英语美文：想提高生活质量应该精简的11个方面

2014-07-11 16:16:36来源：新东方网

　　Ever heard the statement less is more? Is that a reality in your life or is that an area you are struggling with? Below are 11 different areas you can look at in your life to start to reduce as you focus on building a better life.

　　应该都听过“少而精”这种说法吧?这是你的生活现实，还是某个你正在努力达成的方面呢?你可以对照自己的生活看看以下11个方面，然后开始精简，努力创造更美好的生活。

　　Your Stuff

　　你的物品

　　I call it stuff vs possessions. Stuff is what adds clutter in your life. It could be shoes, curios from the cute store in your town or excess appliances you need to throw out but never do. What is it that is overtaking your house that if you moved away you wouldn’t need it at all? Plan a Sunday afternoon throw out session. If throwing out doesn’t sit right then give it away to goodwill.

　　我说的是“物品”，而非“财产”，物品使生活杂乱。这既可以是鞋子、从城里精品店买的小摆设，也可能是你应该扔掉但从未舍得的多余电器。是什么霸占了你的屋子，并且如果扔掉也并不可惜?腾出一个周日下午，处理掉这些物品吧。如果扔掉有些可惜，那就好心捐出去。

　　Your Acquaintances

　　你认识的人

　　How many people are you interacting with throughout the week that don’t leave you feeling good about yourself? Who inspires you? Spend time with those people. Too often we keep people in our lives that we are no longer a fit for. Having too many old acquaintances adds to the excess in your life. If the relationship isn’t a win-win for you both then take a step back and focus on those that do.

　　你每周要接触多少给你带来消极情绪的人?想想谁又能给你鼓励?请多跟这样的人相处吧。我们常常把那些不太合拍的人留在身边太久。老熟人太多，生活也越有负担。如果对双方而言都不是双赢关系，那么请退出一步，把精力放在能够带来双赢关系的人身上吧。

　　Your Goals

　　你的目标

　　Motivated to write out your list of goal for the next month or 3 months? That is awesome. Just a few works of caution. Don’t write down too many. Often people write down over ten goals. The brain can only remember so much and the reality is you won’t get to them all. I suggest you look at your goals with the mindset of single digits. No more than ten, but ideally less than five. Keep the list focused and realistic.

　　你斗志昂扬，要列出下个月甚至后3个月的目标清单?这确实很不错，但还是要提醒你几句。目标不要列太多。一般人们会定下10个以上的目标。大脑只能记住这么多目标，但现实是你不可能实现所有目标。建议你还是将目标控制在个位数以内，不要超过10个，最好少于5个。让目标专一并且容易实现。

　　Your Commitments

　　你的承诺

　　A new favorite buzz saying in the self-help world is “No is the new Yes”. Take a moment to think about that saying. If you started saying no more how would your week and life look? Would you have more time to commit to the important goals and people in your life? Start to practice saying No when a request comes your way that you don’t want to do. If that feels too harsh try responding with these words “Let me get back to you”. Go away and come back with a no when you are in stronger mindset to say that.

　　最近在自助方面有个很受欢迎的说法叫“否定即另一种形式的肯定”。用心思考一下这句话吧。如果你大部分时候都在说不，生活会变得怎样?你是不是会有更多时间用来努力实现重要目标，或和重要的人相处呢?遇到你不想做的要求时，请试着说不吧。如果太难开口，那就回答说“我等等再答复”，等你打定了主意，回头再表示拒绝。

　　Your Multitasking

　　同时处理多项任务

　　I am giving you permission to stop multitasking. We used to be told that multitasking was a good practice. We look so busy and aren’t we getting a lot done? In fact, no. Multitasking isn’t possible with the way our brain is wired. We need to focus on one key thing and keep our attention on that item until it is complete.

　　我允许你不再同时处理多项任务。以前人们常说，多任务化是个好习惯。我们看上去忙忙碌碌，但任务是否都能完成呢?其实并非如此。当大脑迷糊乱套时，多任务化根本行不通。我们需要专注在一件重要任务上，一心一意直到任务完成。

　　Your Newsfeed

　　你的信息源

　　I consider all the information from the Internet that is being feed into our smartphone, laptop and brain as “the newsfeed.” It doesn’t add to having more knowledge, it adds to information overload. Build time in your day or week when you are completely offline. I recommend turning your wireless off or setting your smart phone to airplane mode.

　　我把所有发送到手机、笔记本电脑和大脑的网络信息归类为“信息源”。信息源并不能增长我们的知识，却只会使我们信息过量。如果你能做到完全下线，每天或每周会多出不少时间。我建议你断开无线网络，或者把手机调到飞行模式。

　　Your Cards

　　你的积分卡

　　Open up your wallet and take a look inside. What is in it? For most of us it is more than one store, charge or loyalty card. Too many cards add to extra spending, bills and lack of clarity of where our money goes. Look at what cards you truly need and use. Get rid of the rest (scissors work!).

　　打开钱包看看里面都有些什么吧。很多人钱包里不只有一家商店积分卡。太多积分卡会刺激额外消费，造成更多账单，也会使我们稀里糊涂不知道钱都花哪去了。找出自己确实需要使用的卡，然后处理掉其他的(剪刀可以派上用场!)。

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