英語美文朗讀 第413期 Your life maintenance checklist
Most of life is maintenance. Paying bills, buying groceries, doing laundry, and so on. We're running around, juggling our responsibilities, while trying to have some fun, too. It becomes so easy to forget the little things that enrich our lives and make it better.
每年都要做的10件事——用這個(gè)清單來維護(hù)你的生活。生活中的大多數(shù)時(shí)候，我們都是在處理日常事務(wù)，比如付賬單，買雜貨，洗衣服等。我們四處奔波，應(yīng)對(duì)肩上的責(zé)任，同時(shí)也想找找樂子。漸漸地，我們很容易忘記那些能夠讓生活變得更豐富、更美好的小事。
The start of each year is a time where we tend do a lot of soul searching. Most of us see it as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean, and make resolutions for the year ahead. In addition to those intentions though, there are a number of things that you can do over the course of the year that will drastically improve your life. Here are 10 things you should do at least once a year!
在每年年初，我們總是在尋找自我。很多人認(rèn)為這是一個(gè)重新開始的機(jī)會(huì)，為新的一年做出決心，定下目標(biāo)。除此之外，其實(shí)還有一些事情你可以做，它們能夠幫你在這一年中徹底改善生活。以下就是十件事，每年你至少都要做一遍。
Number 1 – Declutter. Your wardrobe, your purse, the contact list on your phone, your email inbox. Everything. Get rid of everything you don't need or that brings back bad memories. Everything that's in your life should be useful, make you happy, or motivate you. If it isn't doing any of these things, it's just taking up unnecessary space.
第一，清理物品。你的衣柜，你的錢包，手機(jī)上的聯(lián)系人列表，郵箱，所有東西都需要清理。你不需要的東西，讓你想起不好的經(jīng)歷的東西，都扔掉。在你的生活中，每樣?xùn)|西都要是有用的，能讓你開心的，可以激勵(lì)你的。如果它們達(dá)不到這些標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，它們就是在浪費(fèi)空間而已。
Number 2 - Rearrange your space. The purpose of things and where they are placed change the whole ambiance of a room. Personal space carries energy, so change the orientation of your bed, move your TV, move your computer desk, put your favorite lamp somewhere else, and you'll probably perceive things differently from last year. Just make sure it's for the better!
第二，重新安排你的生活空間。物品的用途，物品存放的地方，會(huì)影響整個(gè)房間的氛圍。專屬個(gè)人的生活空間能給我們帶來能量，所以，換一換床的方向，移動(dòng)一下電視機(jī)和電腦桌，把你最愛的臺(tái)燈放到另一個(gè)地方，然后你可能會(huì)有一切都煥然一新的感覺。這一切的前提是，這些改動(dòng)，是能改善生活的。
Number 3 – Invest in some new clothes and shoes. Updating your wardrobe can be very satisfying. It will boost your confidence and improve your appearance. Fit is everything, so only buy clothes that are comfortable and shoes that make you feel like you're walking on a cloud all day. If you can afford it, don't hesitate to spend a little bit more on quality clothing, and always remember that quality doesn't necessarily mean the most expensive brands. Trust me, an $800 Gucci T-shirt won't be any more comfortable than a $20 one. If you hate clothes shopping or never know what to buy, take a friend with you, preferably one that has a good sense for color matching and wardrobe styling.
第三，買些新衣服和新鞋子。給自己的衣柜升級(jí)，這是一件很令人滿足的事情。它能夠提升你的自信，改善你的形象。舒適最重要，所以只買那些舒適的衣服和鞋子。如果你有能力，不要猶豫，多花點(diǎn)錢來買質(zhì)量好的衣物，而且要記得，重視質(zhì)量并不意味著要買最貴的牌子。相信我，一件800美金的古馳短袖，穿起來并不比一件20美金的舒適多少。如果你不喜歡買衣服，或者不懂買什么，那就帶上一位朋友，最好是位懂得色彩搭配、衣物搭配的朋友。
Number 4 – Clean up your e-life. Nowadays, almost everyone on the planet spends much of their time on a computer, and the more time that you spend on it, the more cluttered it becomes. You know what I mean. If your desktop or laptop is filled with icons from top to bottom, it's definitely time for a cleaning. You can start by creating a folder for various things. Create a folder for your music collection, where you can also create sub-folders for different genres, then a folder for your documents, another for movies, and so on. While you're at it, make sure to check that your security software is up to date. Once that's done, pull up your social networks and evaluate your connections. This is a good time declutter those as well. Yeah, it looks cool when you have 2000 Facebook friends, but how many do you actually talk to?
第四，清理你的網(wǎng)絡(luò)生活。如今，幾乎每個(gè)人都在電腦上花費(fèi)很多時(shí)間。在電腦上花費(fèi)的時(shí)間越多，電腦就越混亂。你肯定明白我的意思。如果你的電腦桌面上，或者筆記本電腦上，堆滿了圖標(biāo)，那就是時(shí)候清理一下了。你可以從給不同東西新建文件夾開始。為你的音樂收藏新建一個(gè)文件夾，再給你的電影收藏也建一個(gè)，等等。做這個(gè)事情的時(shí)候，確保你的電腦安全軟件總是保持在最新的版本。完成這些之后，看看你的社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)，衡量一下你的人際關(guān)系，現(xiàn)在也是時(shí)候清理它們了。如果你的臉書上有2000個(gè)好友，看起來確實(shí)挺酷的，但是你到底和幾個(gè)人說過話呢？
Number 5 – Reflect. Take some time to reflect on things you want more of. Be it romantic love, appreciation, better friends or whatever. Decide how you will actively give that to others. Perceiving lack from others is often a reflection of what we aren't giving enough of ourselves. Karma works magic in this department. The more you give, the more you will get.
第五，反思?；c(diǎn)時(shí)間，思考一下你想要的事情。無論是愛情，還是他人的欣賞，還是更好的朋友，等等，想一下你要怎么讓別人擁有這些事情。理解別人缺什么，往往可以幫我們反思自己缺什么。有因就有果，你給予的更多，你獲得的就更多。
Number 6 - Make a list. Make a list of the things you value, and then a list of ways you're going to make those things a priority. If you care more about your friend's feelings than you do about some temporary frustration, make your friend the priority. If you care more about living peacefully with your roommate than fighting over another dirty dish, prioritize that. Decide what matters most to you, and how you're going to resolve your issues. The best way to get over something is to simply start caring about something else more.
第六，列個(gè)清單。列一個(gè)清單，上面寫著你重視的事情。再列另外一個(gè)清單，上面寫著你要怎樣優(yōu)先處理這些重要的事情。如果你更在乎朋友的感受，而不是暫時(shí)的沮喪，那么就把前者。如果你更在乎與舍友之間的和睦，而不是為一個(gè)臟碟子大吵大鬧，那就把前者放在首位。你要自己決定，什么是最重要的，以及要如何處理你的問題。熬過一件事情的最佳方法，就是讓自己更加在乎另一件事。
Number 7 – Travel. Often people neglect travel only to buy a new TV, PS4, or whatever is the latest hot product on the market. But these are all things that will become obsolete in a few years and it's very unlikely that you will think back and say, "I remember those magical nights when I would play Call of Duty until 6 am". Travelling expands your horizons and creates lifelong memories. Visiting a new place can do wonders. This doesn't have to be a 2-month expedition through another continent. Even if it's a place just an hour away, that will do. Just spend a week or two somewhere else. Visiting a new place will change your outlook and it will always be exciting to look back on. It will definitely become one of the highlights of the year, believe me. You may even find an incredible new place, meet new people, and see some amazing architecture. And they will not only make great memories but you will have some great stories to tell.
第七，去旅行。通常，人們寧愿花錢買新電視，買游戲機(jī)，買市面上最新的產(chǎn)品，而忽視了旅行。但是，這些東西，幾年內(nèi)就會(huì)過時(shí)了。你不太可能說“通宵玩《使命召喚》的夜晚真是太難忘了”。旅行能幫你拓展視野，留下讓你懷念一輩子的回憶。去一個(gè)新的地方旅行，能夠?yàn)槟銕砥孥E。這并不一定是去另一個(gè)大洲來一場(chǎng)兩個(gè)月的探險(xiǎn)，就算是去一個(gè)兩小時(shí)車程之外的地方，也能有很好的效果。在另一個(gè)地方度過一兩周的實(shí)踐，就行了。相信我，這會(huì)成為你這一年的生活的閃光點(diǎn)。你可能會(huì)找到一個(gè)很奇妙的地方，遇見新的朋友，欣賞一些很棒的建筑。它們不僅成為了美好的回憶，還能讓你與別人分享美好的故事。
Number 8 - Surprise someone. Do something surprising and unbelievably kind for someone who will not expect it. Send flowers to a random friend, give them a gift card, or take someone you love out for a special dinner. Do something that is so generous you couldn't possibly do it regularly, a kind gesture that would make somebody else's year complete, knowing that somebody cared enough about them to do something at that level.
第八，為某個(gè)人制造驚喜。為一個(gè)人做一件令人驚喜的事，比如為一個(gè)朋友送花并附帶賀卡，或者帶你愛的人出去吃一頓特別的晚餐。這件事必須是很慷慨的，你不可能經(jīng)常做的那種事。一個(gè)充滿善意的舉動(dòng)，能讓別人的一年變得更加完整，因?yàn)樗麄冎?，有人很在乎他們，愿意為他們做這么美好的事。
Number 9 - Take somebody on a date. Things have changed a lot. Before the internet, people actually went out on dates. Yeah. Can you believe it? I'm talking about a time when you didn't just swipe a screen to have someone appear in your bed. Take someone out on a real date. Make a reservation at a restaurant and get tickets to a show. You will make the person feel special, because everybody knows that planning these things takes time, effort, and care.
第九，帶一個(gè)人去約會(huì)?，F(xiàn)在跟以前太不一樣了，在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)出現(xiàn)之前，人們是出門約會(huì)的，這是真的，你信嗎？現(xiàn)在，你在手機(jī)上劃兩下，第二天起床的時(shí)候，身邊就會(huì)躺著另外一個(gè)人，以前可不是這樣的。帶一個(gè)人去體驗(yàn)一場(chǎng)真正的約會(huì)吧，提前預(yù)定餐廳，買好票，一起去看展。你會(huì)為那個(gè)人帶來獨(dú)特的感覺，因?yàn)榇蠹叶贾溃瑴?zhǔn)備這些事情，需要時(shí)間，需要精力，需要你足夠在乎對(duì)方。
Number 10 - Try something new. One of the best ways to improve yourself is to try a new activity. It can be painting, photography, cooking or whatever. It doesn't really matter, as long as it's something new. Now while this sounds great, the problem is that most people want to do new things, but they never seem to get around to it. So, what can you do? I suggest looking online for classes in your area. Enroll yourself in one of those evening classes where you go once a week for a few hours. It will only cost a couple hundred dollars but you will feel committed so you will actually go. And who knows? Perhaps you will discover a talent you never knew you had! What do you think?
第十，嘗試新事物。提升自己的最佳方式就是嘗試新事物，它可以是畫畫，攝影，烹飪之類的。是什么不重要，重要的是，這是新事物。這聽起來挺棒的，但問題在于，其實(shí)多數(shù)人都想體驗(yàn)新事物，但是他們?nèi)狈π袆?dòng)力。那么，你可以怎么做呢？我建議，你可以上網(wǎng)查一下，看看你所在的地區(qū)有沒有興趣班。給自己報(bào)一個(gè)興趣班，晚上去上課，每周去幾個(gè)小時(shí)。你只需要花上幾百美金而已，但是你會(huì)覺得自己下定決心要做這件事，所以你會(huì)去做。說不定，你可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的新潛能。你覺得呢？
