【雙語】奧巴馬給女兒的16條建議

（澳洲生活網）

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Life is short. It may feel like it takes forever sometimes, but the reality is that you live, and a short time later, you die. It happens so quickly, many people don』t even realize they had a life until it』s already over.

生命是短暫的。有時候你會覺得生命無休無止，但現實是，你現在活著，沒過多久後，你就死了。整個過程如此之迅速，以至於很多人直到生命結束的那一刻才意識到。

1 – Stop Doubting Yourself
1 –不要懷疑自己

If you don』t believe in yourself, nobody will. Success starts in your mind, and if all you』re doing is putting yourself down and predicting failure, it』ll become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of doubting yourself, think positively. Not only will you be happier and more successful, you』ll spread it to everyone around you.

如果連你自己都不相信自己，那就更沒人會相信你了。成功開始於你的內心，如果你所做的事情都只是在貶低你自己，以及只會預測到未來的失敗，那它就會像你自己預言的那樣而失敗。不要懷疑自己，積極一點。你不僅會更快樂、更加成功，而且還會將這份成功與快樂傳遞給身邊的人。

2 – Stop Being Negative
2 – 不要悲觀

Now that you』re done doubting yourself, stop doubting others. You don』t like when people are critical of you, so stop being critical of others. Think about how you make other people feel – even if you have good intentions, people don』t like hearing negativity.

既然你已經懷疑你自己了，那就別再去懷疑別人了。你不喜歡別人批評你，所以也不要去批評別人。想想你做的事情會給別人怎麼樣的影響–即使你是為了他們好，別人也不喜歡聽到一些悲觀的事情。

3 – Stop Procrastinating
3 – 不要拖延

I don』t feel like procrastinating right now – I』ll do it tomorrow. When you procrastinate, you remain stagnant. Whatever you』re putting off doesn』t go away; resolve the problem, and move on. You』ll be much happier in the long run.

我現在不想做–明天再做吧。當你拖延的時候，你仍舊停滯不前。無論你怎麼拖延，你要做的事情還是得做；把問題解決了，才能繼續向前。長此以往，你會更快樂。

4 – Stop Being Mean
4 –不要卑鄙

It』s completely possible to step on someone』s toes without meaning to – it happens all the time. There』s no need to pile on by purposefully doing mean things, so make a conscious effort to stop being mean. If someone wrongs you, let it go. There』s no need to seek vengeance unless that』s the type of person you want to be.

如果你踩到別人的鞋帶，這完全可能不是你自己故意的—-但這些事總是發生。我們沒有必要故意去做一些卑鄙的事情，所以，有意識地讓自己別再卑鄙了。如果有人做了對不起你的事，讓他去吧。沒有必要找機會復仇，除非你就是想做那樣的人。

5 – Stop Eating Out
5 –不要出去吃飯

Eating out is the biggest waste of money. Every so often it』s nice to treat yourself, but eating out for every meal is the quickest way to drain your bank account. Learn how to cook at least a handful of foods you enjoy: It』ll save you money, keep you healthier, and occasionally impress people.

外出吃飯是最浪費錢的。你覺得這是對你自己很好的待遇，但外出吃飯卻是讓你用完自己積蓄最快的方式。至少學著怎麼烹調一些你自己喜歡的食物：那不僅可以省錢，還可以讓你更健康，偶爾還能讓別人眼前一亮。

6 – Stop Being Lazy
6 –不要懶惰

Lazy people are annoying – it』s like pulling teeth getting them to do anything. If I can』t do something as simple as going to a movie with you without having to factor in an hour of convincing you to get your lazy butt out of bed, I』d rather go alone. People have enough trouble motivating themselves; don』t make your friends and family waste their valuable energy motivating you as well.

懶人是很惱人的——想讓他們做點事情，簡直比登天還難。如果我連像自己看電影這種再平常不過的事都做不到，比起我還用了一個小時去勸你跟我一起去看電影，而你仍舊不願意起床，那我寧願一個人去。人們總是很難激勵自己；更不要讓你的朋友和家人浪費他們寶貴的精力去激勵你。

7 – Stop Complaining
7 –不要抱怨

We all have problems, and sometimes we need to vent to someone. That』s acceptable, but pay attention to how often you』re venting. We all love helping our friends and family, but when all you get from someone is negativity, it』s easier to cut them off than help, especially if they』re always complaining about the same things.

我們都會遇到問題，有時候我們需要向別人傾訴。那是可以接受的。但是，要注意你是怎麼傾訴的。我們都喜歡幫助我們的朋友跟家人，但是，如果你從別人那裡聽到的全是悲觀的東西，那打垮他們比幫助他們要簡單得多，尤其是他們總是在抱怨同樣的事情的時候。

8– Stop Being Selfish
8– 不要自私

If you only think about yourself, you』ll soon find yourself by yourself. Stop for a minute and think about how your actions affect other people – did you take the last cup of coffee from the break room? Refill it! Do you live with others? Don』t drink out the milk carton. We share this world 100% of the time, so every action you take can affect other people.

如果你以自我為中心，你就只會看到你自己。用一分鐘來想想你的行為是怎麼影響別人的—-你有沒有把休息室里的最後一杯咖啡喝掉了？再把它裝滿！你是不是跟別人住的？別把盒子里的牛奶喝光。所有的時間裡，我們都在同時分享著這個世界，所以，你的每一種行為都能影響到其他人。

9 – Stop Wasting Time
9 –不要浪費時間

I』ve said it before, and I』ll say it again: time is the most valuable resource we have. Don』t waste your time on unproductive things. If you want to explore the world』s dark corners, that』s great. I still associate with people who have not-so-kosher careers, but I don』t hang out with those people at the expense of my own short- and long-term goals.

我曾經說過，接下來我還會再說：時間是我們所擁有的最寶貴的資源。不要把你的時間浪費在一些沒有價值的事情上。如果你想要探索這個世界的黑暗角落，那就太棒了。我也認識一些沒有固定工作的自由職業者，但我不會以犧牲自己的短期或長期的目標為代價，跟他們出去玩樂。

10–Stop Making Promises
10–不要給別人承諾

Always under-promise and over-deliver. When you make a promise, you』re adding responsibility to your plate that, despite all your best intentions, you may not be able to deliver on. More often than not, your promise is an absolute （i.e 「I promise I』ll always love you」），and only Sith deal in absolutes. Instead of making a promise with your words, simply be there when people need you, and exceed their expectations with your actions.

總是做出承諾，卻總是做不到。當你每次做出承諾的時候，不僅給自己增添了責任，無論你的出發點有多好，你都不可能完成所有的事情。很多時候，你的承諾都太過絕對（比如，「我發誓我永遠愛你」），也只能在絕對的條件下才能實現。與其許下承諾，還不如在別人需要你的時候出現，然後用行動達到他們的期望。

11 – Stop Being a Pushover
11 –不要再做老好人

We live in a capitalistic society in which everyone』s trying to sell us something. Everyone』s looking out for themselves in one way or another, and you need to do the same. Stop putting yourself out because you』re too shy to say no.

我們都生活在一個資本主義社會裡，每個人都試圖向我們推銷什麼。每個人再以這樣或那樣的方式找尋著自己，你也需要那樣做。別因為你太害羞，而不能拒絕，卻傷害了自己。

12 – Stop Listening to Haters
12 – 別聽那些嫉妒你的人的話

No matter what you want to do in life, there』s always someone around to tell you why it can』t and won』t work. I can come up with millions of reasons Twitter won』t work, and yet it』s one of the most popular social media sites on the web. My opinion didn』t stop Twitter』s success any more than it convinced Kobe Bryant to quit the NBA or Josh Hartnett to stop acting. Why would you let someone』s opinion stop you?

無論你想幹什麼，總會有人告訴你為什麼不要這麼做，那沒有用。我可以想出成百萬條推特不實用的理由，但它仍舊是互聯網上最流行的社交網站之一。我的想法不會影響推特的成功，就像你無法勸科比退出NBA、或喬什·哈奈特不要當演員了一樣，都毫無意義。那麼，為什麼要讓別人的想法來牽絆你呢？

13 – Stop Being Wasteful
13 –別再浪費 

You don』t finish your meals, and away food instead. You leave the faucet running when you brush your teeth, pouring precious water down the drain. You drive places you could easily walk, burning gasoline （a non-renewable resource）。You are wasteful, and it needs to stop.

你還沒把飯吃完，就把食物扔掉了；刷牙的時候，水龍頭還開著，寶貴的水就那樣嘩嘩的流走；明明可以走到的地方，你偏要開車，浪費汽油（無法再生資源）。如果你浪費了，那就趕緊停止這一惡習。

14– Stop Littering
14–不要亂扔垃圾

The only thing I hate more than wasteful people are litterbugs. Litterbugs are my least favorite bug, and there are more than you』d think. If you』ve ever thrown even one piece of gum, paper, candy wrapper, cigarette butt, etc on the ground, you』re a disgusting litterbug, and you should be ashamed of yourself. There are over 7 billion people in the world if each person only throws one 「innocent」piece of garbage on the ground, that』s 7 billion pieces of garbage littering a world in which nobody 「did it」.

唯一讓我覺得比浪費的人更可惡的，就是亂丟垃圾的人。我最厭惡這種人，而且這種人永遠多得讓你數不清。如果你曾扔過一塊口香糖，一張紙、糖果包裝、煙 蒂，那麼你就是噁心的亂丟垃圾的人。你應該為你自己感到恥辱。世界上有超過70億的人——如果每個人都無意識的往地上扔垃圾，那麼，全世界就會變成一個有 70億垃圾的垃圾場，還找不到罪魁禍首。

Your one decision makes a HUGE difference, and I will not allow you to blow it off and walk around with your head held high. You』re a litterbug, and it needs to stop immediately. You don』t get a lifehack for this one, you filthy animal. Just stop – you already know how.

你的一個決定會改變很多，我不會讓你去大馬路大聲高呼。如果你是那種人，那麼就需要馬上停止了。你要是不這麼做的話，那就跟骯髒的動物一樣了。停止這一舉動吧，你已經知道該怎麼做了。

15 – Stop Taking Everything Personally
15 – 別把每件事太往心裡去

People get offended about the strangest things. Take Kendrick Lamar』s now-infamous verse on 「Control」this summer: he called out a list of a dozen rappers he thinks he』s better than （and he』s right）.The internet went crazy, and rappers all over the industry rushed to their mics to record a response. The thing is, all K-Dot said is he』s the best rapper. Everyone took it personally, and that』s exactly what he was going for. The lesson to learn from this is that not everything is about you, and if you』re easily upset, someone will use that to their advantage.

人們會因為一些奇怪的事情感到被侵犯了。就拿Kendrick Lamar這個夏天備受爭議的歌曲《Control》為例：他在歌詞中挑釁了一些他認為比他弱的說唱歌手（的確是這樣），一時激起千層浪，整個說唱界的歌手都蜂擁錄歌作為回擊。重點在於，所有的人都認為自己是最好的說唱者。每個人都把這件事太往心裡去，這就是他的目的所在。這件事教給我們的，無非就是：不是所有的事都要圍著你轉，如果你太在意，總會被別人利用，以此來達到他的目的。

16 – Stop Talking
16 –不要再亂說話

Sometimes it』s best to just STFU –especially in relationships. I can』t even count how many times I created an issue that didn』t need to be an issue simply because I opened my mouth. Even if what you want to say is important, just shut up and ride it out. You can say more with your actions than words, and you can』t listen when you』re talking.

有時候，沉默是金——特別在人際關係里。我都記不清有多少次，因為說錯話引發了本可以避免的爭端。即使你想說的非常重要，那也閉嘴，自行消化。你可以用行動證明一切，畢竟你自己說話的時候是聽不見的。