What happens with students, and I see this all the time. They start university but with the mindset that they're constantly looking for excuses, about why things aren't going the way they want, why they're disappointed with their exam results, why they don't think their professor is teaching them effectively, why they keep getting up late and missing classes.

 

学生的情况，我见得多了。他们上了大学，但他们的心态不健康。如果发现事情不顺利，或者对考试结果感到失望，或者觉得教授没有认真上课，或者一直睡懒觉、旷课，他们就会找借口。

 

And when you do that, you take all the power you have in your life, and you give it away. You just throw it all away, because you're blaming other people. By blaming your professors, or your university, or your friends or family or your circumstances, you give your power away to them, but you need to embrace it.

如果你总是找借口，其实就是在放弃自己的主动权，把决定权交给别人。因为你总在抱怨别人，所以其实你抛弃了自己的主动权。如果你总是发牢骚，埋怨老师，埋怨学校，埋怨朋友，埋怨家人，埋怨现状，那么你就把主动权交给了他们。然而，你应该掌握自己的主动权。

 

Think about the lies that you tell yourself to rationalize being lazy. When you take the easy road and you leave discipline behind, when you say to yourself, I'll start studying for my exam tomorrow, and then tomorrow comes and you say, I'll start studying for my exam tomorrow. And the exam deadline is getting closer and closer, and a few days before the exam you realize you haven't started studying yet. And the panic sets in and the sleepless nights begin. It's too late.

想一下，你曾经说了多少谎言，自欺欺人，掩饰自己的懒惰。你选择安逸，放弃自律。你对自己说，明天我就要开始复习考试，第二天又继续说，我明天我就要开始复习考试。考试一天天逼近，开考前几天，你终于意识到，自己完全还没开始复习。你会感到恐慌，睡觉都睡不安稳。但是，一切都已经太迟了。

 

It's the day of the exam you sit at your desk. You open the exam paper for the first time and you experience that all-too-common sinking feeling when you realize you don't know the answer to any of the questions. You know what I'm talking about. We've all been there. It's the excuses and the lack of discipline that are taking you down paths that you shouldn't be going.

考试当天，你坐在桌子旁，第一次打开试卷，发现自己不知道怎么解答，接着感到心一沉，这种感觉非常普遍。你很清楚我在说什么，因为我们都经历过这样的情况。找借口，不自律，这让你误入歧途。

 

There are a million reasons why you're disappointed, but the reasons are not important. What is important is what you do about it. What is important is how you're going to spin it so that you take advantage of the situation. Failed an exam? Good. Study two hours a day extra from now on. Had an argument with a friend? Good. You just had a crucial lesson in social science. Try to stay more calm next time. Keep waking up late and getting to class late? Good. Go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier tomorrow. Whatever your problems are, they are fixable. You just have to persevere.

也许有千百种事情让你沮丧，然而它们并不重要，重要的是你如何应对，重要的是你怎么扭转局势，怎么利用现有条件。考试失败了？没事，从今天开始，每天加量学习两小时。和朋友吵架了？没事，你得到了社交中很宝贵的教训，下次记得要更加冷静。总是睡懒觉、上课迟到？没事，早点睡，明天早点起。无论你有什么问题，都可以解决，关键是你要能坚持。

 

And as you work at it brick by brick, you might start out awfully inefficient and incompetent at studying. But being willing to put in the work, and grind it out, and becoming someone who people actually look up to and admire, at that moment in your life, you'll realize it was worth it. All the pain, the suffering, the late-night study grinds. It was all worth it.

你付出点点滴滴的努力，也许一开始的时候你学得不太好，但是，只要你愿意付出，愿意用功，最后人们都会佩服你，欣赏你。到那时，你就会知道，一切都是值得的。曾经的痛苦，磨炼，无数个努力学习的不眠之夜，都是值得的。