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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
How to Break Out of Your Comfort Zone
Over time, we all gather a set of constricting1 habits around us—ones that trap us in a zone of supposed comfort, well below what our potential would allow us to attain2. Pretty soon, such habits slip below the level of our consciousness, but they still determine what we think that we can and cannot do—and what we cannot even bring ourselves to try. As long as you let these habits rule you, you’ll be stuck in a rut.
Like the tiny, soft bodied creatures that build coral reefs, habits start off small and flexible, and end up by building massive barriers of rock all around your mind. Inside the reefs, the water feels quiet and friendly. Outside you think it’s going to be rough and stormy. There may be sharks. But if you’re to develop in any direction from where you are today, you must go outside that reef of habits that marks the boundaries of your comfort zone. There’s no other way. There’s even nothing specially3 wrong with those habits as such. They probably worked for you in the past. But now it’s time to step over them and go into the wider world of your unused potential. Your fears don’t know what’s going to be out there, so they invent monsters and scary beasts to keep you inside.
Nobody’s born with an instruction manual for life. Despite all the helpful advice from parents, teachers and elders, each of us must make our own way in the world, doing the best we can and quite often getting things wrong. Messing up a few times isn’t that big a deal. But if you get scared and try to avoid all mistakes by sticking with just a few “tried and true” behaviors, you’ll miss out on most opportunities as well. Lots of people who suffer from boredom4 at work are doing it to themselves. They’re bored and frustrated5 because that’s what their choices have caused them to be. They’re stuck in ruts they’ve dug for themselves while trying to avoid making mistakes and taking risks. People who never make mistakes never make anything else either.
It’s time to pin down the habits that have become unconscious and are running your life for you, and get rid of them. Here’s how to do it:
1. Understand the truth about your habits. They always represent past successes. You have formed habitual6, automatic behaviors because you once dealt with something successfully, tried the same response next time, and found it worked again. That’s how habits grow and why they feel so useful. To get away from what’s causing your unhappiness and workplace blues7, you must give up on many of your most fondly held (and formerly8 successful) habits. and try new ways of thinking and acting9. There truly isn’t any alternative. Those habits are going to block you from finding new and creative ideas. No new ideas, no learning. No learning, no access to successful change.
2. Do something—almost anything—differently and see what happens. Even the most successful habits eventually lose their usefulness as events change the world and fresh responses are called for. Yet we cling on to them long after their benefit has gone. Past strategies are bound to fail sometime. Letting them become automatic habits that take the controls is a sure road to self-inflicted harm.
3. Take some time out and have a detailed10 look at yourself—with no holds barred. Discovering your unconscious habits can be tough. For a start, they’re unconscious, right? Then they fight back. Ask anyone who has ever given up smoking if habits are tough to break. You’ve got used to them—and they’re at least as addictive11 as nicotine12 or crack cocaine13.
4. Be who you are. It’s easy to assume that you always have to fit in to get on in the world; that you must conform to be liked and respected by others or face exclusion14. Because most people want to please, they try to become what they believe others expect, even if it means forcing themselves to be the kind of person they aren’t, deep down.
You need to start by putting yourself first. You’re unique. We’re all unique, so saying this doesn’t suggest that you’re better than others or deserve more than they do. You need to put yourself first because no one else has as much interest in your life as you do; and because if you don’t, no one else will. Putting others second means giving them their due respect, not ignoring them totally. Keeping up a self-image can be a burden. Hanging on to an inflated15, unrealistic one is a curse. Give yourself a break.
5. Slow down and let go. Most of us want to think of ourselves as good, kind, intelligent and caring people. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes it isn’t. Reality is complex. We can’t function at all without constant input16 and support from other people. Everything we have, everything we’ve learned, came to us through someone else’s hands. At our best, we pass on this borrowed existence to others, enhanced by our contribution. At our worst, we waste and squander17 it. So recognize that you’re a rich mixture of thoughts and feelings that come and go, some useful, some not. There’s no need to keep up a fa?ade; no need to pretend; no need to fear of what you know to be true.
When you face your own truth, you’ll find it’s an enormous relief. If you’re maybe not as wonderful as you’d like to be, you aren’t nearly as bad as you fear either. The truth really does set you free; free to work on being better and to forgive yourself for being human; free to express your gratitude18 to others and recognize what you owe them; free to acknowledge your feelings without letting them dominate your life. Above all, you’ll be free to understand the truth of living: that much of what happens to you is no more than chance. It can’t be avoided and is not your fault. There’s no point in beating yourself up about it.
What is holding you in situations and actions that no longer work for you often isn’t inertia19 or procrastination20. It’s the power of habitual ways of seeing the world and thinking about events. Until you can let go of those old, worn-out habits, they’ll continue to hold you prisoner. To stay in your comfort zone through mere21 habit, or—worse still—to stay there because of irrational22 fears of what may lie outside, will condemn23 you to a life of frustration24 and regret.
If you can accept the truth about the world and yourself, change whatever is holding you back, and get on with a fresh view on life, you’ll find that single action lets you open the door of your self-imposed prison and walk free. There’s a marvelous world out there. You’ll see, if you try it.
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1
constricting
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| 压缩，压紧，使收缩( constrict的现在分词 ) | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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3
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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4
boredom
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| n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊 | |
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frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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blues
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| n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐 | |
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8
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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addictive
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| adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的 | |
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nicotine
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| n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱 | |
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cocaine
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| n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂） | |
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14
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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15
inflated
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| adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨 | |
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input
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| n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机 | |
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17
squander
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| v.浪费，挥霍 | |
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18
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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19
inertia
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| adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝 | |
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20
procrastination
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| n.拖延，耽搁 | |
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21
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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22
irrational
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| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
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23
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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24
frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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