你的年度主题：英语精读讲义

Did you set a New Year's resolution for yourself?

你给自己定下新年决心了吗？

How's that going?

进展如何？

I don't know when in the year you're watching,

我不知道你是在一年中的什么时候看这个视频，

but if I had to bet on the status of your resolution, 語法

但如果要我对你新年决心的状态打赌，

it's probably not flourishing,

它可能并没有蓬勃发展，

but failed or foregone.

而是失败或被放弃了。

This is usually what the effort curve on resolutions looks like.

新年决心的努力曲线通常是这样的。

If New Year's is new to you,

如果新年对你来说很陌生，

you are forgiven for not knowing,

你不知道也情有可原，

but come on,

但拜托，

this isn't your first resolution rodeo. 習語

这已经不是你第一次搞“新年决心”这种把戏了。

You've been here before,

你以前经历过，

saddled up to a resolution,

给自己套上一个新年决心，

gotten thrown off in short order, 短語搭配

很快又被甩下马，

only to come back next year to pick a buck of a different color, 語法

结果第二年又选了一匹不同颜色的野马，

or worse,

或者更糟的是，

the same.

选了同一匹。

Riding, rolling, retreating, returning.

骑马、打滚、撤退、重来。

year after year after year of your unchanging life

年复一年，你一成不变的生活，

until a disappointed reaper calls time. 習語

直到失望的死神叫停。

New Year's resolutions suck.

新年决心糟透了。

Human behavior change is really hard,

改变人类行为真的很难，

and the resolution rodeo,

这种“新年决心”把戏，

this is not the way.

不是长久之计。

Instead,

相反，

to accomplish what you want out of resolutions,

为了实现你想从新年决心得到的东西，

positive life change,

即生活发生积极的改变，

but in a better way,

同时也用一种更好的方式，

allow me to suggest a gentler idea. 語氣意圖

请允许我提出一个更温和的建议。

Give yourself a theme.

给自己设定一个“主题”。

Instead of setting yourself up to fail with 短語動詞

与其给自己设定一个注定会失败的目标，比如

I'm going to lose X pounds by next year

“我明年要减重 X 磅”

or I'm going to read one book a week at least,

或是“我每周至少要读一本书”，

a theme would be something like

主题应该是像这样的东西：

year of reading or year of health.

“阅读之年”或“健康之年”。

Now, if that sounds a bit broad,

如果这听起来有点宽泛，

that's the point.

那就对了。

For some things,

对于某些事情，

precision matters.

精确很重要。

For others,

对于另一些事情，

it doesn't.

则不然。

And when trying to build yourself into a better version of yourself,

当你试图让自己成为更好的自己时，

exact data points don't matter.

精确的数据点并不重要。

All that matters is the trend line. 語法

唯一重要的是趋势线。

If the trend is going in the right direction,

如果趋势正朝着正确的方向发展，

so are you. 語法

那么你也是。

Just moving a trend from negative to positive is hard enough

单单把趋势从负面转为正面就已经够难了，

without defining falling short of a goal as failure. 短語動詞

何必把没达到目标就定义为失败呢。

Heck,

见鬼，

even just decelerating the negative is a positive. 表達脈絡

哪怕只是减缓负面趋势也是一种积极表现。

Is there something you want more of in your life?

你的生活中有没有什么你想要更多的东西？

Something you want less of?

或者你想要更少的东西？

Well, life is a branching path, 習語

嗯，生活是一条充满岔路的小径，

and it's the trend of your decisions,

正是你决定的趋势，

some big, but mostly small,

一些大决定，但大多是小决定，

that will get you to more or less.

将带你走向更多或更少。

Stuck in a queue?

在排队时被卡住了？

What to do?

该做什么？

Well, if it's the year of reading,

那么，如果这是“阅读之年”，

why not open the book 語氣意圖

为什么不翻开书，

instead of opening the anything else? 語法

而去打开其他任何东西呢？

That's it.

就是这样。

You were at a branch and went one way

你在岔路口选择了一条路，

instead of the other.

而不是另一条。

Having a theme is like creating a friendly bot to follow you on the path, 表達脈絡

有一个主题就像是创建了一个友好的机器人，在路上跟随着你，

to help notice branches and consider choices with you,

帮你注意岔路，陪你一起考虑选择，

reminding you to be a little different in little moments sometimes.

提醒你有时候在小细节上做点不一样的。

An example,

举个例子，

one year my theme was novelty.

有一年我的主题是“新奇”。

I felt like things had become too same-y. 用詞

我觉得生活变得太一成不变了。

rather than resolve, 語法

我没有下定决心说，

I'm going to do N new things per t time,

“我要在T时间内做N件新事情”，

it was just year of novelty.

它仅仅只是“新奇之年”。

So, when it made sense,

所以，在合理的时候，

why not try the new instead of the known? 語法

为什么不尝试新事物，而不是已知事物呢？

It's the year of novelty.

这是新奇之年。

Now, I didn't go crazy,

当然，我并没有走极端，

but that time was more novel than normal.

但那段时间确实比平时多了些新奇感。

Mission accomplished.

任务完成。

A good theme can't fail

一个好主题是不会失败的，

because just having a theme-bot along will point out paths

因为只要有一个主题机器人在身边，就会为你指出

you wouldn't have noticed otherwise, 語法

那些你本来注意不到的路，

which will start to change you.

这将开始改变你。

More on that in a moment. 表達脈絡

稍后会详细讲。

In picking a theme,

在选择主题时，

go with something that has a nice broad name 短語動詞

选一个有个好听且宽泛名称的东西，

for the general direction you want to navigate your life.

用来代表你想引导生活走向的大方向。

And it is navigation.

这就是导航。

The diverging paths of life are hidden under the fog of the future. 習語

生活中分岔的小路隐藏在未来的迷雾之下。

You can't plan the route and then fail to follow it

你不可能规划好路线然后再因为没跟上而判定失败，

because there is no map,

因为根本就没有地图，

and unseen obstacles await.

还有未知的障碍在等着你。

At any moment,

在任何时候，

you are where you are 習語

你都在你所在的位置，

and can only navigate from there.

并且只能从那里开始导航。

Perhaps you started a year of health

也许你开始了一个“健康之年”，

focused on weight loss or gains

专注于减肥或增重，

before realizing there's a more foundational problem. 語法

后来才意识到存在一个更根本的问题。

You haven't failed.

你没有失败。

It's still year of health.

这仍然是健康之年。

The broadness of a theme allows its meaning to change. 語法

主题的宽泛性允许它的含义发生改变。

You started out wanting to read more books,

你一开始想读更多的书，

but maybe as you went on,

但也许随着时间的推移，

you realized academic papers are where it's at, 習語

你发现学术论文才是重点，

or that reading reading just doesn't work for you,

或者“阅读文字”对你来说根本行不通，

and listening reading is the way to go. 習語

“听书”才是你的最佳选择。

You're still on theme. 短語搭配

你仍然切合主题。

The theme can change because so will you.

主题可以改变，因为你也会改变。

Having a theme,

拥有了一个主题，

you will notice paths you didn't before.

你就会注意到以前没注意过的路。

This gets you to think about your thinking, 表達脈絡

这让你开始思考你的思考方式，

and thinking about your thinking changes your thinking,

思考你的思考方式会改变你的思考方式，

which changes who you are.

从而改变你这个人。

So, a broad theme allows its meaning to adapt with you

所以，一个宽泛的主题允许它的意义与你一起调整，

without the guilt of having failed to meet the goals of a past you who doesn't exist anymore. 用詞

而不必因为没有完成一个已不复存在的“过去的你”所设定的目标而感到内疚。

I did year of order for a while,

我曾有过一段“秩序之年”，

but what order meant to me at the end was different from the start, 語法

但最后“秩序”对我的意义与刚开始时完全不同，

and that's fine.

那也没关系。

So, themes should be broad, 表達脈絡

所以，主题应该要宽泛，

directional,

具有方向性，

but most importantly,

但最重要的是，

resonant.

要能产生共鸣。

Resonance is a physics phenomenon where if you have a glass and tuning forks of different sizes,

共鸣是一种物理现象，如果你有一个玻璃杯和不同尺寸的音叉，

bringing the right sized humming tuning fork near the glass

把发出嗡嗡声的尺寸合适的音叉靠近玻璃杯，

makes it hum the same note.

会使它发出同样音调的嗡嗡声。

Words are tuning forks for the brain. 習語

词语就是大脑的音叉。

When picking a theme,

在选择主题时，

you're looking for a word or words that cause your brain to vibrate in resonance.

你要寻找一个或几个能让你的大脑产生共鸣振动的词。

I've been talking about themes for years and getting people to try them. 語法

多年来我一直在谈论主题，并鼓励人们去尝试。

Here are some of the words I've seen people use.

以下是我见过大家使用的一些词。

The details of what they mean to anyone don't matter.

它们对每个人的具体意义并不重要。

What matters is if there's something that strikes you, 用詞

重要的是，是否有什么东西打动了你，

calls out to your brain. 短語動詞

呼唤着你的大脑。

That is resonance.

那就是共鸣。

So, pick a broad directional phrase that resonates with you and run with it. 講解

所以，选一个能引起你共鸣的、宽泛且具有方向性的短语，然后坚持下去。

Your brain and the theme will make it work.

你的大脑和这个主题会让它发挥作用。

Now, if this seems very hippy dippy, 用詞

现在，如果这听起来很虚无缥缈，

lovey dovey,

卿卿我我，

huggie wuggie, fuzzy wuggie, that's fine.

软软糯糯、模模糊糊，那也没关系。

Not all tools need sharp edges. 習語

不是所有的工具都需要锋利的边缘。

I think of it this way, 表達脈絡

我是这样想的，

you should be trying to build a life you want to live,

你应该尝试去建立一个你想过的人生，

and themes are a fuzzy, high level,

而主题是一种模糊的、高层次的、

longer term way to navigate your brain at a broad area of change.

较长期的指引大脑在广阔的改变领域中导航的方式。

Smaller and specific-er are the systems in life you might want to set up. 用詞

那些更小、更具体的，是你可能想在生活中建立的系统。

Below that are the targets those systems might or might not generate, 語法

在那之下，是这些系统可能产生、也可能不会产生的目标，

and at the most concrete and sharp is the action or decision current you is currently taking.

而最具体、最锐利的，是你当前正在采取的行动或决定。

This level of detail is perhaps a story for another time, 短語搭配

这种层级的细节也许留到下次再说，

but creating a theme is the bigger and broader to guide the smaller and shorter. 語法

但创建一个主题就是以“更大更广”来指导“更小更短”。

Lastly,

最后，

you may have noticed the examples were all year of thing, 語氣意圖

你可能注意到了，这些例子都是“某某之年”，

but that's mainly because I've been trying to gently introduce you to the idea.

那主要是因为我想温和地向你介绍这个概念。

Resolutions are a year,

新年决心是按年算的，

why not swap them for a theme instead? 短語搭配

为什么不把它换成一个主题呢？

But if you're still here,

但如果你还在听，

a year is way long. 用詞

一年的时间实在太长了。

Again,

重申一次，

fog of the future.

未来的迷雾。

A season is a nice human length of time.

一个季度对于人类来说是个很不错的时间长度。

In a winter of learning,

在一个“学习之冬”里，

you can learn a lot,

你能学到很多东西，

but you do need to get started

但你确实需要开始行动，

because it's also not so long as to feel forever. 語法

因为它的时间也不至于长到让你觉得遥遥无期。

Nature's clock ticks on, 習語

大自然的生命时钟滴答作响，

reminding you that flowers bloom but briefly, 表達脈絡

提醒你花儿虽然绽放，但总是短暂的，

the summer sun will wane,

夏日的阳光终将退减，

leaves eventually drop,

树叶终会落下，

snow falls,

降雪，

and snow melts,

雪融，

and flowers bloom but briefly.

花儿虽然绽放，但总是短暂的。

You can be unchanging through all that,

在这一切中，你可以保持不变，

but whenever you are,

但无论你处于什么状态，

if you've never had a theme,

如果你从未有过主题，

give yourself time to find one that resonates with you

给自己一点时间找一个能与你产生共鸣的主题，

and try it out in the coming season. 短語動詞

并在即将到来的季节里试一试吧。