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丘吉尔：培养一种爱好

A gifted American psychologist has said, “Worry is a spasm of the emotion; the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.” It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger the will , the more futile tha task. One can onlyy gently insinuate something else into its rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swifty, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair, begins.

　　The cultivation of a hobby and nes forms of interst is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man .But this is not a business that can be untaken in a day or swiftly improvised by a mere command of the will. The growth of alternative mental interests is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended , if the vivifying fruits are to be at band when needed.

　　To be really happy really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: “I will take an interest in this or that.” Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use dong what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking , human beings may be divided into three classes; those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week’s sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or businessman, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the week-end.

As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire — for them a new pleasure, a new excitement is only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place,trying to escape frome avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.

　　It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are dividing into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the formmer is majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for laeasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fotune’s favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natrual harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holidy, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere , of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.

参考翻译

　　美国一位天才心理学家曾经说过：“忧虑是一阵情感的冲动，意识一旦陷入某种状态，这种状态将很难被改变。”在这种情况下，与意识去抗争是徒劳的。意志力越强，这种抗争就越显得徒劳无益。这时，唯一的解决办法只能是悄悄的渗入某种新的东西，来分散注意力。如果这种新的东西选择恰当，而且确实能激起你对另一领域的兴趣，渐渐地、而且经常是非常迅速地，你过分紧张的情绪就会缓解，你又开始恢复到原来的状态。

　　因此，对一个公众人物来说，培养一种业余爱好、一种新的兴趣显得尤为重要。但这不是一件一朝一日或凭一时的意气就能一蹴而就的事情。这种替代忧虑的心理兴趣培养是一个长期的过程。它的种子必须要精挑细选，然后播撒到肥沃的土壤中，要想得到籽粒饱满、需要时随手可摘的果实，还必须对他们精心呵护。

　　要想真正的快乐，而且每次都能真正奏效，一个人必须有两种或三种业余爱好，而且必须是真正的业余爱好。一个人到了晚年才说：“我要培养这种或那种兴趣。”那已经没有任何意义了。这种尝试只能更加增加大脑的压力。一个人可能具有与他日常工作无关的大量的知识，但这些知识并无助于他减轻心理压力。随心所欲的做你喜欢的工作不会帮你减轻心理压力，而是你必须设法喜欢你目前所做的工作。大致来说，人可分为三类：第一类人是累死；第二类人是愁死；第三类人是烦死。体力劳动者经过一周的辛勤劳动已经筋疲力尽，再让他们在周六下午踢足球或打棒球无助于消除他们的疲劳。让那些为一些大事已经连续工作或烦恼了六天的政治家、专业人员或工商界人士来说，在周末的时候让他们为一些鸡毛蒜皮的小事烦恼费神，也不会使他们身心轻松。

　　对于那些不幸的人：那些可以随意发号施令；那些随心所欲，无所不能的人，新的乐趣、新的喜悦对他们来说是无所谓的事情。他们狂乱地从一个地方跑到另一个地方、想通过不断换地方的这种方式来摆脱烦恼，这是徒劳的。对他们来说，条理、规矩是他们最有希望摆脱烦恼的办法。

　　也可以说，理智、勤奋、有才能的人可以分为两类：第一类是工作与娱乐泾渭分明；第二类人是工作与娱乐合二为一。大多数人属于前者。他们有他们的报酬。长时间在办公室或工厂的辛勤劳作不仅使他们得到了维持生命的薪水，而且培养了他们追求快乐的强烈愿望，即使仅仅是那些最简单、最朴实的形式。然而命运女神所偏爱的却是第二类人。他们的生活自然、和谐。对他们来说，工作的实践永远都不够长。每一天都是假期，法定假期到来时，他们不愿休假，认为这是强行终端干扰了他们精彩的假期。然而，这两类人都必须改变一下他们的观点，调整一下气氛、转移一下奋斗的方向。事实上或许那些以工作为了的人正是那些最需要通过一种兴趣或爱好使自己适时忘记自己工作的人。