CHAPTER 8
1.6 Understandnature’s practical lessons.
理解自然运行规律
I have found understanding hownature and evolution work helpful in a number of ways. Most importantly, it hashelped me deal with my realities more effectively and make difficult choices.When I began to look at reality through the perspective of figuring out how itreally works, instead of thinking things should be different, I realized thatmost everything that at first seemed “bad” to me—like rainy days, weaknesses,and even death—was because I held preconceived notions of what I personallywanted. With time, I learned that my initial reaction was because I hadn’t putwhatever I was reacting to in the context of the fact that reality is built tooptimize for the whole rather than for me.
我发现了解自然界和进化是如何工作的对于很多方面都是有益的。最重要的是，这帮助我更加高效的处理真实情况和做出更复杂的选择。当我开始从事物是如何实际运行的角度考察真实事物时，而不是想当然的认为事物是不同的，我意识到大多数期初看起来“糟糕”的事情—比如下雨天，弱点，甚至死亡—因为我总是自我的持先入为主的观念。随着时间推移，我知道了我初始的反应建立在整体上而不仅仅是我自己。
a. Maximize your evolution.Earlier, I mentioned that the unique abilities of thinking logically,abstractly, and from a higher level are carried out in structures located inthe neocortex. These parts of the brain are more developed in humans and allowus to reflect on ourselves and direct our own evolution. Because we are capableof conscious, memory-based learning, we can evolve further and faster than anyother species, changing not just across generations but within our ownlifetimes.
A．最大化的进化。早些时候，我提到过一项独特的能力-逻辑思维，抽象化思维，从固化在大脑皮层结构的更高水平开展思考。这些大脑的区域是人类优先发育的，允许我们自我反射并指导我们的进化。因为我们有意识的能力，给予记忆的学习本领，我们能比其他任何物种更超前更快的进化，变化不仅仅发生在代际之间，还存在于我们的生命当中。
This constant drivetoward learning and improvement makes getting better innately enjoyable andgetting better fast exhilarating. Though most people think that they arestriving to get the things (toys, bigger houses, money, status, etc.) that willmake them happy, for most people those things don’t supply anywhere near the long-termsatisfaction that getting better at something does.20Once we get the things weare striving for, we rarely remain satisfied with them. The things are just thebait. Chasing after them forces us to evolve, and it is the evolution and notthe rewards themselves that matters to us and to those around us. This meansthat for most people success is struggling and evolving as effectively aspossible, i.e., learning rapidly about oneself and one’s environment, and thenchanging to improve.
这种不断的趋向学习和进步的外在驱动促使人获得更好的内在的精神享受和更佳快速令人振奋的情绪。尽管大多数人认为他们执着于物质（玩具，更大的房子，钱，地位等等）这些能是他们快乐的东西，对大多数人来说那些东西并不能提供长久的满足感-比如做的更好。一旦我们得到了努力奋斗的东西，我们就极难在满足于他们。物质仅仅是诱饵。追逐物质享受趋势人类进化，这就是进化，而不仅仅是物质和伴随我们左右的东西带来的奖励。这意味着对大多数人来说成功是一场战斗和尽可能有效的进化，例如，快速掌握自身和环境，然后改变他们并进步。
It is natural that itshould be this way because of the law of diminishing returns.21Consider what acquiring money is like. People who earn so much that they derivelittle or no marginal gains from it will experience negative consequences, aswith any other form of excess, like gluttony. If they are intellectuallyhealthy, they will begin seeking something new or seeking new depths in somethingold—and they will get stronger in the process. As Freud put it, “Love and workare the cornerstones of our humanness.”
因为递减定律的原因这种方式是很自然的行为。比如挣钱，人们挣钱越多则从中得到的快乐越少或者没有挣钱的边际效益则会导致负面后果。就像其他形式的过剩，比如暴饮暴食。如果是智力健康类的，那么他们将在老习惯上寻求新的事物或新的刺激—并在过程中变得更强。就像弗洛伊德说的“爱和工作说我们做人的基石”
The work doesn’tnecessarily have to be a job, though I believe it’s generally better if it is ajob. It can be any kind of long-term challenge that leads to personalimprovement. As you might have guessed, I believe that the need to havemeaningful work is connected to man’s innate desire to improve. Andrelationships are the natural connections to others that make us relevant toeach other and to society more broadly.
工作本身不必非要是一份职业，经管我认为一份职业可能会更好些。他可以是任何长期的能带领人进步的挑战。你可能会猜想，我认为有意义的工作的需求与一个人的先天要求进步的愿望是相吻合的。而联系他人也是很自然的选择因为这样可以使我们紧密，与社会更广泛的产生链接。
b. Remember
“no pain, no gain.”Realizing that we innately want to evolve—andthat the other stuff we are going after, while nice, won’t our happiness—hashelped me focus on my goals of evolving and contributing to evolution in my owninfinitely small way. While we don’t like pain, everything that nature made hasa purpose, so nature gave us pain for a purpose. So what is its purpose? Italerts us and helps direct us.
c. It is a fundamental law of nature that in order to gain strength one has to push
one’s limits, which is painful.As Carl Jung put it, “Man needsdifficulties. They are necessary for health.” Yet most people instinctuallyavoid pain. This is true whether we are talking about building the body (e.g.,weight lifting) or the mind (e.g., frustration, mental struggle, embarrassment,shame)—and especially true when people confront the harsh reality of their ownimperfections.
b.记住“没有付出没有收获”，意识到我们天生想要进化—其他我们追求的事物，尽管很美，
--已经让我专注于进化的目标并为我自己独特的小方法做出贡献了。尽管我们不喜欢痛苦，自然界创造任何事物都是有目的的，所以自然界让我们感受痛苦也是有目的的。那么痛苦的目的何在那？痛苦在警示我们并指导我们。
C．为了获取力量而不断推高人类的极限是自然界的基本法则，当然是痛苦的。就像卡尔杨说的，“人类需要困难，这对健康有益”然而大多数人本能的回避痛苦，存在就是有意义的，这是真的， 我们都在谈论健身（比如举重）或者健脑（比如挫折，思想斗争，尴尬，耻辱）-尤其当人们因为个体的缺陷遭遇严酷的现实这一切尤其真实。
总结：
1、物质条件够用就好，不必追求太多
2、工作是生存基础，但应有更高追求
3、没有付出就没有收获
4、面对现实，挫折让我更加强大
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