經典英語散文：讓優秀成爲習慣
Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny,” the maxim goes.
從根本上來講，我們的個性是塑成習慣的成分之一。有一句箴言講到：“播下一個想法，收穫一個行動;播下一個行動，收穫一個習慣;播下一個習慣，收穫一個性格;播下一個性格，收穫一份命運。”
Habits are powerful factors in our lives. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character and produce our effectiveness or ineffectiveness.
習慣是我們生活中有力的因素。因爲習慣的持續性，人們常常不能意識到它們。於是，每一天，我們的習慣總在彰顯着我們的性格，我們是否有效率也源自習慣。
As Horace Mann, the great educator, once said, “Habits are like a cable. We weave a strand of it everyday and soon it cannot be broken.” I personally do not agree with the last part of his expression. I know habits can be learned and unlearned. But I also know it isn't a quick fix. It involves a process and a tremendous commitment.
正如偉大的教育學家霍瑞斯·曼曾經說的那樣：“習慣猶如一根纜繩。我們每日爲其編織一股，不久它便不容易斷裂。”我個人不認同他最後一段的表達。我知曉有些習慣是後天習得的，而有些則是不學就有的。可我也明白習慣無法速成，它是一段涉及鄭重承諾的過程。
Those of us who watched the lunar voyage of Apollo 11 were transfixed as we saw the first men walk on the moon and return to earth. But to get there, those astronauts literally had to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth. More energy was spent in the first few minutes of lift, in the first few miles of travel, than was used over the next several days to travel half a million miles.
我們之中見證過阿波羅11號登月的人，當看到人類在月球上跨出第一步並返回地球時，瞠目結舌。但爲了抵達月球，毫不誇張地說，這些宇航員得掙脫地球對其極大的地心引力。在升起的頭幾分鐘、太空旅程的頭幾英里中，宇航員耗費的能量要遠大於之後幾天五十萬英里旅程中的能量。
Habits, too, have tremendous gravity pull more than most people realize or would admit. Breaking deeply imbedded habitual tendencies such as procrastination, impatience, criticalness, or selfishness that violate basic principles of human effectiveness involves more than a little willpower and a few minor changes in our lives. “Lift off” takes a tremendous effort, but once we break out of the gravity pull, our freedom takes on a whole new dimension.
習慣也具有極強的牽引力，比大多數人意識到或承認的還來得多。對於一些根深蒂固的習慣，像是拖延症、不耐煩、挑剔或自私，它們違反了人類效率的基本原則。而要戒掉這些陋習，僅靠那一丁點的意志力和生活中極小的改變，是無濟於事的。“起飛時分”要付出巨大努力，而一旦我們掙脫地心引力，我們享有的自由便會展現出一個全新的維度。
Like any natural force, gravity pull can work with us or against us. The gravity pull of some of our habits may currently be keeping us from going where we want to go. But it is also gravity pull that keeps our world together, that keeps the planets in their orbits and our universe in order. It is a powerful force, and if we use it effectively, we can use the gravity pull of habit to create the cohesiveness and order necessary to establish effectiveness in our lives.
與其他自然力一樣，地心引力對我們而言，是助力，亦可是對抗力。我們一些習慣所具有的引力也許正在妨礙我們抵達目的地。然而同時也是地心引力將世界凝聚，使各大行星在軌道上運轉，讓我們的宇宙井然有序。引力是很強大的，我們倘若能有效運用它，便可用習慣的引力來創建凝聚力和秩序，使我們的生活有效率。
