英語勵志文章故事一、Dear I, Where Are You?

　　Everything about my future was ambiguously assumed. I would get into debt by going to college, then I would be forced to get a job to pay off that debt, while still getting into more and more debt by buying a house and a car. It seemed like a never-ending cycle that had no place for the possibility of a dream.

　　我們未來的一切似乎都模糊地設定好了，利用貸款上大學，然后為了還債被迫去找一份工作，還要為了買房買車背負更多的債務……這仿佛是一個無休止的循環，讓我們的夢想沒有實現的機會。

　　I want more—but not necessarily in the material sense of personal wealth and success. I want more out of life. I want a passion, a conceptual dream that wouldn’t let me sleep out of pure excitement. I want to spring out of bed in the morning, rain or shine, and have that zest for life that seemed so intrinsic in early childhood.

　　我們想要的更多——并不是對于個人財富和成功等物質性需求，我們對于生活，想要更多。我想要熱忱、有概念的夢想，讓我不會空懷純粹的興奮入睡。我希望能在早晨一躍起床，無論是陽光普照還是刮風下雨，也能對生活充滿熱情，就像我們的童年時固有的一樣。

　　We all have a dream. It might be explicitly defined or just a vague idea, but most of us are so stuck in the muck of insecurity and self-doubt that we just dismiss it as unrealistic or too difficult to pursue.

　　我們都有夢想，無論它是明確的目標還是模糊的主意，但我們大多數人都受困于不安全和自我懷疑的泥濘里，我們把夢想看做是不現實的、難以追求的，最后放棄了。

　　We become so comfortable with the life that has been planned out for us by our parents, teachers, traditions, and societal norms that we feel that it’s stupid and unsafe to risk losing it for the small hope of achieving something that is more fulfilling.

　　我們變得滿足于父母、老師、傳統及社會規條為我們營造的安逸生活。為了那一點點能夠為生活變得更充實的希望去冒險，我們會認為這是愚蠢和危險的。

　　“The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” ~Jawaharlal Nehru

　　過于謹慎才是最大的危險——賈瓦哈拉爾·尼赫魯(印度開國)

　　Taking a risk is still a risk. We can, and will, fail. Possibly many, many, many times. But that is what makes it exciting for me. That uncertainty can be viewed negatively, or it can empower us.

　　冒險始終還是有風險。我們，也有可能失敗，還有可能是失敗很多很多次。但這會讓我們更加興奮。不確定因素看起來有不利，但同時也能激勵我們。

　　Failing is what makes us grow, it makes us stronger and more resilient to the aspects of life we have no control over. The fear of failure, although, is what makes us stagnant and sad. So even though I couldn’t see the future as clearly as before, I took the plunge in hopes that in the depths of fear and failure, I would come out feeling more alive than ever before.

　　失敗能讓我們成長，讓我們更強大，讓我們更能適應生活中難以控制的各個方面。對于失敗的恐懼，讓我們停滯不前，悲傷不已。盡管不能清晰地看見未來，在恐懼和失敗的深淵里，我們也要保持希望，那么我們將活得更有生命力。

　　If you feel lost, just take a deep breath and realize that being lost can be turning point of finding out who you truly are, and what you truly want to do.

　　如果你迷失了自我，請深呼吸，迷失或許能成為你人生的轉折點，讓你發現真正的自己，并讓你知道自己想真正成為怎樣的人。

　　英語勵志文章故事二、你可以選擇自己想過的生活

　　Occasionally, life can be undeniably, impossibly difficult. We are faced with challenges and events that can seem overwhelming, life-destroying to the point where it may be hard to decide whether to keep going. But you always have a choice. Jessica Heslop shares her powerful, inspiring journey from the worst times in her life to the new life she has created for herself:

　　生活有時候困難得難以置信，但又不容置疑。我們面臨的挑戰與困境似乎無法抵御，試圖毀滅我們生活，甚至使你猶疑是否繼續走下去。但是你總有選擇的余地。從人生低谷走向新生活的杰西卡·赫斯樂普，在這里與我們分享她啟迪心靈、充滿震撼力的生活之旅。

　　In 2012 I had the worst year of my life.

　　2012年是我生活中最艱難的一年。

　　I worked in a finance job that I hated and I lived in a concrete jungle city with little greenery. I occupied my time with meaningless relationships and spent copious quantities of money on superficialities. I was searching for happiness and had no idea where to find it.

　　我做著討厭的財務工作，住在難尋綠色的高樓林立的城市。我忙于無意義的交往，在一些膚淺表面的東西上大筆開銷。我尋找快樂，卻又不知道它在哪里。

　　Then I fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and became virtually bed bound. I had to quit my job and subsequently was left with no income. I lived with my boyfriend of then only 3 months who financially supported me and our relationship was put under great pressure. I eventually regained my physical health, but not long after that I got a call from my family at home to say that my father’s cancer had fiercely progressed and that he had been admitted to a hospice.

　　然后我患上了慢性疲勞綜合癥，幾乎到了臥床不起的地步。我不得不辭掉工作，同時也就斷了財源。我和那時僅相處了3個月的男友住在一起，經濟上完全依賴于他，我們的關系承受著巨大壓力。終于我恢復健康，但不久，我接到家里的電話，父親的癌癥急劇惡化，已經住進了臨終關懷中心。

　　I left the city and I went home to be with him.

　　我離開了城市，回家陪父親。

　　He died 6 months later.

　　6個月之后，他去世了。

　　My father was a complete inspiration to me. He was always so strong that, for a minute after he drew his last breath, I honestly thought he would come back to life. I couldn’t believe I would never again cuddle into his big warm chest and feel safe no matter what.

　　父親的事讓我徹底清醒。他一直很強壯，在他咽氣之后一分鐘里，我真的認為，他會活過來。我不能相信，我再也不能依偎在他溫暖的懷抱里，享受他寬大的胸懷帶給我的安全感。

　　The grief that followed was intense for all of us 5 children and our mother, but we had each other.

　　母親和我們5個兄弟姐妹極為難過，但至少我們還擁有彼此。

　　But my oldest sister at that time complained of a bad back. It got so bad after 2 months that she too was admitted to hospital.

　　但是，那時我大姐開始抱怨著背痛，2個月后，因疼痛加劇也住進了醫院。

　　They discovered that she had highly advanced cancer in her bones and that there was nothing that they could do.

　　醫生們檢查發現，她已是骨癌晚期，對此他們已無能為力。

　　She died 1 month later.

　　1個月之后，她也走了。

　　I could never put into words the loss of my sister in my life.

　　大姐的逝去讓我陷入難以形容的痛苦之中。

　　She was a walking, talking angel and my favourite person in the whole world. If someone could have asked me the worst thing that could ever happen, it would have been losing her.

　　在這個世界上，她是一個能走路、會說話的天使，我最喜歡的人。如果有人問我，世界上發生的最壞的事情是什么，那就是失去她。

　　She was my soul-mate and I never thought I would journey this lifetime without her.

　　她是我的靈魂伴侶，我從來沒有想過，我會走過沒有她陪伴的生命旅程。

　　The Moment Of Deliberate Choice

　　抉擇時刻

　　The shock and extreme heart break brought me to my knees. The pain was so great and my world just looked desolate. I had no real home, no money, no job, and no friends that cared. Not one person had even sent me a sympathy card for my loss.

　　我被打擊和極度的心痛擊挎了。強烈的痛苦使世界在我眼中變得如此凄涼。我沒有真正意義上的家，沒有錢，沒有工作，也沒有關心我的朋友。沒有一個人因我失去親人而寄給我慰問卡。

　　I made an attempt of my own life and I ended up in hospital.

　　我嘗試著活下去，結果住進了醫院。

　　I remember lying in the hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling and seeing my sister’s beautiful face. She stayed with me all night long.

　　我記得，躺在病床上，看著天花板，看到姐姐美麗的面龐。她整夜守候著我。

　　I realised during that night that I had a choice. I could choose to end my life or I could choose to live it.

　　那天晚上，我意識到我可以選擇。要么結束生命，要么活下去。

　　I looked in my sister’s eyes and I made a decision not to go with her just yet. That I would stay and complete my journey here.

　　望著姐姐的眼睛，我決定不跟她走。我要留下來，走完我的生命旅程。

　　I also made the decision that, I wouldn’t just live any life. I would live the life that I absolutely LOVE and nothing less.

　　同時，我還決定，不只為生活而生活，我要完全以自己想要的方式生活。

　　In that moment, the clarity that descended around me was like a light shining in a dark room for the first time. As if the earth’s plates had shifted under my feet and everything suddenly looked real for the first time.

　　在那一刻，這一想法第一次清晰得如同一盞在黑暗閃爍的明燈。好像腳下的地球版塊變換了，每一樣東西在我眼前都真實得前所未有。

　　英語勵志文章故事三、不逼自己一把，你不知道自己到底有多強大

　　How strong are you?

　　你有多強大?

　　That is a tough question to answer, whether you are a man or a woman.

　　不管你是男人還是女人，這都是個很難回答的問題。

　　But, really, I want to ask… how do you define your strength?

　　但是，說實話，我想知道，你是怎么定義力量的呢?

　　How do you know your limits? How do you know just how much you’ve got?

　　你是如何了解自己的局限性?你怎么知道你能做到什么程度?

　　When push comes to shove, we often discover that we are much stronger than we think.

　　當壓力來臨時，我們會發現我們比想象中要更強大。

　　What is Strength?

　　什么是力量?

　　Strength is not always about pure physical strength. Rather, it is about willpower. Discipline. Drive. It is about the capacity to get things done.

　　力量并不僅僅指你的肌肉力量，它更多的指的是意志力、訓練、動力。是一種能夠做好事情的能力。

　　I know some people who are intellectually strong, but they get very little done in their jobs. And I know others who find work extremely challenging, but are able to move mountains by their sheer drive and hard work.

　　我知道有一些人雖然很聰明，但是他們在工作中能夠做好的事情卻很少。而另外一些人雖然知道工作很具有挑戰性，但他們仍能通過強大的動力和艱苦的工作來移動大山。

　　They possess inner strength.

　　他們具有強大的內心力量。

　　More interesting, is that these productive hard-workers often don’t even notice the load. Bystanders are not only amazed, but often ask, “How do you do it?”

　　更有趣的是，這些非常努力工作的人并沒有意識到工作量的巨大。旁觀者不僅感到很吃驚，而且還經常問，“你是怎么做到的?”

　　The answer usually comes back, “I just work harder than the others.”

　　經常得到這樣的回答，“我只是比別人更努力一些罷了。”

　　So, why are some people able to do more? What gives them added drive? What gives them extra strength?

　　所以，為什么有些人就能做到更多?他們的動力是哪里來的呢?是誰給予他們多余的力量?

　　Could it be, they have simply given themselves permission to do more?

　　還是，僅僅是他們自己給自己力量來做到更多?

　　Self-Imposed Limits

　　自我強加的局限性

　　What I have observed is that most people impose their own limits. They limit their output based on self-framed constraints of their capabilities and strengths. Sometimes these boundaries are based on past experiences. Sometimes they are based on perceived capacities. Sometimes these limits are based on nothing.

　　據我所觀察，很多人都是自己強加給自己的局限性。他們有時候根據能力和力量自我設定了他們的局限，有時候根據過去的經歷設定一些邊界，還有的根據想象中的能力設定，還有些則毫無任何根據就限定了自己的力量。

　　I can’t do that. (Why?)

　　我做不到。(為什么呢?)

　　That is too much for me. (How do you know?)

　　對我來說太難了。(你怎么知道太難?)

　　I can’t put in that much effort. (What would happen if you did?)

　　我做不到那么努力。(如果你做了會怎么樣?)

　　I am not smart enough to solve that. (Can you be sure if you haven’t tried?)

　　我不夠聰明，解決不了這件事。(你不嘗試怎么能如此確定?)

　　So, how do we break through these limits? How do we get stronger?

　　所以，怎樣才能打破這些局限?怎么才能更強大?

　　Pushing It…

　　給自己點壓力

　　Many people are going through the motions, but are nowhere near their limits.

　　很多人都做出了實際行動，但是從來就沒有到達他們的極限。

　　If you want to be stronger, you have to push your boundaries.

　　如果你想變得更加強大，你就要打破你的局限。

　　Pushing it is what it takes to increase your limits. In the gym, bodybuilders discovered this long ago. But, the same principle is true when it comes to inner strength. Discipline and drive.

　　給自己施加壓力就能提高你的極限。在體育館，健身者很早之前就體會到了這一點。所以，同樣的原則運用到內心力量方面也是正確的，訓練自己，給自己一些動力。

　　Want to test your limits? Push yourself. Test your self-perceived constraints to see how accurate they are. Make sure your goals are slightly beyond what you think can be achieved.

　　你想挑戰你的極限嗎?那就給自己點壓力。去測試下自己以前的極限到底有多準確。要確定一個能稍微超過力所能及的目標。

　　You Are Stronger Than You Think

　　你比自己想象的要強大

　　Most people underestimate their strength.

　　很多人低估了自己的能力。

　　As you go through your day, challenge your capacity. Test your limits.

　　當你過每一天的時候，都要挑戰一下你的能力，測試下自己的極限。

　　Push yourself, to find your true boundaries and define your strength.

　　給自己施加點壓力，找到你真正的極限，然后定義你的能力。

　　When you discover how much you’ve really got, you may surprise even yourself.

　　當你發現你真正能獲取的，你會發現自己都感到不可思議。

　　What are your self-imposed limits? Which do you need to push? When have you found that you were much stronger than you thought?

　　你給自己強加的限制是什么?哪一方面需要你增加壓力呢?到什么時候你會發現你比想象中要強大呢?