I’m forty now.
我现在四十岁了。
I left school twenty-two years ago.
我二十二年前离开了学校。
Here's my list of five things I hope to share with you teenagers at school.
这是我想与在校的青少年们分享的五件事。
Don’t compare yourself with others
不要拿自己和别人比较
I always wanted to be the best, and one way of feeling good about myself was to see how much better I was than others.
我总是想当最好的，一种让我感觉良好的方式就是看我比别人强多少。
There was only one problem with this.
但这产生了一个问题。
When I saw they were better than me, I felt terrible.
当我看到他们比我优秀时，我感觉糟透了。
Now I compare me with myself.
现在我拿自己和自己比。
I ask myself if I do things as well as I could.
我问自己是否已经尽力把事情做好了。
Don’t worry! It’ll probably never happen
别担心！它可能永远不会发生
How much time do you spend worrying about the future?
你花多少时间担心未来？
I used to worry a lot.
我过去经常担心。
Now I know most things you fear will usually never happen.
现在我知道你恐惧的大多数事情通常永远不会发生。
They’re just monsters in your own mind.
它们只是你脑海中的怪兽。
Even if they happen, they will often not be as bad as you expected.
即使它们发生了，通常也不会像你预想的那么糟糕。
In six months, you probably won’t remember most of the things you worry about now.
六个月后，你可能根本不会记得现在担心的绝大部分事情。
Start the things you want to do right now
现在就开始做你想做的事
When I was young, I often failed to start things I expected to do because I thought they would take too long to finish.
我年轻的时候，经常没能开始我想做的事，因为我觉得完成它们要花太长时间。
I always wanted to write a book, for example.
例如，我一直想写一本书。
But when I thought it might take me more than a year, I lost my enthusiasm.
但当我想到这可能要花掉我一年多的时间时，我就失去了热情。
It seemed such a long time.
那似乎是一段很长的时间。
Now I know a year is nothing.
现在我知道一年根本算不了什么。
If I’d started that book when I was 16, I might have written 10 more by now.
如果我16岁就开始写那本书，到现在我可能已经多写了10本了。
I’m upset with myself for not even trying.
我很懊恼自己当时甚至没有尝试。
You can always learn something when trying
尝试时总能学到东西
As a young child you try many new things.
当你还是个小孩时，你会尝试很多新事物。
If you fail, you try again and again until you learn.
如果你失败了，你会一次又一次地尝试直到学会。
But at school you are usually encouraged to do things right.
但在学校里，你通常被鼓励要把事情做对。
Then you stop trying new things in case you get them wrong.
然后你就不再尝试新事物了，以防出错。
You are losing chances to challenge yourselves.
你正在失去挑战自我的机会。
I always remind myself; I had fallen off the bike many times before I learned to ride it.
我总是提醒自己：在我学会骑自行车之前，我曾摔下来过很多次。
It’s not a big deal even if you lose
即使输了也没什么大不了
I hated losing when I was younger.
我年轻的时候讨厌输。
Of course, it’s nice to win sometimes and to be the best at something.
当然，有时候赢球或者是成为某方面的佼佼者是很棒的。
But we can’t all be winners all the time.
但我们不可能一直都是赢家。
Learning to lose is one of life’s most important lessons.
学会输是人生中最重要的课题之一。
If you have tried your best, then you should never be angry with yourself.
如果你已经尽了最大努力，那么你永远不该对自己生气。
全英文全文 (Full English Text)
I’m forty now. I left school twenty-two years ago. Here's my list of five things I hope to share with you teenagers at school.
Don’t compare yourself with others
I always wanted to be the best, and one way of feeling good about myself was to see how much better I was than others. There was only one problem with this. When I saw they were better than me, I felt terrible. Now I compare me with myself. I ask myself if I do things as well as I could.
Don’t worry! It’ll probably never happen
How much time do you spend worrying about the future? I used to worry a lot. Now I know most things you fear will usually never happen. They’re just monsters in your own mind. Even if they happen, they will often not be as bad as you expected. In six months, you probably won’t remember most of the things you worry about now.
Start the things you want to do right now
When I was young, I often failed to start things I expected to do because I thought they would take too long to finish. I always wanted to write a book, for example. But when I thought it might take me more than a year, I lost my enthusiasm. It seemed such a long time. Now I know a year is nothing. If I’d started that book when I was 16, I might have written 10 more by now. I’m upset with myself for not even trying.
You can always learn something when trying
As a young child you try many new things. If you fail, you try again and again until you learn. But at school you are usually encouraged to do things right. Then you stop trying new things in case you get them wrong. You are losing chances to challenge yourselves. I always remind myself; I had fallen off the bike many times before I learned to ride it.
It’s not a big deal even if you lose
I hated losing when I was younger. Of course, it’s nice to win sometimes and to be the best at something. But we can’t all be winners all the time. Learning to lose is one of life’s most important lessons. If you have tried your best, then you should never be angry with yourself.