When I was a kid， I used to get in a lot of trouble if my mom assigned me a chore[家庭杂物] or something and I didnt do it right away. “Ill get around to it，” Id say. My mom， always the smart ass[自作聰明者，聪明的角色]， would go “Theres no such thing as ‘around to it—get it？” —and just like that Id have to stop watching Doug or whatever and go wash those dishes. Maybe she just wanted me to get to the chores right away， but even still she was also teaching me an important life lesson about why we shouldnt put things off[推迟，拖延]. When you put things off， something always creeps in[偷偷混进] and gets in the way and nothing ever gets done. Doing the things we want is how we become our best selves.

A friend of mine has long wanted to try scuba diving[水肺潜水]， and now shes taking some diving classes so she can become a certified[持有执照的] diver. I admire her for just going balls to the wall with it， because not everyone is willing to really go after the things they want. We say we know what we want， but we are always telling ourselves well get to it “later.” You know， Ive always wanted to take classes at The Second City or other scriptwriting[编剧] classes. Ive always wanted to go to Berlin， to start a band， to get a DJ turntable[转盘] setup and start getting DJ gigs[活计]， but all of those things just keep getting pushed back. Ill do them “later，” I tell myself.

But when is “later，” exactly？ When we tell ourselves，“Ill get to it，” are we talking about tomorrow？ Next week？ A few months from now？ Why do we put off doing things we know will make us happy？

Sometimes its so easy to get looped[成圈] into the boring life cycle of work-bills-sleep-eat-rinse[冲洗]-and-repeat that we forget we are supposed to be enjoying life， not acting like some cog[齿轮] in a machine. We tell our alarms to shut up when they go off and we roll out of bed to go work at jobs we dont really like all that much， all for a modest[不太多的] paycheck[薪水] and a company discount[折扣] at Brooks Brothers. By the end of the work day we are so exhausted that all we want to do is to drink the pain away， or if not drink it away then totally drown it out with some other thing.

But thats why its so important for you to enrich[使充实] yourself by taking a break from the dull routines[常规] of life. Its why you should take risks and do something fun and interesting—that thing youve always wanted to do that you keep putting off for “later.” Life is about potential， but to get there we have to get outside of what we already know. Taking the time to pursue your side interests is kind of like therapy[治疗]， because you often discover a brand new side of yourself. Its like “whoa”， you have all these talents you didnt even know were there. Its a scary[吓人的] place to be， because it forces you to question if where you are in life is where you really want to be， and thats one of the scariest questions you can ask yourself.

小时候，如果妈妈吩咐我做家务或者别的事情，而我没有立刻照办的话，我就会惹上大麻烦。我总要说：“我会抽时间做的。”而我那总是那么聪明的妈妈就会来一句：“没有‘抽时间这种东西——去做，听到没？”就这样，我只好不再看《阿德日记》什么的，乖乖跑去洗碗。也许她只是想让我赶紧将家务做完，但即便如此，她同时教会了我一个非常重要的人生道理：为什么我们不该做事拖延？你一旦拖延，总有些别的东西会乘虚而入，从中作梗，让你什么事都办不成。只有从事我们渴望的事情，才能让我们成为最好的自己。

我的一个朋友一直想尝试水肺潜水，她现在去上潜水课了，为成为认证潜水员而努力着。我很佩服她可以为此竭尽全力，因为并不是每一个人都会真心追求自己想要的东西。我们都说知道自己想要什么，但我们总是告诉自己，“以后”再做也不迟。你瞧，我总想去第二城喜剧团上课，或者上上别的剧本写作课。我总想去一趟柏林，也想组建一支乐队，还想搞一套DJ打碟的行头，然后开始接一些DJ的活计——然而，所有这些想法都被不断地延后。“以后”会做的，我对自己这样说。

但“以后”到底是什么时候呢？当我们对自己说“以后会做”的时候，我们说的是明天吗？下周吗？还是几个月以后呢？为什么我們总是对这些明知道会让自己快活的事情拖延不决呢？

有些时候，我们太容易陷入轮回之中，一直过着这种“工作、账单、睡觉、吃饭、洗漱——以上重复”的乏味生活，以至于忘记了我们本应该好好享受人生，而不是像一台机器的小齿轮那样活着。我们在闹钟响起来时对它吼“你丫给我闭嘴”，然后从床上爬起来去上班，做着我们并不是那么喜欢的工作，只不过是为了一份微薄的薪水，以及在布克兄弟的店里拿到公司折扣。一天的工作结束后，我们筋疲力尽，唯一想做的就是借酒消愁;如果不想求助于酒精的话，我们也会用其他方式将这种痛苦发泄出来。

然而，这正是你应该充实自己、跳出枯燥乏味的日常生活的重要原因。正因如此，你更应该敢于冒险，去做些有趣好玩的事情——就是那些你一直想做、却老是拖延着等“以后”再做的事情。人生就意味着各种可能性，不过要想实现可能性，我们就必须跳出业已熟悉的一切。花点时间来追求业余爱好就有点像是自愈疗法，因为你往往会发现自己崭新的一面，就像“哇”地一下，你原来具备所有这些自己都不知道的才华。这也是一个令人胆怯的情形，因为它会逼迫你提出这样的疑问：你在生活中的境遇是不是你真心想要的——这也正是你在自我质疑中遇到的最可怕的问题之一。

老虎来了

When a Tiger comes Two guys were walking through the jungle. All of a sudden， a tiger appears from a distance， running towards them. One of the guys takes out a pair of “Nikes” from his bag and starts to put them on. The other guy with a surprised look and exclaims， “Do you think you will run faster than the tiger with those？” His friend replies： “I dont have to out run it， I just have to run faster than you.”

两个男人正在穿过丛林，突然，一只老虎出现在远处，向他们冲来。当中的一个人从包里拿出一双“耐克”跑鞋，开始穿上。另一个人惊奇地看着他说，“你以为穿上跑鞋就可以跑得过老虎吗？” 他的朋友回答道：“我不用跑得过它，我只要跑得比你快就行了。”