When my brother became a math teacher, he told me there were three types of students in his class. The first kind of student did less than 40% of the homework, crammed for the big test the week before, and ended up failing the test. The second kind of student did about 6o-80% of the homework studied a bit for the big test, and ended up skating by with an average grade. The third kind of student did 100% of the homework, didn't study very much for the big test - and no matter what their ability or talent level - usually passed the test with a high B or better. 当我哥哥成为一名数学老师时，他告诉我他班上有三种学生。第一种学生只完成了不到40%的作业，大考前一周死记硬背，结果考试不及格。第二种学生完成了大约60-80%的作业，为大考做了一点准备，最后以平均分成绩低空通过。第三种学生完成了100%的作业，没有为大考而努力学习--无论他们的能力或天赋水平如何——通常以B+或更好的成绩通过考试。 So what made the students who did 100% of the homework more successful when it finally came time for the test? It's not that they were necessarily smarter or more talented...it's that they didn't see the homework as optional. By putting in a little bit of effort over an extended period of time, they saw better results. 那么是什么让那些完成了100%家庭作业的学生，在考试时更加成功呢？这并不是因为他们一定更聪明或更有才华，而是因为他们认为家庭作业并非可有可无。通过在较长的一段时间内付出一点点努力，他们获得了更好的结果。 That’s because nothing beats consistency. Nothing beats showing up everyday, doing the work, and putting in the time. So if you want to achieve your goals, you have to master consistency. You have to see your goals as mandatory – not optional. And you have to do the “homework” for your goals in order to accomplish them. 那是因为没有什么比持续性更重要了。没有什么比每天出勤，完成作业，投入时间更重要的了。所以，如果你想实现你的目标，你必须学会坚持。你必须将你的目标视为必须的，而不是可选的。为了完成目标，你必须为你的目标做“作业”。 But how can we master consistency? How can we follow through on our “homework”? Here are 8 ways to help you start mastering consistency to achieve your goals, so you can ace the big test we call life… 但我们如何才能做到长期坚持？我们如何才能长期坚持完成我们的“作业”？这里有8种方法可以帮助你开始坚持直到完成你的目标，这样你就可以在我们称之为生活的大考验中胜出。 01制定计划 Make a PlanJust like a teacher creates a lesson plan with nimi-homework assignments throughout the semester, you can create a plan for reaching your goals. Write down a timeline that includes your start date, end date. 就像教师制定包含整个学期的小型家庭作业计划一样，你也可以为你自己的目标制定计划。写下一个时间表，包括您的开始日期，结束日期。If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, decide what kind of exercise routine you're going to do, what kind of nutrition plan you're going to follow, and so on! 如果您的目标是减掉20磅，请决定您要进行什么样的训练日程，您将遵循什么样的营养计划，等等！ 02创建节点Create MilestonesMilestones are small goals within your larger goal that help you see how much progress you're making. Because the little things really do matter when it comes to goals - so celebrate them! 节点是您大目标中的小目标，可以帮助您了解自己取得了多少进展。对于最终目标来说，小目标真的很重要--所以好好庆祝节点的达成！If your goal is to save a thousand dollars, keep track of when you reach one hundred dollars, two hundred dollars, and so on. Make it feel like an event - because it is! Every step forward is a success. 如果您的目标是存下1000美元，那么当存到100美元的时候，200美元等的时候，都做好记录。把它当做一件大事-因为它确实是！每前进一步都是成功。By celebrating your milestones, you'll feel like you're making progress and won't lose steam as easily. 通过庆祝你的节点，你会感到你正在取得进步，不会轻易失去动力。 03切实为目标腾出时间 Actually Make Time for Your GoalsOne mistake a lot of people make when setting goals is forgetting to block out time to actually work on them.很多人在设定目标时会犯的一个错误就是忘记抽出时间来真正实现目标。Let's say your goal is to start selling landscape art online. You'll need to paint a large body of work to sell, so you might plan to spend two hours painting every day from 8am to 1oam.Now, those two hours can not be used for anything else -8 to 1ois only for painting. So you have no excuse not to do it! 假设您的目标是开始在线销售风景画作品。您需要画一大堆作品去卖，因此您可能计划每天早上8点到10点花两个小时画画。现在，这两个小时不能用来做其他任何事情--8到10点只用于画画。所以你没有借口不去做！ 04只关注当下 Only Worry About the Present MomentIf you’ve set an ambitious goal for yourself, it can be easy to think about how you'll work on your goal tomorrow, or the next day, or the next week, or the next month! But don't let yourself get caught up thinking about the future. Thinking too much about the future can get overwhelming and make it more likely for you to quit. The only moment that actually matters is right now, and what you're going to do with it. 如果你已经为自己设定了一个远大的目标，很有可能你就会去考虑明天、后天你要做什么，或下周或下个月你要为了目标做什么！但不要让自己过分陷入对未来的思考。对未来想得太多会让人不知所措，会让你更有可能放弃。唯一真正重要的就是现在，以及你现在要做什么。How are you going to be consistent right now? How are you going to show up today? 你现在要如何做到坚持不懈？你今天将如何努力？ 05不要跟自己协商 Stop Negotiating with YourselfThe students who did best in my brother's math class simply did not negotiate with themselves. They didn't see the homework as optional - they just did it. If you find yourself thinking thoughts like “Oh, I'll just do half my workout today..." or “Oh, I'll only write for 20 minutes instead of an hour..” STOP and recognize that this is your brain trying to negotiate out of work. 在我哥哥的数学课上表现最好的学生根本不与自己协商。他们不把家庭作业当作是可做可不做的--他们就是做了。如果你发现自己有这样的想法“我今天就做计划一半的运动吧……”或者“我今天不写一小时了，只写20分钟吧……”，请停止这样的思考，并认识到这是你的大脑在试图说服自己罢工。We instinctively try to avoid pain, which causes us to procrastinate or negotiate with ourselves. But remember that you've committed to this goal and have to see it through right now. Don't let your inner negotiator win. 我们本能地试图避免痛苦，这导致我们拖延或与自己协商。但是请记住，你要全身心的为了实现目标而努力，现在就必须完成任务。不要向你内心妥协的声音认输。 06经常回顾目标Revisit Your Goals OftenJournal about your goals every day. Write them down on sticky notes and put them on your bathroom mirror. Set a repeating alarm on your phone and title it “Work on Goal NOW!” Keep thinking about your goal as much as possible so you don't lose motivation. 每天记录你的目标，写在便利贴上，然后贴在浴室镜子上。在您的手机上设置一个重复闹钟，标题为“现在就为目标而努力！”尽可能多地考虑你的目标，这样你就不会失去动力。But don't just think about the goal itself, think about WHY you chose to pursue this goal in the first place. Ask yourself questions about your motivation to pursue your goal. Is it to be happier? Is it to feel more accomplished? Really dig into your emotions! 但不要只想着目标本身，想想你当初为什么选择追求这个目标。问自己一些有关追求目标的动机的问题。是为了更快乐吗？是为了更有成就感吗？真正挖掘你的情感！ Because a huge part of consistency is having consistent feelings. When you consistently feel like your goal is worthy and important, you're more likely to work on it. So don't let yourself forget the emotions that caused you to set the goal in the first place. 因为坚持的很大一部分原因是拥有一直持续的动力。当您始终觉得自己的目标有价值且重要时，您就更有可能为之努力。因此，不要让自己忘记最初设定目标时的情绪。Another way to revisit your goals often is to imagine what it will feel like when you accomplish your goal. Write in your journal about what your life will be like when you reach the finish line: how it will feel, taste, or smell! Get detailed in your descriptions to really motivate yourself. 另一种经常回顾目标的方法，是想象当你完成目标时会是什么样子。在你的日记中写下你到达终点时，你的生活将会是什么样子，它将会是怎样的感觉！在您的描述中详细描述你各种感受，真正激励自己。 07原谅你的失败（然后继续前进） Forgive Your Failures (And then Keep Going)The reality is, you're probably going to make some mistakes along the way. We all do. It's nothing to be ashamed of. The thing to actually be ashamed of is not trying to do better next time. 现实是，你可能会在前进的道路上犯一些错误。所有人都会犯错，这没什么好羞愧的。真正应该感到羞耻的是下次不努力做得更好。When you miss a day of healthy eating, or forget to work on a project, or drop the ball on your exercise routine, give yourself some grace. If you beat yourself up too much, you may demoralize yourself and stop altogether! If you trip up on your way to your goal, learn from it. Ask yourself: “what happened that day to make me lose my consistency? How can I make sure it doesn't happen again?’ 当您某一天打破了健康饮食的计划，或忘记处理某个项目，或放弃日常锻炼时，对自己宽容一些。如果你对自己太苛刻，你可能会让自己丧气，干脆完全停下来！如果您在实现目标的过程中绊倒了，那就总结经验。问问自己：“那天发生了什么事让我没有坚持？我怎样才能确保它不会再次发生？”Then, and this is the important part - keep going. Pick yourself up and go out there again tomorrow. Don't dwell on the past mistake, just worry about your present self. Better to mess up a thousand times but keep trying, than to mess up once and give up. 然后，这是重要的部分--继续下去。振作起来，明天再继续努力。不要沉湎于过去的错误，只要考虑现在的自己。宁可搞砸一千次，但不断努力，也不要失败一次就放弃。 The person who messes up a thousand times but keeps trying gets much closer to their goal than the person who messes up once and gives up. That person never gets anywhere! 失败了一千次后仍不断尝试的人比犯了一次错就放弃的人更接近目标。那个放弃的人永远不会成功。 08无论如何都要去做 Do it AnywayGoals are tough - that's why we want to achieve them in the first place! If they were easy we wouldn't care so much about them. 目标本来就是艰难的——这就是为什么我们才会设定这个目标！如果目标很容易，我们就不会那么想要达成了。 This is where your cultivation of inner resolve comes into play. Are you the type of person who gives up just as things get difficult? Or are you the type of person who pushes through anyway and keeps promises to themselves? On the days where you're dreading working towards your goal - just. do. it. anyway. 这就是你内在决心的培养发挥作用的地方。你是那种遇到困难就放弃的人吗？还是那种无论如何都会坚持到底并信守承诺的人？在你害怕朝着自己的目标努力的日子里--无论如何都要做。 Force yourself to put your head down and do the work. Write the words. Practice the instrument. Lift the weights. It's nice to be motivated, but you don't *have* to be excited - you just have to do it. 强迫自己低下头去做工作。写文章、练习乐器、锻炼。有动力很好，但你也不必过于兴奋--只需要去做就好了。 总结/Conclusion/Becoming consistent is the key to unlocking your goals. And mastering consistency is about mastering ourselves, taking charge of our own lives and developing habits and routines that lead to success. 持续坚持努力是实现目标的关键。而掌控好持续性就是掌握好我们自己，掌控我们自己的人生，养成习惯，从而走向成功。 You may have heard the story of the stone mason who hits a large boulder with a hammer. The boulder does not change at all on his first, second, or hundredth hit. However, after hitting the boulder a thousand times, the boulder suddenly splits in half. 你可能听说过石匠用锤子敲打大石头的故事。在他的第一次、第二次到第100次击打中，巨石没有任何变化。然而，在将巨石击打一千次后，巨石突然裂成两半。 Working towards your goal may sometimes feel like you're the stone mason. Nothing is happening. Or it may feel like working towards your goal is just another unimportant homework assignment. But remember to keep going, because eventually that boulder will split in half. Eventually, test day will arrive. And if you've done your homework? You'll pass with flying colors. 朝着你的目标努力有时可能会让你觉得自己就像这个石匠。过程中没有任何改变，或者它可能会让你觉得朝着自己的目标努力，只是又一项不重要的家庭作业。但请记住要继续前进，因为最终那块巨石会裂成两半。最终，大考之日将会到来，如果你做了功课呢？你会以优异的成绩通过的。 By The Art of Improvement 译：KazuR、良哥