen, of never feeling enough pride in your answer when someone asks you “What do you do for a living?” at a party?
现在你到底在害怕什么？是你的朋友们结婚了，剩下了你？是每月跟你曾经最好的朋友的例行午餐，或是迟迟没找到一个爱你的人所以只能独自面对那些所谓的重大人生转折？是成为房间里唯一一个想喝不同饮料的人？是被解雇然后重新回到刚毕业时那种找不到工作的恐惧状态中？是你的手臂不够有力量？是可怕的焦虑？还是在聚会上被问起‘你做什么工作？’时无法给出让你感到骄傲的答案？
Yes, okay, I see your point. Those are valid fears. Those would be things that keep you up at night. But here’s something to consider the next time your fears lead to insomnia and your brain becomes a personal torture chamber: all of those fears you had in the past, those “vintage” anxieties that kept you up in 2004, where are they now?
好，我明白你说的这些。这些确实令人害怕。它们也许会让你在晚上难以入睡。但是下次你的恐惧再导致你失眠或者让你的脑子备受折磨时，你可以想想这些：所有你过去曾有过的恐惧，那些在2004年让你无法入眠的已经“过时的”焦虑，现在它们在哪？
That’s right, they’re gone. You killed all of them. You got over it. You lived.
对，它们消失了。你消灭掉了它们。你战胜了它们。你生存下来。
I’ve never been a Zen type of person. Quite the opposite, actually. I’m always thinking far ahead, planning and taking the necessary steps that will lead me to where I need to go. It’s a hellish way to live because you’re incapable of enjoying anything in the moment and are, in a way, permanently dissatisfied.
我不是禅宗的信徒。相反的，事实上，我总是提前计划和考虑未来的事情，为了实现目标采取必要的步骤。如果你不能享受当下的美好，永远都处于不满意的状态当中，这将是一种相当可怕的生活方式。
“Where you need to go.” Think about what that even means. It indicates a discontent with your present life, a desire for something else. But, honestly, the kinds of people who are always talking about “where they need to go” are the ones who will never be happy with anything in their life. There will always be another high to reach, a new destination to go to. And if that’s the case, if you can’t even enjoy things as they’re happening to you, what the hell is the point of even existing? You’re never going to sit back one day and be like, “Yup. This is exactly where I need to be. I’m done searching now.” Life will always be about needing that unattainable something else in order to complete the puzzle. It’s a crutch, an excuse to be unhappy and not go after what you want. “I’ll have time to date when this happens, I’ll be better and happier when I can move out of this apartment’ blah blah blah. Stop fooling yourself. Your misery is not circumstantial, it’s a permanent state of being.
“你想要去哪里。”想想这句话的含义。它表明你对当下生活并不完全满意，还期待着一些其他的东西。但是，老实说，那些总是把“你想要去哪里”挂在嘴边的人，在他们的生活中永远得不到快乐。前方永远都有新的高峰等待我们攀登，新的目的地等待我们抵达。但是如果你不能从你生活里发生的事情当中寻找乐趣，那它们存在的意义是什么？你永远都不可能在某一天坐下来说：“对，这就是我想要去的地方。我可以停止往前走了。”生活总是需要你不断去追求一些你还没有得到的东西。这句话是一种慰藉，是一个你允许自己不开心，允许自己不去追求想要的东西的借口。你告诉自己，“等时机到来的时候我一定会有时间去约会的，等我搬出这套房子我就会开心很多的”等等等等。停止这些自我欺骗吧。你的悲剧不是环境带来的，它是你一直以来的生活状态。
The best gift you could give to yourself is perspective and the ability to enjoy today without worrying about tomorrow. Take your anxieties on bit by bit, thus making everything more manageable, and realize that your future is not out to murder you. It’s not a shadowy ghost figure wielding a chainsaw.
你可以给自己的最好的礼物是对未来的展望，是停止为明天忧虑而享受今天的能力。一点点释放你的焦虑，让一切更可控，记住你的未来并不会伤害你。它并不是一个挥舞着锯链的魔鬼。
Besides, the only way you can ensure having a good future is by living a good present. That’s it. That’s the secret to getting exactly what you want out of life. So start paying attention to what’s going on around you. Otherwise, you might miss everything and give yourself a real reason to be unhappy.
再说，唯一能确保你有一个光明未来的方法是拥有美好的现在。就是这样，这就是你过上理想生活的秘诀。所以开始注意你的身边正在发生什么吧。否则，你就会错过一切，这才是你应该不开心的理由。
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