Day 1: On Living the Hard Way

原文：

Day 1: On Living the Hard Way

MOTTO

Life’s easy when you live it the hard way… and hard if you try to live it the easy way.

​ —Dave Kekich

Part 01

Self-discipline means living your life the hard way: resisting temptations and instant gratification¹ , in order to receive bigger and better rewards in the future. It’s certainly easier to avoid all kinds of discomfort and indulge² yourself whenever you want, but in the end, all that you get from that approach is fleeting³ pleasure now at the expense of your future, which otherwise could have been much better.

Part 02

Consider a weak-willed person who, when faced with a challenge, immediately opts³ out. How likely is this person to achieve anything substantial⁴ in life if their primary⁵ value is to feel comfortable? How is this person going to manage a crisis that they must face? Even a relatively insignificant⁶ problem can become an insurmountable⁷ obstacle for a person who’s been living a sheltered⁸ life and always avoided what’s difficult or disagreeable⁹.

Part 03

Now contrast that with a person who voluntarily makes his or her life harder. They seek out¹⁰ and welcome challenges as opportunities to grow. Each self-imposed¹¹ affliction¹² strengthens them, so that fewer and fewer difficulties in life overwhelm them. Day by day, they immunize¹³ themselves against problems, precisely¹⁴ because they seek them out. When life deals¹⁵ them an unexpected blow¹⁶, they’re ready to handle it because — thanks to living their lives the hard way — they’re always ready for hardships.

Words

gratification¹

英/ɡrætɪfɪ’keɪʃn/ 美 /ˌɡrætəfɪˈkeʃən/

• 英：gratification n.
  a. state of being gratified;

  b. great satisfaction
  eg: Dull repetitious work gives no gratification;

  to my immense gratification he arrived on time

• 中：1.n. 满足;满意;喜悦
  2.使人满意之事;可喜的事物

• Eg: It is a gratification to know that …
  得知…实在是让人欣喜的事

• 拓展：synonymous： satisfaction；
  the act or an instance of satisfying

indulge²

英/ɪn’dʌldʒ/ 美 /ɪn’dʌldʒ/

• 英：indulge v.
  a. give free rein to
  eg: The writer indulged in metaphorical language;
  b. yield (to); give satisfaction to

  synonymous： gratify, pander
  c. enjoy to excess
  eg: She indulges in ice cream

  synonymous： luxuriate
  d. treat with excessive indulgence

• 中：vt. 满足；使沉迷于…；使高兴；纵容
  vi. 满足；沉溺；放任
  时 态: indulged, indulging, indulges

• Eg: I indulged in an orgy of housework.
  我整天埋在干不完的家务活儿里。

• 拓展：synonymous：

  pamper (vt. 纵容;宠;娇养), featherbed(vt. 满足；使沉迷于…；使高兴；纵容 vi. 满足；沉溺；放任), cosset(vt. 宠爱;娇养;纵容), cocker(vt. 娇养,溺爱,放纵), baby（vt. 把…当作婴孩看待, 娇养）, coddle（vt. 娇养；溺爱）, mollycoddle（vt. 娇养,宠坏）, spoil（溺爱, 宠坏）

fleeting³

英/'fliːtɪŋ/ 美/ˈflitɪŋ/

• 英：fleeting

  lasting for a markedly brief time；

• 中：1.adj. 飞逝的；转瞬间的
  2.v. 迅速移动（fleet的ing形式）

• Eg: We only had a fleeting glimpse of the sun all day.
  一整天我们只看到太阳露了一下脸。

• 拓展：synonymous： fugitive, momentaneous, momentary；a fleeting glance 快速一瞥

opts³

英/ɒpt/ 美/ɑpt/

• 英：opt v.
  a. select as an alternative;

  b. choose instead;

  c. prefer as an alternative
  eg: She opted for the job on the East coast

• 中：vi. 选择

  时 态: opted, opting, opts

• Eg: I became very rebellious and opted out.
  我的逆反心理增强，选择了退出。

• 拓展：synonymous ：choose, prefer

substantial⁴

英/səb’stænʃ(ə)l/ 美 /səb’stænʃl/

• 英：substantial

  a. consisting of or relating to substance
  b. not imaginary or illusory : REAL, TRUE
  c. IMPORTANT, ESSENTIAL

• 中：1.adj. 坚固的; 结实的
  2.大量的, 可观的
  3.重大的, 重要的
  4.实质的, 基本的, 大体上的

• Eg: The article is devoid of substantial matter.
  这篇文章缺乏实质性的内容。

• 拓展：synonymous：big, consequential, earth-shattering, earthshaking, eventful, historic, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, monumental, much, significant, tectonic, weighty

primary⁵

英/'praɪm(ə)rɪ/ 美/'praɪmɛri/

• 英：primary n.
  a. a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen

  synonymous： primary election
  b. one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird’s wing

  synonymous： primary feather, primary quill
  c. coil forming the part of an electrical circuit such that changing current in it induces a current in a neighboring circuit
  d. current through the primary coil induces current in the secondary coil

  synonymous： primary coil, primary winding

  primary adj.
  a. of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondhand

  • primary goals
  • a primary effect
  • primary sources
  • a primary interest

  b. not derived from or reducible to something else; basic
  a primary instinct
  c. most important element
  policemen were primary targets

  synonymous： chief(a), main(a), principal(a)
  d. of or being the essential or basic part

  synonymous： elementary, elemental
  e. of primary importance

  synonymous： basal

• 中：adj. 主要的；初级的；基本的
  n. 原色；最主要者

• Eg: This is the primary impetus behind the economic recovery.
  这是促使经济复苏的主要动力。

insignificant⁶

英/ɪnsɪg’nɪfɪk(ə)nt/ 美/ˌɪnsɪɡ’nɪfɪkənt/

• 英：insignificant adj.
  not significant

  such as：
  a. lacking meaning or import
  b. small in size, quantity, or number
  c. not worth considering : UNIMPORTANT
  d. lacking weight, position, or influence : CONTEMPTIBLE

• 中：adj. 无价值的, 无意义的, 无用的

• Eg: I know I am not your queen, I just your insignificant dogface.
  我知道我不是你的女王，我只是你眼里不起眼的小兵

• 拓展：synonymous：fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial, unimportant 均可表示“不重要”

insurmountable⁷

英/ˌɪnsə’maʊntəb(ə)l/ 美/ˌɪnsɚ’maʊntəbl/

• 英：insurmountable adj.

  a. not capable of being surmounted or overcome
  b. impossible to surmount

• 中：adj. 不可逾越的

• Eg: The age barrier appeared insurmountable.
  年龄障碍看来是无法逾越的

• 拓展：synonymous：insuperable, unsurmountable

sheltered⁸

英/ˈʃeltəd/ 美/'ʃɛltɚd/

• 英：sheltered adj.
  a. protected from danger or bad weather

• 中：adj. 受保护的；掩蔽的；免税的；为弱者提供方便的
  v. 庇护（shelter的过去分词）

• Eg: He sheltered himself behind a hedge.
  他躲在树篱后面。

• 拓展：synonymous：protected

disagreeable⁹

英/dɪsə’griːəb(ə)l/ 美/ˌdɪsə’ɡriəbl/

• 英：disagreeable adj.

  a. causing discomfort : UNPLEASANT, OFFENSIVE

  b. marked by ill temper : PEEVISH

• 中：1. adj. <正>①不合意的;令人不快的;讨厌的
  2. (人)不友善的;难相处的;暴躁的

• Eg:I have never seen so disagreeable a schoolboy!
  我不曾见过那样讨厌的学生

• 拓展：synonymous：acid, bearish, bilious, bloody-minded [chiefly British], cantankerous, dyspeptic, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, ornery, splenetic, surly均可表示“脾气坏”

seek out¹⁰

英/siːk/ 美/sik/

• 英：seek vt.

  a. to go in search of : look for
  b. to try to discover

  vi.

  to make a search or inquiry

• 中：1. vt. 寻找；探索；寻求；搜索

  2. vi. 寻找；探索；搜索

  时 态: sought seeking, seeks

• Eg: Don’t seek out only native English speakers.
  不要只去寻找英语母语者。

• 拓展：synonymous：cast about (for), cast around (for), chase (down), forage (for), hunt, look up, pursue, quest, search (for or out), shop (for)均可表示“寻找”

self-imposed¹¹

英/'selfim’pəuzd/ 美 /ˌsɛlfɪmˈpozd/

• 英：self-imposed adj.
  a. voluntarily assumed or endured

• 中：adj. 自己强加的;自愿接受的

• Eg: He returned home after eleven years of self-imposed exile.
  经历了11年的自我流放后他回家了。

affliction¹²

英/ə’flɪkʃ(ə)n/ 美/əˈflɪkʃən/

• 英：affliction n.

  a. a state of great suffering and distress due to adversity
  b. a condition of suffering or distress due to ill health
  c. a cause of great suffering and distress

• 中：n. 折磨；苦恼；苦难

• Eg: Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise.
  塞翁失马,焉知非福。

• 拓展：synonymous：adversity, hardship, hard knocks

immunize¹³

英/ˈɪmjəˌnaɪz/ 美/'ɪmjʊ’naɪz/

• 英：immunize vt.
  a. law: grant immunity from prosecution
  b. perform vaccinations or produce immunity in by inoculation

• 中：vt. 使某人免疫

• Eg: So our body become immunize through failure.
  我们的身体通过失败获得免疫力。

precisely¹⁴

英/prɪ’saɪslɪ/ 美/prɪ’saɪsli/

• 英：precisely adv.
  a. indicating exactness or preciseness
  eg: “he was doing precisely (or exactly) what she had told him to do”

  b. in a precise manner
  eg: “she always expressed herself precisely”

  c. just as it should be

• 中：1. adv. 精确地;恰好;细心地
  2. 对, 的确如此

• Eg: That’s precisely what I meant.
  那恰恰是我的意思。

• 拓展：synonymous：accurately，exactly

deals¹⁵

英/diːl/ 美/dil/

• 英：deal n.

  a. a particular instance of buying or selling

  v.

  a. take action with respect to (someone or something)

• 中：1. vt. 发牌；处理；给予；分配

  2. vi. 处理；做生意；对待；讨论
  3. n. 交易；份量；待遇；（美）政策

  时 态: dealt dealing, deals

• Eg: Deal with a man as he deals with you.
  以其人之道, 还治其人之身。

blow¹⁶

英/bləʊ/ 美/blo/

• 英：blow n.
  a. a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon

  blow v.

  a. exhale hard

• 中：1. n. 吹；殴打；打击

  2. vi. 风吹；喘气

  3. vt. 风吹

• Eg: This was a sudden and unforeseen blow.
  这是一个意想不到的打击。

Full Text Translation

译文：

第1天：选择更难的方式生活

当你选择了较为艰苦的方式，生活其实是容易的…但如果你选择了容易的方式，它往往会变得更难。

​ ——Dave Kekich

Part 01

Self-discipline means living your life the hard way: resisting temptations and instant gratification, in order to receive bigger and better rewards in the future.

It’s certainly easier to avoid all kinds of discomfort and indulge yourself whenever you want, but in the end, all that you get from that approach is fleeting pleasure now at the expense of your future, which otherwise could have been much better.

自律意味着过艰难的生活:抵制诱惑和即时满足，以便在未来获得更大更好的回报。

当然，避免各种各样的不适，并在任何你想要的时候放纵自己，是更容易的，但最终，你从这种方式中得到的只是转瞬即逝的快乐，以牺牲你的未来为代价，否则你的未来会好得多。

Part 02

Consider a weak-willed person who, when faced with a challenge, immediately opts out.

How likely is this person to achieve anything substantial in life if their primary value is to feel comfortable?

How is this person going to manage a crisis that they must face?

Even a relatively insignificant problem can become an insurmountable obstacle for a person who’s been living a sheltered life and always avoided what’s difficult or disagreeable.

考虑一个意志薄弱的人，当面对挑战时，他会立即选择退出。

如果这个人的主要价值是感觉舒适，那么他有多大可能在生活中取得任何实质性的成就?

这个人将如何处理他们必须面对的危机?

即使一个相对微不足道的问题也可能成为一个不可逾越的障碍，对于一个过着被庇护的生活的人来说，总是回避困难或不愉快的。

Part 03

Now contrast that with a person who voluntarily makes his or her life harder.

They seek out and welcome challenges as opportunities to grow. Each self-imposed affliction strengthens them, so that fewer and fewer difficulties in life overwhelm them.

Day by day, they immunize themselves against problems, precisely because they seek them out.

When life deals them an unexpected blow, they’re ready to handle it because — thanks to living their lives the hard way — they’re always ready for hardships.

现在来对比一下那些自愿让自己的生活更艰难的人。

他们寻找，把挑战当作成长的机会。每一种自我强加的苦难都使他们更坚强，所以生活中越来越少的困难压倒他们。

日复一日，他们让自己对问题免疫，恰恰是因为他们会去寻找问题。

当生活给他们一个意想不到的打击时，他们已经准备好应对，因为——感谢他们过的艰难的生活——他们总是准备好应对困难。

-End-