5 Easy Things You Can Do Today That Will Noticeably Improve Your Life
2012年在忙忙碌碌中就要结束了，当我们想利用假期，静下心来做些回顾和反思时，总会发现，我们的空闲时间早被各种各样的信息和理论塞得满满的———-比如，减肥妙方啦，如何提高生产效率啦，怎样改善家庭关系啦，等等。要提升自我，外界因素固然有一定作用，但真正有效的方法来自源头——你自己。自我提高的过程是持续一生一世的，而且对一些人来说，这个任务还相当艰巨。不过，只要你从今天 不，从现在就开始，你做5件小事儿，你就会看到明显的效果。没有必要非等到明年1月1日才正式立下”新年鸿志“，你只需利用12月份剩下的一两个星期做些事情，就能给”自己“送上一份“新年大礼”——心灵的宁静。
Josh Linkner;Dec 17, 2012
1. 重燃热情之火
As we wind down a busy 2012 and take time around the holidays to reflect, it can quickly become overwhelming, with so many differing theories on ways to lose weight, increase productivity and improve family relationships. While external factors have their place, the only true way to improve yourself is to start at the source: you. Self-improvement is never over, and for some of us, the task is daunting. However, there are few easy things you can do today – right now – that will have a noticeable impact. No reason to wait until January 1 to set an official “new year’s resolution” when you can do a few things with a couple of weeks of December left; this holiday season, give yourself the gift of peace of mind.
不管什么事情让你觉得很带劲儿，你就让给它再加把火。进厨房露两手是不是很开心呀，那好，叫上你想要加深了解了邻居，发个电子邮件给你的同事，给你最近经常错不开时间见面的大学时的死党打个电话——你要请他们来你家美食一顿。赛车是不是让你觉得像个百万富翁？ 那就带上你的儿子，去参加全美赛车协会举办的赛车活动，或者，跟儿子一起玩电子赛车游戏。与你的另一半有点疏远？那再重新点上蜡烛，诚诚恳恳地再浪漫起来吧。你的生活中越充满激情，你就越有创造力。
Reignite your passion. Whatever deeply moves you, set it on fire. Cooking gets you going? Call the neighbor you’ve been meaning to get to know better, email your colleagues, and call up your college buddy whose schedule just hasn’t matched yours lately – you’re hosting a dinner party. Car racing makes you feel like a million bucks? Take your son to a NASCAR race, or play his car/driver video game with him. Feeling frazzled and disconnected with your significant other? Rekindle the romance! Seriously. The more passion you have in your life, the more creative you’ll be.
可供我们阅读的精彩的书和文章简直太丰富了，就如同我们每个晚上都能够同一位杰出的思想领袖促膝谈心。你不必花大量时间，每晚只需用上20分钟读书，就可以10倍地扩展视野，这是多好的事儿呵。
Read more. There are so many amazing books and articles readily available for us all to consume. It’s like having the ability to sit down with an incredible thought leader every single night. What a joy. Dedicating 20 minutes nightly to reading will expand your horizons ten-fold, without a huge time commitment.
3. 列一个表，写下你要感谢的人
Write a gratitude list. The more we can connect with our deep appreciation for all the good around us will help us conquer all the challenges we face. If you’re reading this, it means you have a computer (and chances are, that means a roof over your head and clothes to keep you warm this winter). There’s a lot to be thankful for, and writing everything down makes it readily apparent.
环顾周围，让我们感恩的东西其实很多，它们能赋予我们力量去战胜生活中的一切困难。如果你能够读到我这篇文章，那就意味着你拥有一台电脑（还可能意味着，你头上有瓦，身上有衣，让你在这个冬天里很温暖）。把你感激的东西一项项写下来，让它们更清清楚楚地展现在你眼前。
Do a random act of kindness. The more you give, the more you will receive. I know it sounds fluffy and cosmic, but it actually works. Improving someone’s day makes yours better. If you’re walking back to the office with leftovers from your lunch meeting and someone asks if you can spare anything, give him your lunch. He’ll have a meal in his belly and you’ll have warmed your own heart by helping.
付出越多，收获越多。这听来似乎有些空泛，但却是事实。如果，由于你的付出，让某个人的某一天变成美好，你自己也一定快乐。如果你从午餐聚会上打包了些菜肴，在回办公室的路上，有人问你是否可以给他点吃的，那就送给他。他的肚子里有了食物，你的心里就有了快乐——因为你帮助了别人。
Seek honest feedback. Sometimes our weaknesses are not as apparent to ourselves but very clear to others. Ask people for direct advice and you will find the most important things to work on. When confronted, you might realize that your tardiness to morning team meetings bothers your boss – it’s easy to set the alarm a bit earlier every morning, and voila – problem solved.
旁观者清。我们的弱点别人看得更清楚。征求别人的意见后，你就有事情做啦，而且是最最重要的事情。 从别人那里你才得知，因为公司的早会你常常迟到，让老板非常气恼。把你的闹钟调早一点儿，是不是轻而易举？，瞧，问题就解决啦。
It’s hard to stay on top of things when everything is moving at breakneck speed, but on one of these days off from work, figure out a game plan to improve your world. It starts with baby steps – easy things you can do that won’t break the bank, hurt your ego or take a tremendous amount of time. The beauty is there’s no “catch”: just start!
当一切一切都处于极速运行时状态时，你就很难抓住什么。所以，你可以利用一个假日，为自己制订一个改善生活的计划。像婴儿学步似地，轻轻松松做点事小事情——既不需要占用你大量的时间，也不会掏空你的钱袋儿，更不会损伤你的自尊。 妙就妙在，不必费什么劲儿，就可以行动起来！
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