CHAPTER 8

1.6?Understandnature’s practical lessons.

理解自然運行規(guī)律

I have found understanding hownature and evolution work helpful in a number of ways. Most importantly, it hashelped me deal with my realities more effectively and make difficult choices.When I began to look at reality through the perspective of figuring out how itreally works, instead of thinking things should be different, I realized thatmost everything that at first seemed “bad” to me—like rainy days, weaknesses,and even death—was because I held preconceived notions of what I personallywanted. With time, I learned that my initial reaction was because I hadn’t putwhatever I was reacting to in the context of the fact that reality is built tooptimize for the whole rather than for me.

我發(fā)現(xiàn)了解自然界和進化是如何工作的對于很多方面都是有益的。最重要的是点额，這幫助我更加高效的處理真實情況和做出更復雜的選擇北启。當我開始從事物是如何實際運行的角度考察真實事物時沙咏，而不是想當然的認為事物是不同的，我意識到大多數(shù)期初看起來“糟糕”的事情—比如下雨天弛槐，弱點，甚至死亡—因為我總是自我的持先入為主的觀念昭伸。隨著時間推移布隔，我知道了我初始的反應建立在整體上而不僅僅是我自己离陶。

a.?Maximize your evolution.Earlier, I mentioned that the unique abilities of thinking logically,abstractly, and from a higher level are carried out in structures located inthe neocortex. These parts of the brain are more developed in humans and allowus to reflect on ourselves and direct our own evolution. Because we are capableof conscious, memory-based learning, we can evolve further and faster than anyother species, changing not just across generations but within our ownlifetimes.

A．最大化的進化稼虎。早些時候衅檀，我提到過一項獨特的能力-邏輯思維，抽象化思維霎俩，從固化在大腦皮層結構的更高水平開展思考哀军。這些大腦的區(qū)域是人類優(yōu)先發(fā)育的，允許我們自我反射并指導我們的進化打却。因為我們有意識的能力杉适，給予記憶的學習本領，我們能比其他任何物種更超前更快的進化柳击，變化不僅僅發(fā)生在代際之間猿推，還存在于我們的生命當中。

This constant drivetoward learning and improvement makes getting better innately enjoyable andgetting better fast exhilarating. Though most people think that they arestriving to get the things (toys, bigger houses, money, status, etc.) that willmake them happy, for most people those things don’t supply anywhere near the long-termsatisfaction that getting better at something does.20Once we get the things weare striving for, we rarely remain satisfied with them. The things are just thebait. Chasing after them forces us to evolve, and it is the evolution and notthe rewards themselves that matters to us and to those around us. This meansthat for most people success is struggling and evolving as effectively aspossible, i.e., learning rapidly about oneself and one’s environment, and thenchanging to improve.

這種不斷的趨向學習和進步的外在驅動促使人獲得更好的內在的精神享受和更佳快速令人振奮的情緒捌肴。盡管大多數(shù)人認為他們執(zhí)著于物質（玩具蹬叭，更大的房子，錢状知，地位等等）這些能是他們快樂的東西秽五，對大多數(shù)人來說那些東西并不能提供長久的滿足感-比如做的更好。一旦我們得到了努力奮斗的東西饥悴，我們就極難在滿足于他們坦喘。物質僅僅是誘餌。追逐物質享受趨勢人類進化西设，這就是進化瓣铣，而不僅僅是物質和伴隨我們左右的東西帶來的獎勵。這意味著對大多數(shù)人來說成功是一場戰(zhàn)斗和盡可能有效的進化贷揽，例如棠笑，快速掌握自身和環(huán)境，然后改變他們并進步擒滑。

It is natural that itshould be this way because of the law of diminishing returns.21Consider what acquiring money is like. People who earn so much that they derivelittle or no marginal gains from it will experience negative consequences, aswith any other form of excess, like gluttony. If they are intellectuallyhealthy, they will begin seeking something new or seeking new depths in somethingold—and they will get stronger in the process. As Freud put it, “Love and workare the cornerstones of our humanness.”

因為遞減定律的原因這種方式是很自然的行為腐晾。比如掙錢，人們掙錢越多則從中得到的快樂越少或者沒有掙錢的邊際效益則會導致負面后果丐一。就像其他形式的過剩藻糖，比如暴飲暴食。如果是智力健康類的库车，那么他們將在老習慣上尋求新的事物或新的刺激—并在過程中變得更強巨柒。就像弗洛伊德說的“愛和工作說我們做人的基石”

The work doesn’tnecessarily have to be a job, though I believe it’s generally better if it is ajob. It can be any kind of long-term challenge that leads to personalimprovement. As you might have guessed, I believe that the need to havemeaningful work is connected to man’s innate desire to improve. Andrelationships are the natural connections to others that make us relevant toeach other and to society more broadly.

工作本身不必非要是一份職業(yè)，經(jīng)管我認為一份職業(yè)可能會更好些。他可以是任何長期的能帶領人進步的挑戰(zhàn)洋满。你可能會猜想晶乔，我認為有意義的工作的需求與一個人的先天要求進步的愿望是相吻合的。而聯(lián)系他人也是很自然的選擇因為這樣可以使我們緊密牺勾，與社會更廣泛的產(chǎn)生鏈接正罢。

b.?Remember

“no pain, no gain.”Realizing that we innately want to evolve—andthat the other stuff we are going after, while nice, won’t our happiness—hashelped me focus on my goals of evolving and contributing to evolution in my owninfinitely small way. While we don’t like pain, everything that nature made hasa purpose, so nature gave us pain for a purpose. So what is its purpose? Italerts us and helps direct us.

c.?It is a fundamental law of nature that in order to gain strength one has to push

one’s limits, which is painful.As Carl Jung put it, “Man needsdifficulties. They are necessary for health.” Yet most people instinctuallyavoid pain. This is true whether we are talking about building the body (e.g.,weight lifting) or the mind (e.g., frustration, mental struggle, embarrassment,shame)—and especially true when people confront the harsh reality of their ownimperfections.

b.記住“沒有付出沒有收獲”，意識到我們天生想要進化—其他我們追求的事物驻民，盡管很美翻具，

--已經(jīng)讓我專注于進化的目標并為我自己獨特的小方法做出貢獻了。盡管我們不喜歡痛苦回还，自然界創(chuàng)造任何事物都是有目的的裆泳，所以自然界讓我們感受痛苦也是有目的的。那么痛苦的目的何在那柠硕？痛苦在警示我們并指導我們工禾。

C．為了獲取力量而不斷推高人類的極限是自然界的基本法則，當然是痛苦的蝗柔。就像卡爾楊說的闻葵，“人類需要困難，這對健康有益”然而大多數(shù)人本能的回避痛苦诫咱，存在就是有意義的笙隙，這是真的， 我們都在談論健身（比如舉重）或者健腦（比如挫折坎缭，思想斗爭竟痰，尷尬，恥辱）-尤其當人們因為個體的缺陷遭遇嚴酷的現(xiàn)實這一切尤其真實掏呼。

總結：

1坏快、物質條件夠用就好，不必追求太多

2憎夷、工作是生存基礎莽鸿，但應有更高追求

3、沒有付出就沒有收獲

4拾给、面對現(xiàn)實祥得，挫折讓我更加強大