我该如何提高注意力（四）
How can I improve my focus?
译文简介
网友：我被学校开除了。“当你更成熟、更专注时，欢迎你回来，”—这是一封正式的信。
我是一个失败者，沮丧，孤独。我的父母很不高兴，我的朋友认为我很愚蠢。
我为什么被开除？
正文翻译
How can I improve my focus?
我该如何提高注意力
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
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I got thrown out of school. "You are welcome to return when you are more mature and can focus" said the formal letter.
I was a failure, depressed, and lonely. My parents were upset and my friends thought I was stupid.
Why was I thrown out?
A) I was playing chess all the time. I couldn't stop. I'd promise my girlfriend when we were walking in that "Today I will DEFINITELY not play" and then I'd say to myself, "Well, maybe just one game."
Ten hours later I'd finally stop playing chess online.
For about a half hour. Then another ten hours later I might stumble home. I still play every day. Sometimes for an hour. Sometimes for ten.
B) I decided to be a world-famous novelist.
Even though I was studying computer science, I wrote ten pages a day (on days I wasn't playing chess).
I ended up writing four unpublished (or, I should also say, unpublishable) novels and dozens of short stories. Nothing ever published.
我被学校开除了。“当你更成熟、更专注时，欢迎你回来，”—这是一封正式的信。
我是一个失败者，沮丧，孤独。我的父母很不高兴，我的朋友认为我很愚蠢。
我为什么被开除？
A） 我一直在下棋。我停不下来。当我们走在一起时，我向我的女朋友承诺“今天我绝对不会玩游戏”，然后我对自己说，“好吧，也许就玩一场游戏。”
十个小时后，我终于不再在网上下棋了。
大约半小时，之后是再过十个小时，我可能会步履蹒跚地回家。我仍然每天玩。有时一个小时。有时是十小时。
B） 我决定成为世界著名的小说家。
尽管我在学习计算机科学，但我每天写十页（在我不下棋的日子里）。
我最终写了四部未出版（或者，我也应该说，不宜出版）的小说和几十部短篇小说，但从来没有被出版过。
I'd walk back and forth in front of my girlfriend's house (whichever girlfriend at the time, I was always walking back and forth in front of her house).
I'd wait for her to walk outside and then I'd say, "Oh hey! I was just walking by." And I'd hope we could walk together. I'd hope she would like me and talk to me. I would hope she just spend time with me.
My hopes rarely came true. And I was always seeking and I don't think I was ever sought.
D) I wanted to make friends.
Everyone in the same program as me was smarter than me. I wanted to be friends with all of them. Still, 25 years later, I am intimidated when any of my old school friends text me.
I would socialize too much. Even on the nights before finals and other exams. I thought I was a cowboy and could go out all night and ace all the tests. I failed every class except one in my first two years of graduate school .
I failed out of graduate school. And then I got depressed and it took a long time to recover.
C） 有一段时间，我总是为女朋友感到沮丧。我不能专心工作。
我会在我女朋友家门口来回走（无论当时是哪个女朋友，我总是在她家门口来回走动）。
等她走到外面，然后我会说，“哦，嘿！我只是路过。”我希望我们能一起走。我希望她会喜欢我，跟我说话，我希望她和我呆在一起。
我的希望很少实现。我一直在寻找，但我认为我从来没有被人寻找过。
D） 我想交朋友。
和我在同一个项目中的每个人都比我聪明，我想和他们成为朋友。然而，25年后，当我的老同学给我发短信时，我很害怕。
我太喜欢社交了。甚至在期末考试和其他考试前的晚上也是如此。我以为我是个牛仔，可以整夜外出，考试都能拿高分。在研究生院的头两年，除了一门课，我每门课都不及格。
我没能从研究生院毕业。然后我变得沮丧，花了很长时间才恢复。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
I got good enough at chess to achieve a "masters" ranking with the US chess federation.
So what?
And yet: that ranking helped me later get a job at a company I loved (HBO).
Helped me sell a future company I started. Helped me raise money for the next company after that.
And has been a lifelong source of joy, competition, and new friends for me.
Even if I go to a new country, I just show up at the local chess club and there they all are! New friends for me.
Guess what? The man who wrote that letter throwing me out of graduate school for lack of focus became my chess student for years. And now is one of my best friends.
He still wants me to come back to graduate school.
后来.....
我的国际象棋方面能力很强，在美国国际象棋联合会获得了“大师”的排名。
那又怎么样？
然而，这个排名帮助我后来在一家我喜欢的公司（HBO）找到了一份工作。
帮我卖掉了我创办的未来公司。帮助我为下一家公司筹集资金。
对我来说，它一直是快乐、竞争和新朋友的终生源泉。
即使我去到一个新的国家，我也会出现在当地的国际象棋俱乐部，我的新朋友都在那里！
你猜怎么着？因为无法集中注意力而写那封把我赶出了研究生院的信的人，成了我多年的国际象棋学生，现在是我最好的朋友之一。
他仍然希望我回到研究生院。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
But I did publish 18 other books. One of them has sold a half million copies. The rest have done well.
And my writing each month is read by 100,000s or millions of readers. And my ability to write has helped me win customers, clients, find partners, find friends, and enjoy reading in a way I never was able to before.
I thought publishing a novel back then would be a way for me to meet a girlfriend. It would be impressive!
It never worked. Bet maybe reading helped me understand a bit more what I was always doing wrong.
Or not.
Because I lack focus, I forgot what I've written above so I had to scroll up and see.
我从未出版过一本小说（我偷偷地用自己笔名出版了一本，但它更像是中篇小说）。
但我确实出版了另外18本书。其中一本已经售出50万册，其余的都做得很好。
每个月我的作品都被10万或数百万读者阅读。我的写作能力帮助我赢得了客户、委、找到了合作伙伴、找到了朋友，并以一种前所未有的方式享受阅读。
我当时认为出版一本小说是我认识女朋友的一种方式，这将是令人印象深刻的！
它从未奏效。我打赌也许阅读能帮助我更多地理解我一直在做的错事。
或者不是。
因为我缺乏焦点，我忘记了上面写的内容，所以我不得不向上滚动查看。
Because I'm both shy and curious and eager to please I started a podcast just so I could meet more people.
I've done hundreds of podcast episodes now. With millions of people who have listened.
I try every day to improve my relationships. Although often it's difficult. I have to give myself permission to not be perfect.
Since I've been thrown out of graduate school I've had about (I am counting right now with my fingers..........13 or 14 completely different careers.
Sometimes I've started companies. Sometimes I've been an employee. Sometimes a writer. Sometimes a total loser.
Most companies failed. Most of my writing was no good. Most of the time I've been an employee I've been fired.
But overall, I look back and it's been exciting. And when I run into you in the street and we recognize each other from one of those horrific times, we always hug and catch up.
I'm grateful for the number of times one experience combined with another completely different experience, to create a new thought for me, a new idea. A new way to fail and mess up.
The other day, Howard said to me, "you are still screwing up all the time" but he laughed because now it's funny and when it's not sad it's always interesting.
I've never been focused. I never will be. I don't want to be. I am constantly trying to figure things out.
我不知道为什么，感情对我来说真的很难。
因为我既害羞又好奇，渴望取悦他人，所以我开始了成为一个播客，这样我就可以认识更多的人。
我已经做了数百集播客，被数以百万计的人听到。
我每天都努力改善我的人际关系。尽管通常很难，但我必须允许自己不完美。
自从我被研究生院开除后，我有过（我现在用手指数着）13或14个完全不同的职业。
有时我会开公司。有时我是一名员工。有时是作家。有时是个彻底的失败者。
大多数公司都失败了。我的大部分作品都不好。大多数时候我都是员工，还被解雇。
但总的来说，我回首往事，感到非常激动。当我在街上遇到你，在那些可怕的时刻，我们认识了彼此，我们总是拥抱，叙叙旧。
我很感激一次经历与另一次完全不同的经历相结合，为我创造了一个新的想法，产生了一个新创意，带来了一种失败和混乱的新方式。
前几天，霍华德对我说，“你还是一直在搞砸”，但他笑了，因为现在这很有趣，当它不悲伤的时候，它总是有趣的。
我从来没有专注过。我永远不会，我不想这样，但是我一直在想办法。
And sometimes if Plan A doesn't work out I go straight to Plan B.
Or sometimes I combine Plan D with Plan Q to make a new Plan A. A Plan A that surprises me but turns out to be the correct plan.
Or sometimes i write my list of ten ideas for the day and then I am tired and that was my plan for the day.
Or sometimes I write those ideas and one idea stands up and salutes and that becomes my master for the day, leading me in all the directions it needs to explore
I try to give myself permission to be healthy in every way rather than focused.
Sometimes my daughter wants to spend time with me. So all plans are laid to rest. No matter who is calling.
(I wish this were true all the time but sadly there are times that slip by and I will never get them back, all in the name of a faceless god named "focus").
And sometimes Life happens and all good plans disappear and some never come back. Some fly away and never return and I can't ask "Why?" because only frustration and anger are answers.
I never went back to graduate school. I never got mature enough. Most businesses I've started have failed. Most of the time, my life has been so crazy it's been like a roller coaster of exhilaration and depression.
But I look back and I'm proud and I'm happy. And I look forward and I'm scared but mostly I can't wait to see what's next.
I don't know what's next. And I look outside right now and it's snowing and I want to play.
这是我的A计划、B计划，通常还有C计划，D计划和E计划。
有时，如果A计划不奏效，我直接执行B计划。
或者有时我把计划D和计划Q结合起来，制定一个新的A计划，一个让我惊讶但最终证明是正确的A计划。
有时我写下一天的十个想法，然后我累了，这就是我一天的计划。
或者有时我写下这些想法，一个念头站起来向我致敬，这成为我今天的主人，引导我朝着它需要探索的方向前进。
我试着允许自己在各个方面保持健康，而不是专注。
有时候，我女儿想和我呆在一起，所以不管是谁打电话，所有的计划都被搁置了。
(我希望这一直都是真的，但遗憾的是，有些时间溜走了，我再也回不来了，这一切都是因为一个名叫“专注”的无名之神。)
有时候，生活发生了变化，所有的好计划都消失了，有些再也没有回来。有些飞走了，再也不回来了，我也不能问“为什么”，因为只有挫折和愤怒才是答案。
我再也没有回过研究生院。我一直不够成熟。我创办的大多数企业都失败了。大多数时候，我的生活是如此疯狂，就像是一个充满兴奋和沮丧的过山车一般。
但我回首往事，我很自豪，我很高兴。我期待着，我很害怕，但大多数时候我都迫不及待地想看看接下来会发生什么。
我不知道接下来会发生什么。我现在看着外面，下雪了，我想玩。
4 Ways to improve your focus
1. Take your coffee cold
Stuff like that isn't worth your time. If it's morning, get up, go make coffee, and drink it in the shower. Go wait in the bathroom or wherever and drink your coffee there. You won't need to focus and that's what it's all about!
2. Do one thing at a time
Don't distract yourself by browsing the internet or watching videos on YouTube. Keep focused on the task at hand. Read an article. Write a story.
Whatever you do, do it one thing at a time. You can only focus on one thing at a time for so long. Then your brain will start wandering. Or you'll need to pee.
3. Stop multitasking
Studies have shown that multitasking is bad for our attention and creativity. It affects our ability to learn and remember. So, stop multitasking.
You've probably seen people pretending to do two or three things at once. Just do one thing at a time.
For example, when you're using an iPad, keep the background on another program or a random photo. You might have to close some of the applications that you keep open when you're not using the iPad, but I'll bet it will help you.
4. You are what you eat
Focus. It's all in the food you eat. Especially if it's junk food. If it's stuff that is filling, like pizza or soda, you'll have the strength to focus longer and more productively.
提高注意力的4种方法：
1.喝凉咖啡
这样的东西不值得你花时间。如果是早上，起床，去煮咖啡，在淋浴间喝。去洗手间或其他地方等着，然后在那里喝咖啡。你不需要为此集中注意力，这就是一切！
2.一次只做一件事
不要通过浏览互联网或观看油管上的视频来分散自己的注意力。专注于手头的任务：读一篇文章或者写一个故事。
无论你做什么，一次只做一件事。你一次只能长时间专注于一件事。然后你的大脑就会开始游荡，否则你需要小便。
3.停止处理多任务
研究表明，处理多任务不利于我们集中注意力和创造力。它影响我们的学习和记忆能力。所以，停止处理多任务。
你可能见过人们假装同时做两三件事，但是一次只做一件事。
例如，当使用iPad时，请将背景保持在另一个程序或随机照片上。你可能需要关闭一些在不使用iPad时保持打开的应用程序，但我敢打赌这对你会有所帮助。
4.人如其食
注意力都在你吃的食物里。尤其是垃圾食品。如果是能填饱肚子的东西，比如披萨或苏打水，你就有精力更持久、更高效地集中精力。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
To improve your focus.
Train your brain.
try this.
Play certain types of games can help you get better at concentrating.
提高你的注意力。
训练你的大脑。
试试这个。
玩某些类型的游戏可以帮助你更好地集中注意力。
Your mind is always busy doing something or other and always chatting with itself. It is like an undisciplined child who start talking to his friend in the class as soon as the teacher looks at the other side. The teacher keeps persuading, admonishing, warning and punishing the child, but the behavior of the child does not improve. Bhagawad Gita says so correctly: “An undisciplined mind is the greatest enemy of man. For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his very mind will be the greatest enemy.”[1]
It is, however, not easy to focus your mind.
With an unfocussed mind, you can’t do any great thing in life while a focused mind can do wonders. Just like the sunlight focused through a lenses can burn anything, a focused mind can achieve anything in the world.
It is not so difficult to focus your mind, if you approach the problem in a systematic way. You can learn to focus your mind by using the following techniques.
1: Like what you do
When you don’t like something, you can’t focus as your mind always runs away towards something which it likes. For example, if you are studying physics and you don’t like it; you would find it difficult to concentrate. However, if you like the subject, your attention shall not waver. If you do what you like and like what you do; there shall never be a problem of concentration.
你的注意力总是忙于做一些事情，总是与自己聊天。这就像一个不守纪律的孩子，老师一看另一边，他就开始和班上的朋友说话。老师不断劝说、训诫、警告和惩罚孩子，但孩子的行为没有改善。Bhagawad Gita说得很对：“不够集中的注意力是人类最大的敌人。对于征服了注意力的人来说，注意力是最好的朋友；但是对于一个没有做到这一点的人来说他的注意力将是最大的敌人。”
然而，集中注意力并不容易。
没有专注的注意力，你无法在生活中做任何伟大的事情，而专注的注意力可以创造奇迹。就像通过透镜聚焦的阳光可以燃烧任何东西一样，专注的注意力可以实现世界上的任何事情。
如果你以一种系统的方式处理问题，那么集中你的注意力并不难。你可以通过以下技巧来学习集中注意力。
1： 喜欢你做的
当你不喜欢某样东西时，你无法集中注意力，因为你的注意力总是朝着它喜欢的东西转移开。例如，如果你正在学习物理，你不喜欢它；你会发现很难集中注意力。然而，如果你喜欢这个科目，你的注意力不会转移走。如果你做你喜欢的事，喜欢你做的事；永远不会有注意力不集中的问题。
In your dreams, you can do whatever you like. However, in the real world you have to often do the tasks which you don’t like. You also can’t avoid such things as they are important for your career and even for your survival.
Let us try to understand how we can develop liking for something which we don’t like at present.
You can start liking even the most difficult and boring thing, if you can understand it. There is nothing wrong in physics as a subject. If you don’t like it, it is your problem and not of the physics. There are millions in the world who actually love physics.
We even hate people when we don’t understand them. John Steinbeck said wisely, “Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.”
If you have to anyway do something which you don’t like; learn it well so that you develop a better understanding of the subject, work or person. Thereafter, you can focus on it well since you would start liking it.
3: Eliminating Options
When we try to do too many things at the same time, we can’t concentrate. We have thousands of desires and we wish to fulfill all of them. It is important to understand that it is impossible to fulfill all your desires.
You must work upon eliminating the less important options till only one or two options are left. Thereafter, focus only one at a time. In the beginning, your mind may have a craving for the other options, but gradually the other options would be forgotten and you will be able to focus on the task at hand.
2： 加深理解
在你的梦里，你可以做任何你喜欢的事。然而，在现实世界中，你必须经常做你不喜欢的事情。你也不能避免这样的事情，因为它们对你的事业甚至生存都很重要。
让我们试着理解我们如何能对我们目前不喜欢的东西产生好感的。
如果你能理解的话，你甚至可以开始喜欢最难和最无聊的事情。物理作为一门学科没有什么错。如果你不喜欢，这是你的问题，而不是物理这门学科出现问题，毕竟世界上有无数人热爱物理。
当我们不理解别人时，我们甚至讨厌他们。约翰·斯坦贝克（John Steinbeck）明智地说：“试着了解他人。如果了解彼此，就会对彼此友好。了解一个人永远不会导致仇恨，几乎总是会产生爱。”
如果你不得不做你不喜欢的事情；把它学好，这样你就能更好地理解科目、工作或人。之后，你可以很好地关注它，因为你会开始喜欢它。
3： 取消选择
当我们试图同时做太多事情时，我们无法集中精力。我们有成千上万的愿望，我们希望实现所有的愿望。重要的是要明白，实现你的所有愿望是不可能的。
你必须努力消除不太重要的选项，直到只剩下一个或两个选项。此后，一次只聚焦一个。一开始，你的注意力可能会对其他选项产生渴望，但渐渐地，其他选项会被遗忘，你将能够专注于手头的任务。
Pain is several times more powerful than pleasure. If you have acute pain in only one of your teeth, your entire mind is focused on it leaving aside hundreds of other body organs which are working perfectly. When your mind is troubled with any physical, mental, emotional or spiritual problem, all your attention shall be on that trouble and you will find it difficult to focus on the task in hand.
You must learn to avoid all types of pains by understating the causes of the pain. You can then eliminate pain by rooting out the cause itself. Some methods for avoiding pains would be
Don’t make too many friends
Don’t wear your heart on sleeve and fall in love with every attractive person
Don’t disobey your parents or teacher who reprimand you for it
Don’t break the legal and moral laws
Don’t scold your children and humiliate them before their peers
4： 避免疼痛
痛苦比快乐强大好几倍。如果你只有一颗牙齿剧痛，你的整个注意力都集中在它上，而其他数百个身体器官却工作得很好。当你的注意力被任何生理、心理、情感或精神问题困扰时，你所有的注意力都应该集中在这个问题上，你会发现很难把注意力集中在手头的任务上。
你必须学会通过了解疼痛的原因来避免所有类型的疼痛。然后你可以通过根除原因本身来消除疼痛。避免疼痛的一些方法是：
不要交太多的朋友
不要轻易表露感情，爱上每一个有魅力的人
不要违抗父母或老师的训斥
不要违反法律和道德法规
不要责骂你的孩子，不要在他们的同龄人面前羞辱他们
Even the most difficult and boring task can becomes interesting and tolerable, if it becomes part of your routine and inculcated as a habit. You must make a schedule wherein there is a place for everything important whether you like or you don’t like. Just like a balanced diet can give you good health, a balanced routine can fulfill your life with joy, peace and success. Make a schedule and follow it scrupulously.
6: Planned Diversion
There are many people who switch off television, Facebook, internet, mobile phones so that they can concentrate on their studies or any other work. Such type of forced isolation does not work in real life. Your mind can’t concentrate on anything for more than half an hour to one hour. If you force it for longer, it would stop cooperating with you and make all your effort useless. You must have a fixed time using all these things only to divert your mind for some time and give it relaxation. Thereafter, you can be back for your work with better concentration.
5： 建立程序
即使是最困难和最无聊的任务，如果它成为你日常生活的一部分，并作为一种习惯被灌输，也会变得有趣和可忍受。你必须制定一个时间表，无论你喜欢还是不喜欢，都有一个重要的地方。正如平衡的饮食可以给你带来健康一样，平衡的日常生活也可以让你的生活充满快乐、和平和成功，制定一个时间表并严格执行它。
6： 转移计划
有许多人关掉电视、Facebook、互联网和手机，以便集中精力学习或其他工作。这种强制转移注意力的方法在现实生活中不起作用。你的注意力在半个多小时到一个多小时内都无法集中。如果你强迫它更长时间，它将停止与你合作，并使你所有的努力白费。你必须有一个固定的时间，用所有这些事情来转移你的注意力，让它放松一段时间。之后，你就可以更专注地回去工作了。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
It is rightly said that variety is a spice of life. If you do only one thing, you get bored soon. Just like a single node can’t create any music, a single subject can’t hold your attention for long.
When it is a time to study and you can’t focus on physics, why not try math, English or chemistry?
If you don’t feel like reading, why not start making notes?
Don’t do anything except studies when it is time for studies, but you can choose different subjects and get back your focus.
8: Recharge Your Batteries
All of us love doing something. Such activities recharge our depleted energy. You can play music, talk to your friend, read a book, play a game, go for a walk, take a bath, or listen a few songs to get yourself charged. Just as you have to keep yourself hungry to enjoy the food most, you must keep your hunger for the choicest work alive in you so that you can change your mood anytime by engaging in such activities.
9: Engage Your Body and Heart
Human personality consists of body, mind, feelings and soul. We can control our mind by controlling others. If you are finding it difficult to focus on reading books, start making notes or start highlighting the important portion. If you are trying to remember something by heart and your mind is not cooperating, start walking in your room and reciting the words and you will soon notice that your mind is focused. Sometimes, playing music in low volume sooths your feelings, change your mood and focus your mind.
Physical discipline always brings mental discipline.
7： 多样化
多样化是生活的调味品，这句话说得对。如果你只做一件事，很快就会厌倦。就像单个节拍不能创造出任何音乐一样，单个科目也不能长时间吸引你的注意力。
当学习的时候，你不能专注于物理，为什么不尝试数学、英语或化学呢？
如果你不想阅读，为什么不开始做笔记呢？
到了学习的时候，除了学习，什么都不要做，但你可以选择不同的科目，重新集中注意力。
8： 养精蓄锐
我们都喜欢做一些事情。这些活动可以补充我们耗尽的能量。你可以玩音乐，和朋友聊天，看书，玩游戏，散步，洗澡，或者听几首歌来养精蓄锐 。正如你必须让自己保持饥饿才能最大程度地享受食物一样，你也必须保持对最优质工作的渴望，这样你就可以通过参加这些活动随时改变心情。
9： 全身心投入
人的人格包括身体、心灵、情感和灵魂。我们可以通过控制他人来控制自己的思想。如果你发现很难集中精力阅读书籍，开始做笔记或突出重要部分。如果你试图记住一些东西，而你的大脑不配合，开始在房间里走来走去，背诵单词，你很快就会注意到你的注意力集中了。有时，播放轻音乐可以舒缓情绪，改变你的情绪并集中你的注意力。
身体训练总是伴随着心理训练。