365 quote 1-1 Flashcards
Day 1: On Living the Hard Way
Life’s easy when you live it the hard way … and hard if you try to live it the easy way.
Self-discipline means living your life the hard way: resisting temptations and instant gratification, in order to receive bigger and better rewards in the future. It’s certainly easier to avoid all kinds of discomfort and indulge youself whenever you want, but in end, all that you get from that approach is fleeting pleasure now at the expense of your future, which otherwise could have been much better.
Consider a weak-willed person who, when faced with a challenge, immediately opts out. How likely is this person to achieve anything substantial in life if their primary value is to feel comfortable? How is this person going to manage a crisis that they must face? Even a relatively insignificant problem can become an insurmountable obstacle for a person who’s been living a sheltered life and always avoided what’s difficult or disagreeable.
Now contrast that with a person who voluntarily makes his or her life harder. They seek out and welcome challenges as opportunities to grow. Each self-imposed affliction strengthens them, so that fewer and fewer difficulties in life overwhelm them. Day by day, they immunize themselves against problems, precisely because they seek them out. When life deals them an unexpected blow, they’re ready to handle it because - thanks to living their lives the hard way - they’re always ready for hardships.
On Your Choices]
On Your choices are mede in a moment, but their consequences will transcend a lifetime.
transcend: to rise above or go beyond the normal limites of (something)
Eat this greasy, high-calorie humburger or prepare a healthy salad? Sleep in adn barely get to work on time or wake up at 5 a.m. to work on your side business before going to work at your day job?
Stop trying the moment you get rejected or swallow your pride and keep going, despite hearing “no” dozens of times?
greasy: oily in appearance, texture, or manner
swallow: to accept without question, protest, or resentment
It takes only a moment to make the wrong choice and jeopardize your future. What feels like an insignificant decision today can have a great, lasting impact on your future.
Each choice sets a precedent - and when you make the same wrong choice several times in a row, it becomes your standard modus operandi.
jeopardize:to expose to danger or risk
modus operandi: a method of procedure
While one hamburger every now and then isn’t likely to ruin your overall efforts to lose weight, underestimating the impact of repeatedly making the wrong choice can profoundly affect you over the course of the rest of your life.
Each time you’re faced with a decision between exerting self-discipline and taking it easy, remind yourself that the choice you’re making today doesn’t affect the present moment alone. A momentary decision can (and often will) reverberate for many years or even decades into the future.
exert: to put (oneself) into action or to tiring effort
reverberate: reflect, repel, echo
On Being a Human
Willpower is what separtes us from the animals. It’s the capacity to restrain our impulses, resist temptation - do what’s right and good for us in the long run, not wha we want to do right now. It’s central, infact, to civilization.
Humans have the capacity to act against their urges in exchange for a better future. Unfortunately, many people live by the principle of “if it feels good, do it, and if it doesn’t, don’t do it.”
Caving in to your temptations whenever you feel them emerge is like relinquishing your humanity, in a way. As an intelligent human being, you have an ability - and I daresay an obligation - to make decisions that are based on rational thinking, not on your instincts alone.
cave in: 崩れ落ちる、屈服する、降参する
emerge: to become known or apparent
relinquish: to withdraw or retreat from, leave behind, give up
daresay: venture to say
Strive to be a better human and embrace your humanity by exercising your “willpower muscle,” instead of succumbing to your most primal (and least helpful for your long-term goals) part of the brain. Your most primial instincts may provide temporary comfort, but seldom are good for the long term, except when there is a direct threat to your survival.
succumb: サカム to yield to superior strength or force or overpowering appeal or desire
primal: original, primitive
On Creating Systems
I value self-discipline, but creating systems that make it next to impossible to misbehave is more reliable than self-control.
A lot of people think that being self-disciplined means that you can sit in front of a delicious piece of cake and stare at it for hours without eating it. They think of resisting temptations as being like a knight defending his kingdom against the invader.
If you go to seedy bars every week, your chances of getting punched in the face are higher than those of a person spending their evenings at home with a book.
Likewise, the best way to protect yourself against temptations is to avoid them - and for that, plain old preparation is more valuable than self-control.
* seedy hotel みすぼらしいホテル
Your chances of cheating on a diet are higher if you have forbidden foods at home. Removing them from your house - a simple act that requires little willpower, as long as you’re satiated while doing so - will protect you when you get hungry and the urge to gorge on them hits you like a ton of bricks.
Your chances of sleeping in are lower if you set three different alarms and place them away from your bed.
*satiate セイティエイト 十分に満足させる、飽き飽きさせる
*gorge ゴージ （両側が絶壁になっている）峡谷、集積物、のど
*brick れんが、積み木、信頼できる人
You’ll be less likely to waste time at work when you block the most distracting websites instead of relying on your willpower to stop you before loading those funny cat pictures.
Prepare yourself for difficult situations by putting up roadblocks ahead of time, when your resolve isn’t being tested. Your self-control system will do some of the heavy lifting for you, leaving your reserves of self-discipline to be used for the unplanned situations, when they arise.
*resolve 名詞 決心、決意、決断
*reserve 名詞 たくわえ、備え、予備品、
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