「英文好文」生活沒有意義？那就跑起來第5秒我就流淚了...－玩大陸の星座99不解釋！

從台北的天空看世界Orz英文第一名...這一幕讓所有人落淚了？！生活沒有意義？那就跑起來

英文學習

不想失去熱情，就去尋求挑戰，馬拉松就是其中之一

MPW內幕網絡是美國的一個在線社區，美國商界內外的一些大咖經常會在這裡及時回答與職業和領導力有關的問題。今天為大傢分享的是蘇黎世保險公司全球特種行業部門負責人勞瑞·巴雷在“你是如何保持進取心的？”這一問題下的答案。

大約幾年前，我決定去跑一次馬拉松。我平時一向喜歡跑步，但跑的距離都很短，隻是休閑性質的，既是為瞭鍛煉身體，也是為瞭在一天開始和結束的時候集中一下思緒。我日復一日地在同一個跑道上，跑著同樣的距離。這樣按部就班地跑瞭很多年之後，我突然厭倦瞭這樣的運動方式，需要其他什麼東西來保持我跑步的熱情。這時我心血來潮地想到瞭馬拉松。

在當今世界，人很容易就會失去幹某件事的熱情。因為等著我們去做的事情太多瞭，而用來管理這些事的資源又太少瞭，何況我們永遠沒有足夠的時間去做完每一件事。我們的待辦清單變得越來越長，壓力水平越來越高，所謂的“時間管理”也幾乎成瞭不可能的事情。因此，我們經常會陷入一個怪圈，日復一日地做著同樣的事情，從來不為生活增添些新的色彩，也不願去改變我們日常所做的事。在這些時候，人很容易就會失去激情，產生放棄的心態——哪怕是對於一些你曾經很喜歡的事情。

而這時，我們需要的就是一次挑戰。每個人的生活都需要目標，不論是在工作還是個人生活上。朝著某一個目標而努力，並且追求最終的成功，這是人類的本能。不管這個目標是升職加薪，是達到工作與生活的平衡，是更健康的生活方式，還是別的什麼。目標為我們提供瞭一些值得努力的東西，是我們奮鬥道路上的裡程碑。但是，雖然目標通常會促使我們集中精力去做一件事，然而真正激勵我們的東西，其實是挑戰。挑戰往往不是容易應對的事，它會檢驗我們的技能，考驗我們的毅力，挑釁我們的力量。挑戰可能會以各種形象和方式出現，它可能是肉體上的，智力上的，也可能是行為上的；可能是短期的，也可能是長期的；有可能是生活上的，也可能是職業上的。它將我們驅離瞭我們的舒適區，逼迫我們用一種全新的方式卻學習某一件事。它不再是待辦清單上的某一個未完成的事項，而成瞭待辦清單本身。時間管理也變成瞭積極地利用所有時間。最重要的是，所有挑戰有一個共同點——它們令我們變得比從前更強大。簡而言之，是挑戰激勵瞭我們。

在經過四個月的訓練後，我在2009年跑完瞭我的第一個馬拉松。這是我有生以來經歷的最艱難的挑戰之一。有時我甚至質疑自己，為什麼要給自己找這樣的罪受。但在那四個月的時間裡，我對我自身又有瞭全新的認識。在那段時間裡，我每天都以前所未有的激情穿上跑鞋。那次馬拉松結束後，我又開始迎接新的挑戰瞭——雖然每個挑戰都是全新的，並且各不相同，但它們對我的激勵卻並無不同。（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

The MPW Insiders Network is an online community where the biggest names in business and beyond answer timely career and leadership questions. Today’s answer for “How do you stay motivated?” is written by Lori Bailey, global head of special lines at Zurich Insurance.

Several years ago, I decided to run a marathon. I had always been an avid runner, but my running generally consisted of short, recreational runs to get some exercise and gather my thoughts at the beginning or end of a day. Day after day I would run the same loop, at the same pace. But after years of doing the same running routine, I began to get bored and needed something else to keep me engaged. That’s when the marathon idea came to me.

In today’s world, it’s very easy to be demotivated. It seems there are always too many things to be done, too few resources to manage them, and never enough time to accomplish it all. To-do lists grow longer instead of shorter, stress levels increase, and time management quickly becomes an overwhelming, if not sometimes impossible, task. As a result, we often fall into the trap of doing the same things day in and day out – never adding any variety or change to what we do. In times like these, it’s very easy to get discouraged and simply give up – even on those things which you used to once enjoy.

And that’s where the challenge comes in. We all need goals in life – both in business and in our personal lives. It is simple human nature that we all want to work towards something – a promotion, a better work/life balance, or even a healthy lifestyle – and ultimately to be successful. Goals provide us with important milestones and something to work for. But while goals often serve to keep us focused on a particular area, what truly motivates us is a challenge. Challenges aren’t meant to be easy; they test our skills, tap into our character and defy our strengths. They can take on all shapes and sizes and can be physical, intellectual or behavioral. They can be short or long-term, personal or career-oriented; they take us outside of our comfort zone and force us to learn something in a new and different way. Most importantly, however, challenges keep us engaged. It no longer becomes an item on the to-do list, but rather the to-do list itself. Time management turns into time embracement. But above all else, challenges all have one thing in common – they generally make us stronger than we were before we started. Simply stated, challenges motivate us.

After four long months of training, I completed my first marathon in 2009. It was one of the hardest challenges that I’ve ever taken on, and there were days when I questioned why I was putting myself through it. But I learned a lot about myself in those four months, and I was never more motivated to put on a pair of running shoes as I was during that time. I’ve since moved on to other challenges – each one new and different, but equally motivating.