Habits are to your life pretty much what gas is to your car. They keep you moving along – but whether they carry you to a better place or not depends entirely on the habit.

習(xí)慣于你的生活正如汽油之于你的汽車一般,。它們促使你前行——但是它們是否會讓你更上層樓,，則不完全取決于這些習(xí)慣,。

Bad habits can hold talented people back while good habits carry less talented people on ahead.

壞習(xí)慣會使得能干的人止步不前，但好習(xí)慣則會引領(lǐng)不那么優(yōu)秀的人勇往直前。

Many, many posts can be written on bad habits (in fact, they have), but essentially, we’ll get rid of our bad habits when we’ve finally had enough of them. I don’t want to spend too terribly much time with bad habits in this post, I’d rather approach habits with another tactic.

關(guān)于描寫壞習(xí)慣的文章不勝枚舉（事實上,，他們確實如此）,，但是當我們已經(jīng)有足夠多的壞習(xí)慣時，我們基本上就擺脫它們了,。我不想在這篇文章里為了壞習(xí)慣浪費筆墨,，我想用另一種策略來探討它。

How about this? Let’s apopt so many great habits that we put the squeeze play on bad habits. I’m thinking that if we add about 10, that’ll leave less room for the bad crowd. I remember a television special about healthy eating that aired a few years ago. A nutritionist pointed out that if you fill your plate up with healthy vegetables and fruit, you actually get to eat more food. All you have to do is replace the unhealthy food with healthier alternatives – and you almost always get to enjoy more of the healthy food.

這樣說如何,？讓我們培養(yǎng)出很多的好習(xí)慣吧,，如此，壞習(xí)慣便失去了容身之所,。我想,，如果我們養(yǎng)成大概10個好習(xí)慣，那留給壞習(xí)慣的空間就少了呀,。我記得幾年前,，電視上播過一個關(guān)于健康飲食的特別節(jié)目。一個營養(yǎng)學(xué)家指出：如果你用健康的蔬果將餐盤填滿,，事實上你會吃得更多,。你所要做的只是將不健康的食物用更健康的選擇來替代——那你將總是吃到更多的健康食物。

The good squeezes out the bad, so you’re left with a double-sided win: You get rid of things that are bad for you and you make room for things that are good for you.

用好東西擠走壞東西,，如此,，你將獲得雙贏：你在脫離了壞東西的同時也為好東西留下了空間。

So what sort of healthy habits could we bring to our life’s plate? Below’s a buffet of suggestions, I know you’ll be able to come up with more. Come up with as many as you want, of course, but remember that “bite-sized” portions are always easiest to handle. Don’t put more on your plate than you’ll actually be able to eat!

那么我們應(yīng)該將哪種健康習(xí)慣放在我們生活的盤子中呢,？以下是一些建議,，我知道你自己還能想出更多的好習(xí)慣。盡可能多地提出你想要的好習(xí)慣吧,。但是請你牢記,，你想養(yǎng)成的好習(xí)慣的數(shù)量是最好控制的。別在那個盤子中盛放太多哦,，免得你不堪重負,。

Start getting up a little earlier.  I realize that when the weather’s cool it’s really tough to start getting up earlier.  The body wants to sleep later, for crying out loud!  But, I’ve been on both sides of the 6:00 am, and I can say without hesitation that every corner of your day will be better if you get a running start at it.  Also, the quiet hours of the morning are the perfect way to glide into your day.  Rushing around after being summoned by a hateful alarm clock isn’t good for the psyche.  Mornings just weren’t meant to be so hectic. 

1   從稍稍早起開始做起。我知道,，當天氣漸冷時,，開始稍稍早起確實很難。身體撕心裂肺地哭著想要睡得久點,！但我就曾在六點左右起床,。我可以毫不猶豫地說，要是你可以讓自己迅速進入狀態(tài),，你那天的生活的每一個細節(jié)都會變得更好,。同時,，清晨那寧靜的時光是你走進一天的絕佳路徑,。對于精神而言,，被惱人的鬧鐘聲鬧醒后橫沖直撞，可沒什么好處啊,。早晨不應(yīng)意味著忙亂,。

Read more.  When you open a book, you open your mind and literally pour knowledge into it.  Knowledge is power.  Knowledge is power.  Knowledge is power. 

2  多多閱讀。當你打開一本書的時候,，你亦打開了心胸,，而文字將知識灌輸?shù)侥愕膬?nèi)心。知識就是力量,。知識就是力量,。知識就是力量。

Laugh more.  Laughter is great for you – body and soul.  It doesn’t matter if anyone laughs with you, it doesn’t matter if anyone laughs at you.   Just laugh!  

3  多微笑,。笑聲對你的身體和靈魂都大有裨益,。別人和你一起笑也好，別人笑話你也好,，都沒關(guān)系,。盡管笑吧！

Complain less.  Starting tomorrow, do a little self improvement exercise:  Each time you feel tempted to say something negative, make yourself say something positive instead.  I’ve never understood why anyone would want to spread misery and gloominess.  I always wonder, “Do they hate life that much?”  

4  少抱怨,。從明天開始,，做一些提升自我的訓(xùn)練：每次你想說一些消極的話的時候，讓自己說一些積極的話來取而代之,。我真的不明白為什么有些人總想傳播痛苦和憂郁,。我常常很想知道：“他們真的有那么討厭生活嗎？”

Drink more water.  I read a lot of articles and books about health and there are several things they all agree on (the other is right on this one’s heels at #6!).  One of the things every physician, health expert, nutritionist, and great aunt tells us is this:  Drink more water.  There has to be something to it.    

5  多喝水,。我讀了很多關(guān)于健康的文章和書籍,，它們有幾點共同點。這其中有一個是醫(yī)生,，健康專家,，營養(yǎng)家，和祖母都建議我們的：多喝水,。這必須是有點道理的吧,。

Get at least 30 minutes of activity each day.  Bronchitis has had me in a choke hold for weeks, but I was feeling a lot better today. So I did some intense work around the house.  I expected to feel like I’d been hit by a bus afterwards, but I feel great.  I’ve been sitting and sipping soup for so long I’d forgotten how good it feels to be active. 

6   每天至少運動30分鐘。支氣管炎讓我?guī)字芤詠矶己粑粫?，不過我今天感覺好多了,。于是我在房子附近劇烈運動了一會兒。我累得像是被巴士從后面撞倒一樣,，但是感覺很不錯,。我在家宅了太久，喝湯也喝了很多天了，但是我可沒忘記運動的感覺有多好,。

Stop assuming people know how you feel.  Even if they have an idea, do you know how much it will mean to them if you tell them?   Most of us can recall certain things that our loved ones have said to us that meant the world.  In fact, the words meant so much that we still carry them around with us today.  Maybe it was a dad saying, “I’m SO proud of you.”  Maybe it was a mother telling us that we’re just the daughter/son she’d always hoped for.  Why is it that so often it’s when we’re in the middle of altercations that these sentiments come out?  Then, they’re often followed with a “But…”  Any sentiment followed by a but isn’t much of a sentiment!  This tactic is simply the art of putting conditions on the words.  They certainly aren’t the sentiments we carry with us.  It’s the ones that come out of the blue – not as a prerequisite to what all we’re doing wrong and not to soften any blows.  If you love someone, tell them every single day.  If you’re proud of them, tell them – WITHOUT BUTS! 

7   不要再設(shè)想他人是知道你感受的,。即使他們已經(jīng)知道，但你是否知道如果由你自己告訴他們,，這對他們而言將意味著什么,？我們中的大多數(shù)人能記起我們所愛之人對我們說的那些舉足輕重的情話。事實上,，那些話語對我們而言意義非凡,，我們至今都還記得。也許只是父親的一句：“我為你感到十分驕傲,！”也許是母親的一句“你就是我夢寐以求的女兒/兒子,。”為什么常常是在爭吵中，這些情感才涌現(xiàn)出來呢,？那時,，常常有一句“但是……”緊隨其后。任何跟有“但是”的情感都不完全是情感,！這種策略只是將事態(tài)言語化的藝術(shù)而已,。它們絕對不是我們擁有的情感。它們是憂傷的產(chǎn)物——而不能作為我們做的所有錯事的先決條件,，也不能緩和任何的打擊,。如果你愛某人，每天都對他們說“我愛你”,。如果你為他們感到驕傲,，告訴他們——但在那后面不要說“但是”！

Put yourself in time-out.   In the same way we put children in “time out” when they show signs of being stressed out or overly tired, we could benefit just as much.  Last week, my husband did something that I thought was pretty cute.  Our daughters and I were gathering in the living room to watch Survivor – a Thursday night ritual we’ve enjoyed for years.  I make the special snacks, then we all watch a show that never disappoints.  However, my husband had had a week from hell and a particularly long, stressful day – so he opted out.  He put himself in a sort of “time out” in our home office in a chair in front of baseball.  He sat quietly in his pajamas, reminding me of a 2 year old boy who was trying to calm down!  I thought about telling him that, but I just headed to the living room. (I wasn’t born yesterday.)  Sometimes our nerves just need to unravel and they can do that better when there isn’t a lot going on. 

8   給自己放個假,。當孩子們緊張或是展露疲態(tài)的時候,，我們就會讓他們休息一下。同理,，我們亦能從中獲得裨益,。上一周，我丈夫做了一些我覺得很可愛的事情,。我們的女兒和我一起在起居室里看《幸存者》節(jié)目,，——這是我們堅持了幾年的周四晚上必備節(jié)目。我做了一種特殊的甜點,，然后我們就一同觀看這個從未讓我們失望的節(jié)目,。但是，我丈夫剛過完無比煎熬的一周,，外加漫長又緊張的一天——于是他沒有參與進來,。他坐在書房的棒球前的一張椅子上,，讓自己得以休息一下。他身著睡衣，安靜地坐著，這讓我想起了一個試著冷靜下來的2歲男孩！我想告訴他，但我頭卻朝著起居室,。有時候我們需要卸下緊張，當沒什么事情發(fā)生的時候,，他們可以做的更好,。

Become a more aware and cautious driver.   My poor guardian angel must be a basketcase.  Not only am I accident prone, I’m one of the most ridiculous drivers on earth.  But, years ago, I began to slow down and drive oh so much more carefully when I looked around me to see my vehicle surrounded by future drivers.  They’re watching.  What do they see?  Even if there aren’t future drivers with you, paying attention to what’s going on around you can save lives at best, headaches at worst.  Texting while driving, speeding, road rage, playing mind games (“Oh, yeah, if you want to get on my bumper, I’ll just slow down… You wanna hit me? Why, you can just buy me a new car, sucker…”) - these are all things that can get you killed, hurt, ticketed, or arrested.  I don’t think we’re interested in any of those, are we? 

9   做一個更小心謹慎的司機。我可憐的守護天使一定是個四肢截斷的人,。我不僅很易遭遇事故,，我還是世上最滑稽的司機之一。但是,，幾年前,，我開始減緩車速，并且當我看到自己被新手包圍的時候更為謹小慎微,。他們都在看著呢,，他們看到了什么呢？即使你周圍沒有新手,，開車的時候注意路況也能在最大程度上拯救生命,，減少事故。開車時發(fā)短信,，超速,，交通暴躁情緒，玩猜心游戲（“噢,，耶,，要是你想撞上我的保險杠，我就減速……你想撞我,？為什么要這樣呢,，你直接給我買輛新車好了，傻瓜……”）這些都可能導(dǎo)致你喪命,，受傷,，被罰款，或是被逮捕,。我可不覺得誰會對這些感興趣,，不是嗎？

Be thankful.  People are filled to their eyeballs with negative thoughts and words lately – but we still have it amazingly good.  I know I don’t have to tell you that – but I’m pretty sure we all need a reminder every now and again.  I remember a shallow little wake up call I got one time while we were living in Florida.  I had put on a tank top and shorts and was complaining to one of my daughters (oh, heck to anyone who’d listen) about my arms.  They weren’t “tank top arms…” etc.  I was cutting them up pretty good.  Then we walked over to the beach and the first person I saw made me, literally, cry with shame.  She was around 20 and only had one arm.  I’ve never forgotten that day.  And I honestly don’t believe I’ve complained about my arms since.  Either of them.

10   不忘感恩,。現(xiàn)在的人們滿腦子都是些消極的想法和論調(diào)——但是我們還是活得驚人的滋潤嘛,。這點我不說你也知道——但是我很確定,，我們時不時需要被提醒一下。我記起我們住在佛羅里達時發(fā)生的一件讓我幡然醒悟的事,。那時我正穿著大背心和短褲向我的一個女兒（誰聽都會覺得夠嗆?。┍г怪业氖直邸Ｕf著它們可不是“大背心的袖子……"之類的言辭,。后來我停止了抱怨,，和女兒前往海灘。我在那見到的第一個人,，簡直要讓我羞愧地哭了,。她約莫20歲，只有一邊手臂,。那天令我畢生難忘,。從那之后，我再也沒抱怨過我的任何一邊手臂了,。