After high school, I eventually
ended up at Brown University, and I remember one particular day vividly. My father picked me up at the airport after I
flew back to Muscatine from Providence, and when we were driving home, he asked
me, “So what are you thinking of studying?”
高中毕业后，我最终考进了布朗大学，有一天我尤其记忆犹新。我从普罗维登斯飞回马斯卡廷，我的父亲到机场接我，在我们开车回家的路上，他问我，“那么你想学什么呢？”
I told him I was excited about
philosophy and political science.
我说我对哲学和政治学很感兴趣。
I thought I could make a
difference in the world and I was thinking of going into politics.
我认为我可以改变这个世界，我在考虑从政。
My father put on the blinker,
pulled off the road, and turned off the car.
我父亲打开车子的闪光灯，把车开到路边停下。
He turned to me in the back seat.
他转过身来对坐在后座上的我说：
“Look,” he said, “once you finish
your medical residency, you can do anything you want.”
“瞧，你只要完成了医生实习期，就可以做任何你想做的事情。”
You see, my father knew all about
uncertainty. He knew that it’s
impossible to be sure about where you might end up in life. And he worried that his own success might
have deprived his children of the opportunity to understand deeply the meaning
of running away from the noodle police while, of course, finishing your
noodles. He wanted me to have a skill
and he wanted me to butt my head up against the joy but also the hard reality
of finishing medical school, finishing residency and caring for patients in
life-or-death situations.
你们看，我的父亲十分懂得不确定性。他很清楚，一个人不可能知道自己最终会做什么，而且他很担心自己的成功有可能会使自己的子女没有机会深入理解从警察身边跑开、当然同时还要吃完剩下的面条意味着什么。他希望我掌握一门本领，他希望我能够有效地抵抗读完医学院、完成实习期和在生与死的情景中照顾患者的喜悦与残酷的现实。
I’m so grateful to my
father.
我很感谢我的父亲。
So far I’ve told you that life is
uncertain, but you already knew that.
What I really want you to know is that you have abundant tools to face
that uncertainty and to lead an extraordinary life, even beyond your wildest
dreams.
到目前为止，我告诉你们说人生是不确定的，但你们已经了解了这一点。我真正想让你们了解的是，你们拥有大量的工具来直面这种不确定性，成就不平凡的人生，甚至超出你最疯狂的梦想。
Roy Baumeister is a psychologist
who has devoted his career to studying the qualities in human beings that lead
them to achieve what he calls “positive outcomes.” In this fascinating field, researchers have
found that two traits are most consistently associated with success:
intelligence and willpower. In
Baumeister’s book entitled Willpower, we learn that efforts to permanently
increase intelligence have failed, but people can in fact improve their
willpower. Baumeister and his colleagues
have shown that taking certain actions to improve willpower is the surest way
to a more successful life. Moreover,
they’ve shown that willpower is like a muscle that can be built with practice,
but also that if you don’t actively exercise your willpower, your capacity to
do so will atrophy just like your stomach muscles if you stop doing
sit-ups. They’ve even learned that
because willpower is associated with a certain part of your brain, maintaining
glucose levels in your blood to feed that part of your brain is critical for
sustaining your willpower!
罗伊·鲍迈斯特是一位心理学家，终生研究带领人类成就他称之为“积极的结果”的人类素质。在这个令人着迷的领域，研究人员发现，有两个特质始终与成功相伴：智力和意志力。从鲍迈斯特所著的《意志力》一书中，我们了解到，虽然永久地提高智力的努力归于失败，但人其实是可以提高自身的意志力的。鲍迈斯特和他的同事们已经证明，采取某些行动来提高意志力，是实现更成功的人生的最可靠的途径。此外，他们也已证明，意志力就像肌肉，可以通过锻炼来强化，而且如果你不积极锻炼你的意志力，你的能力就会像你的腹部肌肉一样，在停止做仰卧起坐之后会出现萎缩。他们甚至还了解到，由于意志力与大脑的某些部位有关，保持血液里的血糖水平来滋养大脑的这个部位对于维持意志力至关重要！
Looked at from another angle, a
group of researchers has shown that, more than talent, practice is what
determines mastery over any given skill or ability. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers,
popularized an important body of work that showed that the path to mastery
required 10,000 hours of practice. Books
with titles like “talent is overrated” have been published to make the
point.
从另一个角度看，一些研究人员已经证明，与天赋相比，实践才是决定能否掌握任何技能或能力的主要因素。马尔科姆·格拉德威尔在他的《局外人》一书中推广的一项重要研究成果表明，达到精通之路需要10000个小时的练习， 《天赋被高估了》等书的出版就是为了说明这一点。
Now I want you to know that there’s
really good news here, especially for Northeastern graduates. By graduating today, you’ve shown your
families and the world that you have plenty of IQ points to accomplish anything
you set out to achieve. Willpower,
discipline and focus -- the essential qualities for success that everyone needs
-- are in your hands to develop and build.
As Baumeister shows in his book, you can indeed go to the willpower gym
and come out mentally buff, ready to take on the world.
现在，我希望你们了解，这实际上是个好消息，尤其是对东北大学的毕业生来说。通过今天的毕业，你们已经向家人和世界证明，你们有足够的智商完成你们决定去做的任何事情。意志力、纪律和专注——每个人都需要的成功的必备素质——就掌握在你们手中，靠你们去开发和建立。鲍迈斯特在他的书中揭示，你的确可以去意志力健身房，强健精神，准备好挑战世界。
Now about the 10,000 hours it
takes to achieve mastery. Well, because
you’ve studied here at Northeastern, you’ve got a head start. My own estimate is that, through your
cooperative education in which you’ve received both classroom knowledge and
practical knowledge, you all deserve at least a couple of thousand hours of
discount off the standard 10,000. Good
for you and congratulations!
现在来谈谈达到精通所需要的10,000个小时。嗯，由于你们已完成在东北大学的学业，你们已经有了一个良好的开端。我个人的估计是，通过合作式教育，你们学到了课堂知识和实践知识，你们可以至少从10,000个标准小时中扣除2000个小时。干得好，祝贺你们！
But in addition to thinking about
uncertainty and willpower, there’s one more thing I want you to try to will
yourself to remember today. I want you
to think about how you can use time effectively and for good in this complex
world.
但是，除了思考不确定性和意志力之外还有一件事，我希望你们能够用自己的意志力记住今天，我希望你们想一想怎样才能有效地利用时间，在这个复杂的世界里持之以恒。
Back in Iowa, my mother used to
read to me the writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. In Dr. King’s “Letter from a
Birmingham Jail,” he writes about understanding the urgency of the
present. He writes about an experience
with a white moderate -- an ally of the civil rights movement -- who wrote to
him saying that he, Dr. King, was in too great a hurry and that “the lessons of
Christ take time to come to earth.”
African Americans, the moderate argued, would eventually -- eventually
-- be granted their full civil rights.
早在爱荷华州时，我的母亲曾经读马丁·路德·金的著作给我听。金博士在
“寄自伯明翰监狱的信”中写了他对现实紧迫性的理解。他写道与一位白人温和派人士、民权运动盟友的交流，此人写信给他，说他金博士过于性急，“基督的教义传播人世，总要花费时日”。这位温和派人士认为，非裔美国人最终——他是说最终——会获得完全的民权。
Dr. King responded, and I quote: “Such
an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time and a strangely
irrational notion that there is something in the flow of time that will
inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time
itself is neutral. It can be used
destructively or constructively. More and
more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively
than the people of goodwill. We will
have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions
of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” End
quote.
金博士回应说，我在此引用他的话：“这样的态度乃源自对时间的可悲误解，源自一种不合理的奇特观念，认为在时间之流当中，会有什么东西必将疗治所有的邪恶。实际上，时间是中立的东西；它可以用于建设，也可以用于破坏。我越发觉得，邪恶的人之利用时间，将会比善良的人更其有效。我们得在这一代进行忏悔，不仅因坏人们充满仇恨的言辞与行为，也因好人们骇人听闻的沉默。”引语完。
With all the willpower I can
muster, I try to bring the sense of urgency in Dr. King’s words to my work
today. I do this with an understanding
that I still have no idea of what the future may bring. After all, I had no idea that I would not
only get my medical degree but also a PhD in anthropology. I had no idea that I would help found an organization,
Partners in Health, with my colleague Paul Farmer and eventually work in 10
countries around the world. I had no
idea that my experience at Partners In Health would lead to my taking charge of
the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS efforts and starting a campaign to
treat 3 million people by the year 2005.
And with only minimal experience in academic administration, I became
President of Dartmouth College. Finally,
completely out of the blue, last year President Obama asked me to stand as a
candidate to lead the World Bank Group.
我集中全部的意志力，试图将金博士所说的紧迫感带入我今天的工作。我这样做是因为我了解我仍不知道未来可能会带来什么。毕竟，我没有想到我不仅获得了医学学位，而且还获得了人类学博士学位。我没有想到，我会和我的同事保罗·法莫一起帮助创建了一个机构“健康伙伴”，并最终在全世界10个国家开展了工作。我没有想到我在“健康伙伴”的工作经历会导致我主管世界卫生组织的艾滋病工作，并开展了一场到2005年治疗3万名艾滋病患者的运动。我只有很少的学术管理经验，却担任了达特茅斯学院的院长。最后，就如晴天霹雳一般，去年奥巴马总统邀请我作为领导世界银行集团的候选人之一。
Always with some trepidation, I
embraced these unexpected opportunities, and now I find myself in one of the
most interesting jobs in the world. The
World Bank Group is an extraordinary organization, founded in the 1940’s to
rebuild Europe after World War II. Over
the 66 years of its existence, it has become the premier development
institution in the world.
虽然总是有些诚惶诚恐，但我接受了这些意外的机会，现在我发现自己做的是世界上最有意思的工作之一。世界银行集团是一个非同寻常的机构，成立于1940年，初衷是在二战之后重建欧洲。在其存在的66年里，它已成为世界上最大的发展机构。
Just two weeks ago, our governing
body endorsed a target to end extreme poverty by 2030 -- just 17 years from
now. Our Governors, who are made up of
the Ministers of Finance and Development of 188 member countries, also endorsed
a goal to boost shared prosperity, so that the bottom 40% of income earners in
our member states can share in economic growth.
Our Governors also emphasized that prosperity must be shared with future
generations, which means that we will be leaders in tackling climate change. Climate change has the potential to wipe out
many of the development gains of the past decades and plunge people back into
poverty.
就在两周前，我们的理事会批准了一个目标
，即，到2030年，从现在起在短短17年时间里终结极度贫困。我们的理事会由188个成员国的财政和发展部长组成，他们还通过一个目标，就是促进共享繁荣，使我们成员国里处于收入最底层的40％人口可以分享经济增长的成果。我们的理事会还强调，必须让子孙后代共享繁荣，这就意味着我们将在应对气候变化方面发挥领导作用。气候变化有可能使过去数十年的发展成果毁于一旦，使人民重新陷入贫困。
By setting such bold targets for
our organization and setting an expiration date for extreme poverty in the
world, our Governors have given us the gift of focus and urgency. We will now use time to drive forward what we
hope will be a signal achievement in human history.
通过给我们的机构设定这种大胆的目标，为消除世界上的极度贫困设定期限，我们的理事会赋予我们着眼点和紧迫感。现在，我们要花时间来推进我们期望成为人类历史上的一项标志性成就。
In closing, my challenge to you
is this: set bold goals, deliberately and consciously build your willpower, and
use your time well. You are so
fortunate. Northeastern’s co-op program
and emphasis on experiential learning make this one of the most innovative
educational models in the world today.
With co-op options now in more than 70 countries, in all types of
organizations, this University has given you an unexcelled preparation for
global citizenship. As countries around
the world, including the United States, search for ways to overhaul higher
education, they’re looking to Northeastern’s example. Through your hard work in these past four
years, you’ve acquired something exceptional: the foundations for critical and
self-critical thinking, joined to the practical skills to solve tough problems
in the real world.
最后，我对你们提出的挑战是：设定大胆的目标，有意识和自觉地建立自己的意志力，用好你们的时间。你们是如此幸运，东北大学的合作教育计划和对体验式学习的重视，是当今世界上最具创新性的教育模式之一。合作模式已在70多个国家、各种类型的机构中推广，这所大学为你们成为全球公民做了极好的铺垫。世界各国、包括美国都在寻找改革高等教育的路径，他们也在研究东北大学的案例。通过你们在过去四年的努力，你们获得了一些特殊的资质：批判和自我批判思维的基础，结合解决现实世界中棘手问题的实用技能。
These are extraordinary
qualifications. They give you power --
and responsibility.
这些都是非凡的资质，它们赋予你们力量，还有责任。
Like my father on the streets of
Seoul -- though in a different way -- you face a world of uncertainty. Don’t fear that uncertainty. Embrace it.
Use it. Uncertainty means that
nothing is predetermined. Uncertainty
means that the future is yours to shape -- with the force of your will, the
force of your intellect, and the force of your compassion. Uncertainty is freedom. Take that freedom and
run with it. And don’t forget to eat
some noodles as you go. You’ll need the
glucose.
就像在首尔街头的我的父亲，虽然以不同的方式，你们都面对着一个充满不确定性的世界。不要害怕这种不确定性，去拥抱它，去利用它。不确定性意味着没有什么是预先确定的。不确定性意味着未来需要你们去塑造，用你们的力量，你们的意志，你们智慧的力量，你们同情心的力量。不确定性就是自由，抓住这种自由，带着它奔跑吧，别忘了一边跑一边吃点面条，你需要葡萄糖。
Thank you very much, and
congratulations to the graduating class.
谢谢各位，祝贺毕业班的同学们！ |
