Key Word No.1: Restraint

  Yimi is the name of a flower which grows in the desert in Africa. It's so inconspicuous in the barren land that most passers-by will see it as an ordinary weed, for the chance to see it blossom is less than one in thousand. Yimi spends about six years in the tough environment,unnoticed and seemingly inactive. It just waits and absorbs nutrients, and then suddenly bursts into bloom. However,the flower lasts only for two days. Six years' loneliness is suffered for just two days' fascination.

  ‘A good soldier is not violent, a good soldier is not choleric, and a good winner is not vengeful', said Lao Tzu. To restrain is not to fear; instead, it is a kind of accumulation, it is to wait in a positive manner. When conditions are matched and negative factors are erased, the most attractive fruit comes out.

  My tutor once told me, when facing big decisions, I should wait, stop, and find. In particular, I should wait for theclearance of facts,stop to summarize, and find a strategy. Don't pay for a rushed decision or care too much about groundless opportunities; show hand only when everything possible is taken into account. Above all, it is most important to come to the right decision when you really want to change your life.
 
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
                        — Robert Frost
 
关键词一 忍耐

    有一种花叫做依米，生长在非洲的戈壁。荒芜的土地中，并不显眼，经过的路人往往以为它只是普通的野草，因为看到花开的几率不过千分之一。整整六年，忍耐着环境的恶劣，忍耐着周遭的无视，忍耐着绽开的冲动，只是默默的从贫瘠中积攒力量，然后，释放。四个花瓣，四种颜色，用奇迹般的美丽点亮整个沙漠。从花开到花败，只有两天。用六年的寂寞，换两天的惊艳。

    老子说：“善为士者，不武；善战者，不怒；善胜敌者，不与。”忍耐并不是怯懦，而是积累，一种积极的等待。等待积极的条件成熟，等待消极的因素排除，然后捧出最诱人的果实。
曾有位导师和我说，做重要决定时要讲究‘等、停、看’，等着事件的真相逐渐清晰，停下来总结事件的规律，看清行动的方向。不要为一时的冲动买单，不要害怕莫须有的机会流失，把握住最终的正确决定。改变命运，不要太急，选对路，厚积而薄发。
 
一片森林里分出两条路
而我却选择了人迹更少的一条
从此决定了我一生的道路
                  —— 罗伯特•弗罗斯特
 
 
Key Word No.2: Persistence

  In 1966, in Seattle, US, a pastor announced to the kids in choir that anyone who memorized chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew would be treated to a free dinner at the Space Needle restaurant. Although many of the kids would have loved to have gone, almost all of them gave up because there were thousands of words to learn. A week after the announcement, an 11-year-old boy came to the pastor and recited the sermon flawlessly. What's more, the boy even did it with deep love. That boy was Bill Gates, now Microsoft chairman and co-founder.

  Quite too often, a decision fails because of lack of persistence. The minute you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on so long. Once you think you've chosen the right way, why later look around? Persistence is not unreasonable obstinacy, it's adherence to your goal. Stick your feet to the earth and look to the future and march forwards, whether quickly or slowly, you have to stay on track.

  If we assume the most important part of life is 60 years in length, then you'll find 20 years are spent on sleeping. Another 6 years, 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, 70 days, and 10 days are spent on eating, washing and dressing, recovering from illness, making telephone calls, looking into the mirror and even blowing your nose, respectively. Finally, 3205 days in life are left, that's about 8 years which you can use to do things you love to do. So it's not too long a time to persist and achieve success.
 
The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep
                       ——Robert Frost
 
关键词二 执着

    1966年，美国西雅图，一位牧师向唱诗班的孩子们郑重宣布：凡是能背诵《圣经•马太福者》中第五章至第七章全部内容的人，将免费受邀到的“太空针”高塔餐厅享受自助餐。尽管很多孩子做梦都想去那，但是由于圣经的这些内容有好几万字，背下来实在太难，所以几乎所有的人都放弃了。一周以后，一个11岁的男孩将牧师要求的内容一字不错的背诵出来，更令人惊讶的是，到了，背诵几乎成了充满深情的朗诵。这个男孩就是比尔•盖茨。
很多时候，当初的选择被宣判为错误，往往是因为执着不够。当你想要放弃的那一刻，想想是什么让你坚持至今。一旦选对了路，又何必四顾而徘徊。执着，并不是固执，而是一种信念的守望，牢牢守住脚下的土地，痴痴凝望远方的天空，前行，也许有快有慢，但方向永恒。

    假如把的时间放大到生命中最精华的60年，那么睡觉会占去其中的20年（7300天），吃饭6年（2190天），穿衣和梳洗5年（1825天），生病3年（1095天），打电话1年（365天），照镜子70天，抹鼻涕10天。只剩下3205天，即8年又285天，可以用于执着。这么说来，执着的极限也不过与此，从persist到succeed也并不遥远。
 
树林真可爱既深又黑
但我有许多诺言不能违背
还要赶很远的路才能安睡
还要赶很远的路才能安睡
                  —— 罗伯特•弗罗斯特
 
 
Key Word No.3: Optimism

  There is a very popular story in the last 20 years, about a shoe factory that wants to expand its market to Africa. Two salesmen are assigned to do marketing investigation. One of them goes to Africa and stays for couple of days, then reaches the disappointing conclusion that no one will buy shoes there as local people don't wear shoes at all. Another salesman sees the same situation, but he has a totally different interpretation: Africa is a huge market, because everyone there needs shoes.

  For pessimists, a mountain is never low enough to climb and a river is never shallow enough to cross. However, for optimists, a mountain is never too high to climb and a river is never too deep to cross. For the same mountain and river, different attitudes determine how difficult the process will be. Optimists will try to understand and solve problems in a more active way.

  When I was overwhelmed by a huge task, my tutor divided it into several parts and asked me to do each one separately. All of a sudden, things became much easier. There was nothing mysterious, my tutor just led me to a different viewpoint of the situation..
 
  I do believe my life has no limits! I want you to feel the same way about your life, no matter what your challenges may be. As we begin our journey together, please take a moment to think about any limitations you've placed on your life or that you've allowed others to place on it. Now think about what it would be like to be free of those limitations. What would your life be if anything were possible?
Attitude is altitude.
                        — Nick Vujicic
 
关键词三 乐观

    一个流传20多年的小故事：某鞋厂要拓展非洲市场，委派两位销售人员到非洲考察。甲在非洲呆了几天，他非常颓丧，因为他看见的非洲人都是赤脚，这意味著这里没有市场。于是他便向鞋厂汇报情况，同时订购机票回国。而乙到了非洲之后，看着同样的情形，却得出相反的结论，非洲市场潜能非常可观。他连夜致电总公司，催促加速生产，以应付这里的需求。

    悲观的人，见山是穷山，见水是恶水；乐观的人，见山是青山，见水是绿水。若能跨过，两者都会发现山依然是山，水依然是水。只是跨越时不同的心情，决定了过程的难易与长短。乐观的人善用更加积极的态度直面问题，进而思考，进而解决。

    依然是那位导师，在我面对繁重的任务一筹莫展时，将其划分为不等的板块，告诉我一次完成一块就好。任务量没变，但是对我而言，泰山瞬间变为鸿毛。原因无他，导师把我引向了乐观而已。

    “我坚信我的生命没有极限！我希望你们也是一样的感觉，不管你面对怎样的困难。既然我们一起开始这个旅程，请用一分钟想想你给自己的生命强加了什么限制或者你允许其他人给你的生命强加什么限制。现在再想想如果没有这些限制会是什么样子。如果一切皆有可能，你的生命又是什么样子？”
“态度决定高度。”
                    —— 尼克•武伊契奇
 
 
Key Word No.4: Gratefulness

  In the 1970s, Jackie Chan was a freshman in filmdom. He was eager to get the famous writer, Gulong, to write a script for him, and thus Chan drank with Gulong from night to night. However, Gulong commented that he would never write for Chan due to his unattractive appearance. Chan was quite depressed. However, 40 years later, when Chan, then a world-wide film super star, was asked about this experience, he was so tolerant as to say,“I have been through countless setbacks such as that one, but I'm not mad at all; on the contrary I've been always thankful. Without those experiences, I wouldn’t have kept working hard.”

  Be grateful, not only to your friends or families, but also for difficulties and failures and even to your enemies. While success brings happiness, failures brings lessons. And all the assistance as well as the resistance contributes to your life.
To cherish what you have now, no matter good or bad, is the starting point to being thankful.
   
  There were times when I sort of look at my life, and thinking that I can't do this and I can't do that. And you keep on concentrating on the things you wish to have, or the things that you wish you didn't have. And you sort of forget what you DO have.
                        — Nick Vujicic
   
关键词四 感恩

    20世纪70年代，成龙初出茅庐，为了让的武狭小说作家古龙写一剧本给自己，每天陪他喝酒。古龙却说：我怎么会给他写这个剧本，我要写，也得找个好看点的。酒醉的成龙跑到厕所呕吐，抱着同事哭的泪流满面。岁月沧桑，世事变幻，40年后，成龙在中央电视台《艺术人生》节目中讲述那段往事时，却出人意料的爽朗：“我经历了无数这种遭遇，但是我没有生气，我还感谢他们，请他们吃饭，因为不是他们这些话，我不会努力。”

    感恩，不仅仅是感谢自己的亲人、朋友、知音，也需要以包容的心态感谢困难、挫折、敌人。美妙的成功固然让人欣慰，痛苦的失利也给予了自审的明镜。正是这所有的助力和阻力，构成了人生的经验，从而造就了现在的我们。
珍惜所有的一切，即是感恩的开始。
 
    我曾经时常审视我的人生，想起我什么也做不来。而如果你只记挂着想要拥有或舍弃的东西，那么你就忘记了你已经拥有的。
                                  ——尼克•武伊契奇
 

作者简介：
胡伟 :武汉新航道学得快个性化学习中心总监兼优加中学全科项目部主任，新航道国际教育集团培训师，雅思阅读首席讲师，英国University of Southampton 硕士学位。英语功底扎实，课堂气氛热烈轻松,丰富的海外生活阅历和对东西方文化的深入了解使其在雅思教学中形成了自己独到的优势。

新航道国际教育集团提供专业的雅思培训、托福培训、GRE培训、SAT培训、剑桥青少英语培训等英语培训，帮助广大学子“用英语点亮人生”

(作者：武汉新航道胡伟  责编：王超)