Month: November 2013

  • When it is okay to give up

    人生中, 常聽到的是 Don't give up. Keep trying. You can do it. 等鼓勵的話...

    雖然這正面力量是我喜歡的, 但 這也造成有時候, 該放棄了、該轉換跑道了, 卻不知道去哪裡找那勇氣...

    不久前, 自己經歷過了自己人生中的一個 crisis... 那時候近乎崩潰, 看到了這篇, 特別有感觸... 雖然到最後沒有 give up, 但是這篇一直深留我心...

    http://thoughtcatalog.com/chelsea-fagan/2012/11/when-its-okay-to-give-up/ (註 1)

    (***註 1: 如同上面那篇下方 comments/留言 中有人提起的, 這裡說的應該是 不包含放棄生命, 而是說可以放下現在所走的方向, 換個方向走。 / Note 1: As was noted by some in the Comments area beneath the above-mentioned article, this article did NOT say it's okay to give up on "life".... just saying it's okay to move onto another route.)

    或許

    真的該教下一代:

    要游泳, 要先會學溺水後重生的方式 (註2)
    要成功, 要先學會失敗放棄後的再度爬起來

    (註2: 還真的有這樣的研究, see: The Teaching of Swimming Based on a Model Derived from the Causes of Drowning - http://tinyurl.com/swimbynotdrowning)

  • The "Default" in Life

    What's the "default" setting in life?

    ...
    ..
    .

    While this may surprise many, I'd argue that the default actually should be described with words like... dirty, mean, messy, ugly, unhealthy, unhappy, yucky, and the like.
    .
    ..
    ...

    I say so because too often people (or even myself) take (good) things for granted.

    A city doesn't stay clean by itself. Sanitary workers work hard to take away the trash and clean up the roads.

    A person doesn't look amazing simply by breathing and lying around. That beautiful person is pretty usually because s/he has worked for it in some way, such as exercising, choosing healthy foods to eat, and getting some nice accessories (including make-up and clothing) to wear. (Of course, I understand that some may be born pretty... but that's another story... This is written with the average person in mind.)

    A food doesn't become delicious and get to the table by accident. There are actually people who take the time to cook to have them that way.

    So STOP. Stop believing that those people in uniforms and standing next to garbage trucks don't worth a smile or a thanks from you. Stop believing that people should appear to be pretty by default. Stop believing that a smudge on the floor cancels out the fact that the rest of the floor is not covered by smudges.

    START. Start understanding that you owe a non-smelly household and neighborhood to those that pick up the trash from you. Start understanding that people will look even more wonderful if you compliment them, yes, even when they have no make-up on. Start understanding that you can notice the smudge only because the rest of the floor is relatively clean and that someone is (actively/passively) waiting to be thanked.

    Taking on this kind of viewpoint on the default of life changes everything.

    Life becomes more worthwhile more easily.