大多數(shù)人在痛苦時(shí)不愿反思，而一旦痛苦消失，他們的注意力就會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)移，所以他們難以通過反思得到教益。如果你在痛苦時(shí)就能好好反思（這個(gè)要求也許太高），這非常好。如果你能夠記得在痛苦消失后進(jìn)行反思，這也很有價(jià)值。
你面臨的挑戰(zhàn)將會(huì)考驗(yàn)?zāi)?，?qiáng)化你。如果你沒有經(jīng)歷過失敗，就說明你沒有努力突破極限，而如果你不努力突破極限，你就不能最大限度地挖掘自己的潛能。努力突破極限有時(shí)失敗有時(shí)成功，但總能帶來益處。雖然這種做法不一定適合所有人，但假如適合你，那將會(huì)是一種美妙的體驗(yàn)，令人沉迷。生活不可避免地會(huì)帶給你這樣的考驗(yàn)，而你愿不愿意不斷去嘗試，取決于你自己。
如果你選擇在這條常常很痛苦的個(gè)人進(jìn)化之路上拼搏，你將自然而然地不斷“更上一層樓”。當(dāng)你越過包圍你的事物，到達(dá)了更高一層的境界，你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，其實(shí)那些事物并沒有你近看時(shí)所以為的那么重要。生活中的大多數(shù)東西都不過是“同類情況的重演”。你的層次越高，就能更加有效地應(yīng)對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)，塑造符合你目標(biāo)的結(jié)果。而曾經(jīng)看起來無比復(fù)雜的東西，也會(huì)變得簡單。
There is no avoiding pain, especially if you’re going after ambitious goals. Believe it or not, you are lucky to feel that kind of pain if you approach it correctly, because it is a signal that you need to ?nd solutions so you can progress. If you can develop a re?exive reaction to psychical pain that causes you to re?ect on it rather than avoid it, it will lead to your rapid learning/evolving. After seeing how much more e?ective it is to face the painful realities that are caused by your problems, mistakes, and weaknesses, I believe you won’t want to operate any other way. It’s just a matter of getting in the habit of doing it.
Most people have a tough time re?ecting when they are in pain and they pay attention to other things when the pain passes, so they miss out on the re?ections that provide the lessons. If you can re?ect well while you’re in pain (which is probably too much to ask), great. But if you can remember to re?ect after it passes, that’s valuable too.
The challenges you face will test and strengthen you. If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing your limits, and if you’re not pushing your limits, you’re not maximizing your potential. Though this process of pushing your limits, of sometimes failing and sometimes breaking through—and deriving bene?ts from both your failures and your successes—is not for everyone, if it is for you, it can be so thrilling that it becomes addictive. Life will inevitably bring you such moments, and it’ll be up to you to decide whether you want to go back for more.
If you choose to push through this often painful process of personal evolution, you will naturally “ascend” to higher and higher levels. As you climb above the blizzard of things that surrounds you, you will realize that they seem bigger than they really are when you are seeing them up close; that most things in life are just “another one of those.” The higher you ascend, the more e?ective you become at working with reality to shape outcomes toward your goals. What once seemed impossibly complex becomes simple.
