激情晨读英语美文 第七章 追随你的梦想:选择乐观

Catch the star that holds your destiny, the one that forever twinkles within your heart.  Always believe that your ultimate goal is attainable as long as you commit yourself to it.

当生命中的那颗星在你内心闪耀的时候，要学会把握它，永远相信只要自己持之以恒，就一定能够实现自己心中的梦想。

The greatest gifts in life are not purchased, but acquired through hard work and determination. You are capable of making your brightest dreams come true. Give your hopes everything you've got and you will catch the star that holds your destiny.

生活里最丰厚的礼物不是买来的，而是通过艰苦的努力和决心获得的。你有能力实现你最辉煌的梦想。对即得的怀抱希望并抓住那颗掌控你命运的星吧。

Choose Optimism--By Rich De Vos

　　If you expect something to turn out badly, it probably will.Pessimism is seldom disappointed. But the same principle also works in reverse. If you expect good things to happen, they usually do! There seems to be a natural cause-and-effect relationship between optimism and success.

　　Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces, and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations. There is enough good and bad in everyone’s life — ample sorrow and happiness, sufficient joy and pain — to find a rational basis for either optimism or pessimism. We can choose to laugh or cry, bless or curse. It’s our decision: From which perspective do we want to view life? Will we look up in hope or down in despair?

　　I believe in the upward look. I choose to highlight the positive and slip right over the negative. I am an optimist by choice as much as by nature. Sure, I know that sorrow exists. I am in my 70s now, and I’ve lived through more than one crisis. But when all is said and done, I find that the good in life far outweighs the bad.

　　An optimistic attitude is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. The way you look at life will determine how you feel, how you perform, and how well you will get along with other people. Conversely, negative thoughts, attitudes, and expectations feed on themselves; they become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Pessimism creates a dismal place where no one wants to live.

选择乐观

　　假如你预期某事会有不妙的结果，结局也许就真的不妙——悲观的想法很少落空。但这个法则反过来也同样成立：如果你自感鸿运当头，通常就会有好运降临!在乐观与成功之间似乎有一种天然的因果关系。

　　乐观和悲观都是强大的力量，我们每个人都必须在这两者之间做出选择，从而给我们对未来的展望和预期染上或明或暗的色彩。每个人的生命中都有足够多的幸与不幸——数不清的哀伤和喜悦，欢欣与痛苦——给我们乐观或悲观的理由。我们可以选择哭或是笑，祝福或是诅咒。我们可以选择用什么样的眼光去看待生活——是昂首去寻找希望抑或垂头在绝望中逡巡。

　　我喜欢向上看。我会把注意力集中在生活中光明的一面，忽略那些阴暗的角落。天性和个人选择是我成了一个乐观主义者。当然，我知道生命中总有伤痛，年逾古稀的我曾不止一次经历过危机。但是，当一切尘埃落定，我发现生命中的美好远远比丑恶为多。

　　乐观的态度不是一种奢侈品;它是我们生活的必需。你看待生活的方式将决定你的感受、你的表现，以及你与他人相处得怎样。反过来，悲观的想法、态度和预期也会自成因果：它们是能自我实现的预言。悲观会制造出无人愿望的黑暗处所。

Optimism doesn’t need to be naïve. We can be an optimist and still recognize that the problems exist and that some of them are not dealt with easily. But what a difference optimism makes in the attitude of the problem solver? Optimism diverts our attention away from negativism and channels it into positive, constructive thinking. When you are an optimist, you’re more concerned with problem-solving than with useless carping about issues. In fact, without optimism, issues as big and ongoing as poverty have no hope of solution. It takes a dreamer--- some  with hopelessly optimistic ideas, great persistence, and unlimited confidence – to tackle a problem that big. It’s your choice.
乐观并不需要变得幼稚，我们可以在成为乐观者的同时，仍意识到有问题存在，有些甚至难以解决。但是，乐观使解决问题的态度有所不同！乐观会使我们把注意力从消极转向积极的、建设性的思考上。如果你是一个乐观者，会更关心问题的解决而不是毫无价值地怨天尤人。事实上，如果没有乐观主义精神，一些现存的巨大问题，如贫穷，就毫无希望解决它。它需要一个梦想家---一个拥有绝对乐观、矢志不移、坚定信念的人---来解决这个巨大的问题。乐观，或是悲观，在于你的选择。