The more closely we examine the development of original predispositions, the more clearly we shall see that this development is not inevitable12, is not a process which works itself out independently according to mysterious, ruthless laws which we cannot understand. For instance, the effect of an original predisposition may be destroyed by an accidental shock. A young man with an inherited tendency to alcohol may develop into a stern teetotaller through the shock caused by seeing his drunken father strike his mother; whereas, if his father had chanced to be affectionate in drink, the son might have ended in the gutter13. No ruthless law here! It is notorious, also, that natures are sometimes completely changed in their development by chance momentary14 contact with natures stronger than themselves. 'From that day I resolved—' etc. You know the phrase. Often the resolve is not kept; but often it is kept. A spark has inflamed15 the will. The burning will has tyrannised over the brain. New habits have been formed. And the result looks just like a miracle.
Now, if these great transformations16 can be brought about by accident, cannot similar transformations be brought about by a reasonable design? At any rate, if one starts to bring them about, one starts with the assurance that transformations are not impossible, since they have occurred. One starts also in the full knowledge of the influence of habit on life. Take any one of your own habits, mental or physical. You will be able to recall the time when that habit did not exist, or if it did exist it was scarcely perceptible. And you will discover that nearly all your habits have been formed unconsciously, by daily repetitions which bore no relation to a general plan, and which you practised not noticing. You will be compelled to admit that your 'character,' as it is to-day, is a structure that has been built almost without the aid of an architect; higgledy-piggledy, anyhow. But occasionally the architect did step in and design something. Here and there among your habits you will find one that you consciously and of deliberate purpose initiated18 and persevered19 with—doubtless owing to some happy influence. What is the difference between that conscious habit and the unconscious habits? None whatever as regards its effect on the sum of your character. It may be the strongest of all your habits. The only quality that differentiates20 it from the others is that it has a definite object (most likely a good object), and that it wholly or partially21 fulfils that object. There is not a man who reads these lines but has, in this detail or that, proved in himself that the will, forcing the brain to repeat the same action again and again, can modify the shape of his character as a sculptor22 modifies the shape of damp clay.
But if a grown man's character is developing from day to day (as it is), if nine-tenths of the development is due to unconscious action and one-tenth to conscious action, and if the one-tenth conscious is the most satisfactory part of the total result; why, in the name of common sense, henceforward, should not nine-tenths, instead of one-tenth, be due to conscious action? What is there to prevent this agreeable consummation? There is nothing whatever to prevent it—except insubordination on the part of the brain. And insubordination of the brain can be cured, as I have previously23 shown. When I see men unhappy and inefficient24 in the craft of living, from sheer, crass25 inattention to their own development; when I see misshapen men building up businesses and empires, and never stopping to build up themselves; when I see dreary26 men expending27 precisely28 the same energy on teaching a dog to walk on its hind-legs as would brighten the whole colour of their own lives, I feel as if I wanted to give up the ghost, so ridiculous, so fatuous29 does the spectacle seem! But, of course, I do not give up the ghost. The paroxysm passes. Only I really must cry out: 'Can't you see what you're missing? Can't you see that you're missing the most interesting thing on earth, far more interesting than businesses, empires, and dogs? Doesn't it strike you how clumsy and short-sighted you are—working always with an inferior machine when you might have a smooth-gliding perfection? Doesn't it strike you how badly you are treating yourself?'
Listen, you confirmed grumbler30, you who make the evening meal hideous32 with complaints against destiny—for it is you I will single out. Are you aware what people are saying about you behind your back? They are saying that you render yourself and your family miserable33 by the habit which has grown on you of always grumbling34. 'Surely it isn't as bad as that?' you protest. Yes, it is just as bad as that. You say: 'The fact is, I know it's absurd to grumble31. But I'm like that. I've tried to stop it, and I can't!' How have you tried to stop it? 'Well, I've made up my mind several times to fight against it, but I never succeed. This is strictly35 between ourselves. I don't usually admit that I'm a grumbler.' Considering that you grumble for about an hour and a half every day of your life, it was sanguine36, my dear sir, to expect to cure such a habit by means of a solitary37 intention, formed at intervals38 in the brain and then forgotten. No! You must do more than that. If you will daily fix your brain firmly for half an hour on the truth (you know it to be a truth) that grumbling is absurd and futile39, your brain will henceforward begin to form a habit in that direction; it will begin to be moulded to the idea that grumbling is absurd and futile. In odd moments, when it isn't thinking of anything in particular, it will suddenly remember that grumbling is absurd and futile. When you sit down to the meal and open your mouth to say: 'I can't think what my ass17 of a partner means by—' it will remember that grumbling is absurd and futile, and will alter the arrangement of your throat, teeth, and tongue, so that you will say: 'What fine weather we're having!' In brief, it will remember involuntarily, by a new habit. All who look into their experience will admit that the failure to replace old habits by new ones is due to the fact that at the critical moment the brain does not remember; it simply forgets. The practice of concentration will cure that. All depends on regular concentration. This grumbling is an instance, though chosen not quite at hazard.
该作者的其它作品
《How to Live on 24 Hours a Day》
该作者的其它作品
《How to Live on 24 Hours a Day》
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1 reconstruction | |
n.重建,再现,复原 | |
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2 benevolent | |
adj.仁慈的,乐善好施的 | |
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3 habitually | |
ad.习惯地,通常地 | |
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4 benevolently | |
adv.仁慈地,行善地 | |
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5 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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6 edifice | |
n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿,教室) | |
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7 peculiarities | |
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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8 haphazard | |
adj.无计划的,随意的,杂乱无章的 | |
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9 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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10 abhors | |
v.憎恶( abhor的第三人称单数 );(厌恶地)回避;拒绝;淘汰 | |
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11 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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12 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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13 gutter | |
n.沟,街沟,水槽,檐槽,贫民窟 | |
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14 momentary | |
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的 | |
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15 inflamed | |
adj.发炎的,红肿的v.(使)变红,发怒,过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16 transformations | |
n.变化( transformation的名词复数 );转换;转换;变换 | |
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17 ass | |
n.驴;傻瓜,蠢笨的人 | |
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18 initiated | |
n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始,创始,启蒙,介绍加入 | |
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19 persevered | |
v.坚忍,坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20 differentiates | |
区分,区别,辨别( differentiate的第三人称单数 ); 区别对待; 表明…间的差别,构成…间差别的特征 | |
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21 partially | |
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲 | |
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22 sculptor | |
n.雕刻家,雕刻家 | |
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23 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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24 inefficient | |
adj.效率低的,无效的 | |
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25 crass | |
adj.愚钝的,粗糙的;彻底的 | |
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26 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
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27 expending | |
v.花费( expend的现在分词 );使用(钱等)做某事;用光;耗尽 | |
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28 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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29 fatuous | |
adj.愚昧的;昏庸的 | |
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30 grumbler | |
爱抱怨的人,发牢骚的人 | |
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31 grumble | |
vi.抱怨;咕哝;n.抱怨,牢骚;咕哝,隆隆声 | |
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32 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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33 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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34 grumbling | |
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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35 strictly | |
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 | |
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36 sanguine | |
adj.充满希望的,乐观的,血红色的 | |
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37 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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38 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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39 futile | |
adj.无效的,无用的,无希望的 | |
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