心灵美学：如何构建美丽心灵

Mental Aesthetics: How To Build A Beautiful Mind
心灵美学：如何构建美丽心灵

One of the best compliments you can get is “I like the way your mind works.”
你能得到的最好的赞美之一是“我喜欢你的思维方式。”

And when I was young, I always envied those more intelligent than me.
当我年轻的时候，我总是羡慕那些比我聪明的人。

How did they do it?
他们是怎么做到的？

How did they articulate their thoughts so well?
他们是如何如此清晰地表达自己的想法的？

How did they say what I’ve been thinking for years but couldn’t string into words?
他们是如何说出我多年来一直在想但无法用语言表达的话的？

How did they hold high-level conversations with a sense of understanding that leaves you feeling awestruck, but like you are so far below them on the level of knowledge?
他们是如何进行高层次的对话的，这种理解让你感到敬畏，但就像你在知识水平上远远低于他们一样？

I’ve tried to emulate the voice of the stoics, ancients, and modern masters. Soon I realized that language evolved for a reason. We have a more diverse toolset to pierce through the noise and acquire truth.
我试着模仿斯多葛学派的声音，古代的，和现代的大师。很快我意识到语言的进化是有原因的。我们有一个更多样化的工具集来穿透噪音并获取真理。

The poeticism of Watts.
瓦茨的诗意。

The pithy advice of Seneca.
塞涅卡的精辟忠告。

The crypticism of Nietsche.
尼采的神秘主义。

The elegance of Peterson.
彼得森的优雅。

There was a gravity to their words that stuck in the back of my head.
他们的话有一种严肃的感觉，萦绕在我的脑海里。

In reflection, it led me to where I am today.
在反思中，它使我走到了今天的位置。

I always wanted to do something creative.
我一直想做一些有创造性的事情。

I knew that I didn’t want to earn a living from my body, or my time for that matter. I had to earn with my mind.
我知道我不想靠我的身体谋生，或者我的时间。我必须用我的头脑来赚钱。

This led me down a brutal path of life and business failures that led to the discovery and cultivation of high-value skills.
这让我走上了一条残酷的人生之路，经历了商业失败，最终发现并培养了高价值的技能。

Design, marketing, sales, technology, programming, writing, film, and more that trained my mind for creative problem-solving.
设计、市场营销、销售、技术、编程、写作、电影，以及更多训练我创造性解决问题的思维。

Today, I am grateful to say that I can earn a living and sustain a high quality of life by moving two levers: the inputs and outputs of my mind.
今天，我很感激地说，我可以通过移动两个杠杆来谋生并维持高质量的生活：我的头脑的输入和输出。

In this letter, I want to discuss 4 big ideas:
在这封信中，我想讨论四个大的想法：

1. Your mental body and how it rules your life.
   你的精神身体以及它如何支配你的生活。
2. How mental bodybuilding is your path to intelligence.
   如何精神健美是你的智慧之路。
3. Why mental real estate is the most valuable resource.
   为什么精神真实的财产是最有价值的资源。
4. How to monetize your mind to create your own source of income.
   如何赚钱你的头脑，创造自己的收入来源。

Mental aesthetics is your master key to the doors of the good life.
心理美学是开启美好生活大门的万能钥匙。

I – The Mental Body 精神体

In the book Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Waltz, there’s a phenomenon that surgery patients radically change their lives after changing their physical appearance.
在麦克斯韦·华尔兹的《心理控制论》一书中，有一个现象，手术病人在改变了他们的外表后，从根本上改变了他们的生活。

Many patients went on to achieve their wildest dreams.
许多病人继续实现他们最疯狂的梦想。

The dreams they didn’t think were possible before, even if the “blemish” that held them back was as simple as a bump on their nose (that was unnoticeable to the average eye).
他们以前认为不可能实现的梦想，即使阻碍他们的“瑕疵”就像鼻子上的肿块一样简单（这是普通眼睛无法察觉的）。

But it wasn’t the physical appearance that made the difference.
但这并不是外表的差异。

It was the change in self-image.
这是自我形象的改变。

A change in the body they held as a mental construct, one that often didn’t reflect their physical appearance.
一种身体上的变化，他们认为这是一种心理结构，通常不会反映他们的身体外观。

This brings up the principle of expectations vs reality.
这就提出了期望与现实的原则。

Humans tend to latch onto thoughts, ideas, and beliefs to make sense of the world and aid their survival.
人类倾向于抓住思想，想法和信仰来理解世界并帮助他们生存。

We hold an idea of the past or future in our mind, and if present reality doesn’t match, tension is the result.
我们对过去或未来有一个想法，如果现在的现实与之不符，结果就是紧张。

Tension narrows the mind and creates stress.
紧张会使人思维狭隘，产生压力。

It prevents you from seeing the world as it is, because it isn’t supposed to be anything other than what it’s being.
它阻止你看到世界的本来面目，因为它不应该是任何东西，除了它的存在。

When we hold an image of who we think we are in our mind, even when we’ve never directly seen our own face outside of external reflections, anything that challenges that image is seen as a threat.
当我们在脑海中持有一个我们认为自己是谁的形象时，即使我们从未直接看到过自己的脸，任何挑战这个形象的东西都被视为威胁。

Even fitness models voted to have the most aesthetic physique in the eyes of the masses have body dysmorphia.
即使是大众心目中最具美感的健身模特也有身体畸形。

Hell, even I have body dysmorphia after being in the gym for 10 years.
地狱，即使是我在健身房呆了10年后也有身体畸形。

The image of who they are does not match their appearance.
他们的形象与他们的外表不符。

This influences how we perceive and interpret the world around us.
这影响了我们如何感知和解释我们周围的世界。

Something as simple as the idea of an unhealthy meal can send a fitness model into an emotional spiral of rage, self-hatred due to a past binge, and the urge to preach that all people should abide by the diet ideology that they subscribe to.
像不健康饮食这样简单的想法可以让健身模型陷入愤怒的情绪螺旋，由于过去的狂欢而自我憎恨，以及鼓吹所有人都应该遵守他们订阅的饮食意识形态的冲动。

The same holds true for everything we think we are.
同样的道理也适用于我们所认为的一切。

From religious beliefs to budgeting techniques to the business models and jobs that allow us to survive, our identity turns sour when we create permanence in our minds that does not match the impermanence of life.
从宗教信仰到预算技巧，再到让我们得以生存的商业模式和工作，当我们在头脑中创造出与生命无常不相匹配的永恒时，我们的身份就会变坏。

I.i – Conceptual Survival 概念上的生存

As above, so below.
上面如此，下面如此。

Humans survive on both the physical and mental planes of existence.
人类在物质和精神两个层面上生存。

Yes, if there is a bear charging towards you, your life flashes before your eyes.
是的，如果有一只熊向你冲来，你的生命会在你眼前闪现。

But even then, I would argue that humans only survive on the mental plane of existence.
但即便如此，我还是认为人类只能在精神层面上生存。

When a bear charges toward you, you aren’t really worried about your physical body. You’re worried about the idea of it.
当一只熊向你冲来时，你并不真正担心你的身体。你担心的是这个想法。

You’re also worried about the friends, family, career, and whatever other idea you will lose that flood your mind in time before your life ends.
你也会担心朋友、家庭、事业，以及在你生命结束之前你会失去的任何其他想法。

Your “self” is what you are trying to survive.
你的“自我”是你试图生存的东西。

And if it’s threatened, you feel it.
如果它受到威胁，你会感觉到的。

If you are attached to a sports team and someone says that team sucks, how do you feel?
如果你参加了一个运动队，有人说那个队很烂，你有什么感觉？

If you are subscribed to a specific religion and someone tells you theirs is better, how do you feel? Do you want to replicate what’s in your mind into theirs through communication so your mental offspring can survive in hopes that you convert them?
如果你信奉一种特定的宗教，有人告诉你他们的更好，你有什么感觉？你想通过交流把你的想法复制到他们的头脑中，这样你的精神后代就可以生存下来，希望你能改变他们吗？

If you identify as a coffee drinker and run out of coffee, is your day ruined?
如果你认为自己是一个喝咖啡的人，但咖啡喝完了，你的一天就毁了吗？

In reality, all is well.
事实上，一切都很好。

You aren’t in true danger, and your physical body changes on a cellular level every second. You are not your body, because your body is 100% different than it was 7 years ago. You are consciousness.
你并没有真正的危险，你的身体每秒钟都在细胞水平上发生变化。你不是你的身体，因为你的身体与7年前100%不同。你是意识。

When you attempt to make anything permanent you increase the chances of suffering.
当你试图使任何东西永久化时，你增加了受苦的机会。

To play the game of life you must choose what is worth suffering for and dedicate your life to that.
要玩生活的游戏，你必须选择什么是值得为之受苦的，并为此奉献你的生命。

Successful people use their emotions. Unsuccessful people are used by them.
成功的人利用他们的情感。不成功的人被他们利用。

I.ii – The Lesson: Releasing Concepts 训练：释放概念

Self-development is cognitive development.
自我发展是认知发展。

To develop, expand, and grow yourself – not to be confused with inflating your ego – you must release the ideas that prevent you from rising up like sandbags tied to a hot air balloon.
为了发展、扩展和成长自己--不要与膨胀你的自我混淆--你必须释放那些阻止你像绑在热气球上的沙袋一样上升的想法。

When you feel tension, stress, or negative emotions arise you must train yourself to pause.
当你感到紧张、压力或负面情绪出现时，你必须训练自己停下来。

This