Anonymous
心灵寄语
大多数人想要改造这个世界，却很少有人想改造自己。伟大的事业不是靠力气、速度和身体的敏捷，而是靠性格、意志和知识的力量完成的。我们命中注定的目标和道路，不是享乐也不是受苦，而是行动，每一个明天都比今天前进了一步。
In October 1982，a 25-year-old woman finished the New York City Marathon1. No big deal—until you learn that Linda Down has cerebral palsy2 and was the first woman ever to complete the 26. 2-mile race on crutches3. Down fell half a dozen times， but kept going until she crossed the finish line，11 hours after she started. Her handicap4 limited her speed but not her determination.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote，“Great is the art of beginning， but greater the art is of ending.”How nice it would be if we all had a genie who could help us finish what we begin. Unfortunately， we don"t. But what we do have is a dynamic5 called discipline-which extracts a high price. Following one of Paderewski"s performances， a fan said to him，“I"d give my life to play like that.”The brilliant pianist replied，“I did”.
Accomplishment is often deceptive because we don"t see the pain and perseverance that produced it. So we may credit the achiever with brains， brawn6 or lucky breaks， and let ourselves off the hook7 because we fall short in all there. Not that we could all be concert pianists just by exercising enough discipline. Rather， each of us has the making of success in some endeavor， but we will achieve this only if we apply our wills and work at it.
How can we acquire stick-at-itiveness？There is no simple， fast formula. But I have developed a way of thinking that has rescued my own vacillating will more than once. Here are the basic elements：
“Don"t”power. This is as important as willpower. The ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius said，“Men must be decided on what they will not do， and then they are able to act with vigor in what they ought to do.”
Discipline means choices. Every time you say yes to a goal or objective， you say not many more. Every prize has its price. The prize is the yes；the price is the no. Igor Gorin， the noted Ukrainian—American baritone， told of his early days studying voice. He loved to smoke a pipe， but one day his professor said，“Igor， you will have to make up your mind whether you are going to be a great singer， or a great pipe-smoker， you cannot be both.”So the pipe went.
Delayed gratification. Mr. Scott Peck， author of the best-seller The Road less Traveled， describes his tool of discipline as“a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experiencing the pain first and getting it over with.”
This might involve daily decisions—something as simple as skipping a favorite late-night TV show and getting to bed early， to be wide awake for a meeting the next morning. Or it might involve longer-term resolves. A young widow with three children decided to invest her insurance settlement in a college education for herself. She considered the realities of a tight budget and little free time， but these seemed small sacrifices in return for the doors that a degree would open. Today she is a highly paid financial consultant. The secret of such commitment is getting past the drudgery8 and seeing the delight.
