奥巴马给女儿的16条建议

Life is short. It may feel like it takes forever sometimes, but the reality is that you live, and a short time later, you die. It happens so quickly, many people don’t even realize they had a life until it’s already over.

生命是短暂的。有时候你会觉得生命无休无止，但现实是，你现在活着，没过多久后，你就死了。整个过程如此之迅速，以至于很多人直到生命结束的那一刻才意识到。

1 – Stop Doubting Yourself
1 –不要怀疑自己

If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will. Success starts in your mind, and if all you’re doing is putting yourself down and predicting failure, it’ll become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of doubting yourself, think positively. Not only will you be happier and more successful, you’ll spread it to everyone around you.

如果连你自己都不相信自己，那就更没人会相信你了。成功开始于你的内心，如果你所做的事情都只是在贬低你自己，以及只会预测到未来的失败，那它就会像你自己预言的那样而失败。不要怀疑自己，积极一点。你不仅会更快乐更加成功，而且还会将这份成功与快乐传递给身边的人。

2 – Stop Being Negative
2 – 不要悲观

Now that you’re done doubting yourself, stop doubting others. You don’t like when people are critical of you, so stop being critical of others. Think about how you make other people feel – even if you have good intentions, people don’t like hearing negativity.

既然你已经怀疑你自己了，那就别再去怀疑别人了。你不喜欢别人批评你，所以也不要去批评别人。想想你做的事情会给别人怎么样的影响—即使你是为了他们好，别人也不喜欢听到一些悲观的事情。

3 – Stop Procrastinating
3 – 不要拖延

I don’t feel like procrastinating right now – I’ll do it tomorrow. When you procrastinate, you remain stagnant. Whatever you’re putting off doesn’t go away; resolve the problem, and move on. You’ll be much happier in the long run.

我现在不想做-明天再做吧。当你拖延的时候，你仍旧停滞不前。无论你怎么拖延，你要做的事情还是得做；把问题解决了，才能继续向前。长此以往，你会更快乐。

4 – Stop Being Mean
4 –不要卑鄙

It’s completely possible to step on someone’s toes without meaning to – it happens all the time. There’s no need to pile on by purposefully doing mean things, so make a conscious effort to stop being mean. If someone wrongs you, let it go. There’s no need to seek vengeance unless that’s the type of person you want to be.

如果你踩到别人的鞋带，这完全可能不是你自己故意的—但这些事总是发生。我们没有必要故意去做一些卑鄙的事情，所以有意识地让自己别再卑鄙了。如果有人做了对不起你的事，让他去吧。没有必要找机会复仇，除非你就是想做那样的人。

5 – Stop Eating Out
5 –不要出去吃饭

Eating out is the biggest waste of money. Every so often it’s nice to treat yourself, but eating out for every meal is the quickest way to drain your bank account. Learn how to cook at least a handful of foods you enjoy: It’ll save you money, keep you healthier, and occasionally impress people.

外出吃饭是最浪费钱的。你觉得这是对你自己很好的待遇，但外出吃饭却是让你用完自己积蓄最快的方式。至少学着怎么烹调一些你自己喜欢的食物：那不仅可以省钱，还可以让你更健康，偶尔还能让别人眼前一亮。

6 – Stop Being Lazy
6 –不要懒惰

Lazy people are annoying – it’s like pulling teeth getting them to do anything. If I can’t do something as simple as going to a movie with you without having to factor in an hour of convincing you to get your lazy butt out of bed, I’d rather go alone. People have enough trouble motivating themselves; don’t make your friends and family waste their valuable energy motivating you as well.

懒人是很恼人的——想让他们做点事情简直比登天还难。如果我连像自己看电影这种再平常不过的事都做不到，比起我还用了一个小时去劝你跟我一起去看电影，而你仍旧不愿意起床，那我宁愿一个人去。人们总是很难激励自己；更不要让你的朋友和家人浪费他们宝贵的精力去激励你。

7 – Stop Complaining
7 –不要抱怨
 
We all have problems, and sometimes we need to vent to someone. That’s acceptable, but pay attention to how often you’re venting. We all love helping our friends and family, but when all you get from someone is negativity, it’s easier to cut them off than help, especially if they’re always complaining about the same things.

我们都会遇到问题，有时候我们需要向别人倾诉。那是可以接受的，但是要注意你是怎么倾诉的。我们都喜欢帮助我们的朋友跟家人，但是如果你从别人那里听到的全是悲观的东西，那打垮他们比帮助他们要简单得多，尤其是他们总是在抱怨同样的事情的时候。

8– Stop Being Selfish
8– 不要自私

If you only think about yourself, you’ll soon find yourself by yourself. Stop for a minute and think about how your actions affect other people – did you take the last cup of coffee from the break room? Refill it! Do you live with others? Don’t drink out the milk carton. We share this world 100% of the time, so every action you take can affect other people.

如果你以自我为中心，你就只会看到你自己。用一分钟来想想你的行为是怎么影响别人的—你有没有把休息室里的最后一杯咖啡喝掉了？再把它装满！你是不是跟别人住的？别把盒子里的牛奶喝光。所有的时间里，我们都在同时分享着这个世界，所以你的每一种行为都能影响到其他人。

9 – Stop Wasting Time
9 –不要浪费时间
 
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: time is the most valuable resource we have. Don’t waste your time on unproductive things. If you want to explore the world’s dark corners, that’s great. I still associate with people who have not-so-kosher careers, but I don’t hang out with those people at the expense of my own short- and long-term goals.

我曾经说过，接下来我还会再说：时间是我们所拥有的最宝贵的资源。不要把你的时间浪费在一些没有价值的事情上。如果你想要探索这个世界的黑暗角落，那就太棒了。我也认识一些没有固定工作的一些自由职业者，但我不会以牺牲自己的短期或长期的目标为代价跟他们出去玩乐。

10–Stop Making Promises
10–不要给别人承诺

Always under-promise and over-deliver. When you make a promise, you’re adding responsibility to your plate that, despite all your best intentions, you may not be able to deliver on. More often than not, your promise is an absolute （i.e “I promise I’ll always love you”），and only Sith deal in absolutes. Instead of making a promise with your words, simply be there when people need you, and exceed their expectations with your actions.

总是做出承诺，却总是做不到。当你每次做出承诺的时候，不仅给自己增添了责任，无论你的出发点有多好，你都不可能完成所有的事情。很多时候，你的承诺都太过绝对（比如“我发誓我永远爱你”），也只能在绝对的条件下才能实现。与其许下承诺，还不如在别人需要你的时候出现，然后用行动达到他们的期望。

11 – Stop Being a Pushover
11 –不要再做老好人

We live in a capitalistic society in which everyone’s trying to sell us something. Everyone’s looking out for themselves in one way or another, and you need to do the same. Stop putting yourself out because you’re too shy to say no.

我们都生活在一个资本主义社会里，每个人都试图向我们推销什么。每个人再以这样或那样的方式找寻着自己，你也需要那样做。别因为你太害羞而不能拒绝却让害了自己。

12 – Stop Listening to Haters
12 – 别听那些嫉妒你的人的话
 
No matter what you want to do in life, there’s always someone around to tell you why it can’t and won’t work. I can come up with millions of reasons Twitter won’t work, and yet it’s one of the most popular social media sites on the web. My opinion didn’t stop Twitter’s success any more than it convinced Kobe Bryant to quit the NBA or Josh Hartnett to stop acting. Why would you let someone’s opinion stop you?

无论你想干什么，总会有人告诉你为什么不要这么做，那没有用。我可以想出成百万条推特不实用的理由，但它仍旧是互联网上最流行的社交网站之一。我的想法不会影响推特的成功，就像你无法劝科比退出NBA或乔什·哈奈特不要当演员了一样，都毫无意义。那么为什么要让别人的想法来牵绊你呢？

13 – Stop Being Wasteful
13 –别再浪费 
 
You don’t finish your meals, and away food instead. You leave the faucet running when you brush your teeth, pouring precious water down the drain. You drive places you could easily walk, burning gasoline （a non-renewable resource）。You are wasteful, and it needs to stop.

你还没把饭吃完，就把食物扔掉了；刷牙的时候，水龙头还开着，宝贵的水就那样哗哗的流走；明明可以走到的地方你偏要开车，浪费汽油（无法再生资源）。如果你浪费了，那就赶紧停止这一恶习。

14– Stop Littering
14–不要乱扔垃圾

The only thing I hate more than wasteful people are litterbugs. Litterbugs are my least favorite bug, and there are more than you’d think. If you’ve ever thrown even one piece of gum, paper, candy wrapper, cigarette butt, etc on the ground, you’re a disgusting litterbug, and you should be ashamed of yourself. There are over 7 billion people in the world if each person only throws one “innocent”piece of garbage on the ground, that’s 7 billion pieces of garbage littering a world in which nobody “did it”.

唯一让我觉得比浪费的人更可恶的就是乱丢垃圾的人。我最厌恶这种人，而且这种人永远多得让你数不清。如果你曾扔过一块口香糖，一张纸、糖果包装、烟蒂，那么你就是恶心的乱丢垃圾的人。你应该为你自己感到耻辱。世界上有超过70亿的人——如果每个人都无意识的往地上扔垃圾，那么全世界就会变成一个有70亿垃圾的垃圾场，还找不到罪魁祸首。

Your one decision makes a HUGE difference, and I will not allow you to blow it off and walk around with your head held high. You’re a litterbug, and it needs to stop immediately. You don’t get a lifehack for this one, you filthy animal. Just stop – you already know how.

你的一个决定会改变很多，我不会让你去大马路大声高呼。如果你是那种人，那么就需要马上停止了。你要是不这么做的话，那就跟肮脏的动物一样了。停止这一举动吧，你已经知道该怎么做了。

15 – Stop Taking Everything Personally
15 – 别把每件事太往心里去

People get offended about the strangest things. Take Kendrick Lamar’s now-infamous verse on “Control”this summer: he called out a list of a dozen rappers he thinks he’s better than （and he’s right）.The internet went crazy, and rappers all over the industry rushed to their mics to record a response. The thing is, all K-Dot said is he’s the best rapper. Everyone took it personally, and that’s exactly what he was going for. The lesson to learn from this is that not everything is about you, and if you’re easily upset, someone will use that to their advantage.

人们会因为一些奇怪的事情感到被侵犯了。就拿Kendrick Lamar这个夏天备受争议的歌曲《Control》为例：他在歌词中挑衅了一些他认为比他弱的说唱歌手（的确是这样），一时激起千层浪，整个说唱界的歌手都蜂拥录歌作为回击。重点在于，所有的人都认为自己是最好的说唱者。每个人都把这件事太往心里去，这就是他的目的所在。这件事教给我们的无非就是不是所有的事都要围着你转，如果你太在意，总会被别人利用以此来达到他的目的。

16 – Stop Talking
16 –不要再乱说话

Sometimes it’s best to just STFU –especially in relationships. I can’t even count how many times I created an issue that didn’t need to be an issue simply because I opened my mouth. Even if what you want to say is important, just shut up and ride it out. You can say more with your actions than words, and you can’t listen when you’re talking.

有时候沉默是金——特别在人际关系里。我都记不清有多少次因为说错话引发了本可以避免的争端。即使你想说的非常重要，那也闭嘴，自行消化。你可以用行动证明一切，毕竟你自己说话的时候是听不见的。