快30歲了，一直在虛度光陰，接下來(lái)怎么辦?

　　Q: I am in my late 20s and feel I have wasted a lot of time. Is it too late?

　　快30歲了，一直在虛度光陰，接下來(lái)怎么辦?

　　Answered by Marcus Geduld

　　Marcus Geduld的回復(fù)：

　　Too late for what?

　　晚什么呀?

　　If you slept through your 26th birthday, it's too late for you to experience that. It's too late for you to watch "LOST" in its premiere broadcast. (Though, honestly, you didn't miss much.) It's too late for you to fight in the Vietnam War. It's too late for you to go through puberty or attend nursery school. It's too late for you to learn a second language as proficiently as a native speaker. It's probably too late for you to be breastfed.

　　如果你睡過(guò)了26歲生日，想再過(guò)一次是太晚了。想看《迷失》首播也已經(jīng)晚了(不過(guò)說(shuō)實(shí)話，你也沒(méi)錯(cuò)過(guò)多少東西)。參加越戰(zhàn)，度過(guò)青春期，上幼兒園，把外語(yǔ)學(xué)得像母語(yǔ)一樣精通，這些對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)都太晚了。可能想吃奶也已經(jīng)晚了。

　　It's not too late for you to fall in love.

　　但你還來(lái)得及談場(chǎng)戀愛(ài);

　　It's not too late for you to have kids.

　　你還來(lái)得及體驗(yàn)為人父母的感覺(jué);

　　It's not too late for you to embark on an exciting career or series of careers.

　　你還來(lái)得及開(kāi)始從事一段或幾段激動(dòng)人心的事業(yè)。

　　It's not too late for you to read the complete works of Shakespeare; learn how to program computers; learn to dance; travel around the world; go to therapy; become an accomplished cook; sky dive; develop an appreciation for jazz; write a novel; get an advanced degree; save for your old age; read "In Search of Lost Time"; become a Christian, then an atheist, then a Scientologist; break a few bones; learn how to fix a toilet; develop a six-pack ...

　　通讀莎士比亞全集;學(xué)編程;學(xué)跳舞;環(huán)游世界;看心理醫(yī)生;精通廚藝;高空跳傘;學(xué)會(huì)欣賞爵士樂(lè);寫部小說(shuō);深造;存些養(yǎng)老錢;讀讀《追憶似水年華》;成為基督徒，再當(dāng)無(wú)神論者，再信奉科學(xué)教派;摔斷幾根骨頭;學(xué)會(huì)修馬桶;練出6塊腹肌……這些都還來(lái)得及。

　　Honestly, I'm 47, and I'll say this to you, whippersnapper: you're a fucking kid, so get over yourself. I'm a fucking kid, too. I'm almost twice your age, and I'm just getting started! My dad is in his 80s, and he wrote two books last year.

　　說(shuō)實(shí)話，我已經(jīng)47歲了，我要告訴你這個(gè)傲慢的家伙：你只是個(gè)小屁孩，別自以為是了!我也只是個(gè)小屁孩。盡管我的年齡幾乎是你的兩倍，但我才剛剛開(kāi)始!我爸爸已經(jīng)80多歲了，但他去年還寫了兩本書(shū)。

　　You don't get to use age as an excuse. Get off your ass!

　　不要再拿年齡當(dāng)借口了。行動(dòng)起來(lái)!

　　Also, learn about what economists call "sunk costs." If I give someone $100 on Monday, and he spends $50 on candy, he'll probably regret that purchase on Tuesday. In a way, he'll still think of himself as a guy with $100—half of which is wasted.

　　還有，學(xué)一下經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家們所說(shuō)的“沉沒(méi)成本”。如果我周一給了某人100美元，他花50買了糖，周二的時(shí)候他可能就會(huì)后悔花了這筆錢。從某種程度上來(lái)說(shuō)，他還是覺(jué)得自己有100美元——只是其中一半已經(jīng)浪費(fèi)掉了。

　　What he really is is a guy with $50, just as he would be if I'd handed him a fifty-dollar bill. A sunk cost from yesterday should not be part of today's equation. What he should be thinking is this: "What should I do with my $50?"

　　實(shí)際上他只有50美金，就像最初我只給了他50美金一樣。昨天的沉沒(méi)成本不應(yīng)劃入今天的收支等式。他應(yīng)該思考的是：“我該怎么利用手里的這50美金?”

　　What you are isn't a person who has wasted 27 years. You are a person who has X number of years ahead of you. What are you going to do with them?

　　你不是一個(gè)已經(jīng)荒廢了27年光陰的人，你是一個(gè)今后還有大把年華的人。接下來(lái)人生你又想怎么度過(guò)?