演讲者：Elizabeth Gilbert， Writer
E. Gilbert was once an "unpublished diner waitress," devastated by rejection letters. And yet, in the wake of the success of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' she found herself identifying strongly with her former self. With beautiful insight, Gilbert reflects on why success can be as disorienting as failure and offers a simple -- though hard -- way to carry on, regardless of outcomes.
This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.
So, a few years ago I was at J-F-K Airportabout to get on a flight,when I was approached by two womenwho I do not think would be insultedto hear themselves describedas tiny old tough-talking Italian-American broads.
00:26
The taller one, who is like up here,she comes marching up to me, and she goes,"Honey, I gotta ask you something.You got something to do with that whole'Eat, Pray, Love' thing that's been going on lately?"
00:37
00:40
And she smacks her friend and she goes,"See, I told you, I said, that's that girl.That's that girl who wrote that bookbased on that movie."(Laughter)
00:50
So that's who I am. And believe me, I'm extremely grateful to be that person, because that whole "Eat, Pray, Love" thing was a huge break for me. But it also left me in a really tricky position moving forward as an author trying to figure out how in the world I was ever going to write a book again that would ever please anybody, because I knew well in advance that all of those people who had adored "Eat, Pray, Love" were going to be incredibly disappointed in whatever I wrote next because it wasn't going to be "Eat, Pray, Love," and all of those people who had hated "Eat, Pray, Love" were going to be incredibly disappointed in whatever I wrote next because it would provide evidence that I still lived. So I knew that I had no way to win, and knowing that I had no way to win made me seriously consider for a while just quitting the game and moving to the country to raise corgis.
But if I had done that, if I had given up writing,I would have lost my beloved vocation,so I knew that the task was that I had to find some way to gin up the
inspirationto write the next bookregardless of its inevitable negative outcome.
And I did, in the end, find that inspiration,but I found it in the most unlikelyand unexpected place.I found it in lessons that I had learned earlier in lifeabout how creativity can survive its own failure.
So just to back up and explain,the only thing I have ever wanted to befor my whole life was a writer.I wrote all through childhood, all through adolescence,by the time I was a teenager I was sendingmy very bad stories to The New Yorker,hoping to be discovered.After college, I got a job as a diner waitress,kept working, kept writing,kept trying really hard to get published,and failing at it.I failed at getting publishedfor almost six years.So for almost six years, every single day,I had nothing but rejection letterswaiting for me in my mailbox.And it was devastating every single time,and every single time, I had to ask myselfif I should just quit while I was behindand give up and spare myself this pain.But then I would find my resolve,and always in the same way,by saying, "I'm not going to quit,I'm going home."
02:53
And you have to understand that for me,going home did not mean returning to my family's farm.For me, going homemeant returning to the work of writingbecause writing was my home,because I loved writing more than I hated failing at writing,which is to say that I loved writingmore than I loved my own ego,which is ultimately to saythat I loved writing more than I loved myself.And that's how I pushed through it.
03:15
But the weird thing is that 20 years later,during the crazy ride of "Eat, Pray, Love,"I found myself identifying all over againwith that unpublished young diner waitresswho I used to be, thinking about her constantly,and feeling like I was her again,which made no rational sense whatsoeverbecause our lives could not have been more different.She had failed constantly.I had succeeded beyond my wildest expectation.We had nothing in common.Why did I suddenly feel like I was her all over again?
03:40
And it was only when I was trying to unthread thatthat I finally began to comprehendthe strange and unlikely psychological connectionin our lives between the way we experience great failureand the way we experience great success.So think of it like this:For most of your life, you live out your existencehere in the middle of the chain of human experiencewhere everything is normal and reassuring and regular,but failure catapults you abruptly way out over hereinto the blinding darkness of disappointment.Success catapults you just as abruptly but just as farway out over hereinto the equally blinding glareof fame and recognition and praise.And one of these fatesis objectively seen by the world as bad,and the other one is objectively seen by the world as good,but your subconscious is completely incapableof discerning the difference between bad and good.The only thing that it is capable of feelingis the absolute value of this emotional equation,the exact distance that you have been flungfrom yourself.And there's a real equal danger in both casesof getting lost out therein the hinterlands of the psyche.
04:42
But in both cases, it turns out that there isalso the same remedy for self-restoration,and that is that you have got to find your way back home againas swiftly and smoothly as you can,and if you're wondering what your home is,here's a hint:Your home is whatever in this world you lovemore than you love yourself.So that might be creativity, it might be family,it might be invention, adventure,faith, service, it might be raising corgis,I don't know, your home is that thingto which you can dedicate your energieswith such singular devotionthat the ultimate results become inconsequential.
05:15
For me, that home has always been writing.So after the weird, disorienting successthat I went through with "Eat, Pray, Love,"I realized that all I had to do was exactlythe same thing that I used to have to do all the timewhen I was an equally disoriented failure.I had to get my ass back to work,and that's what I did, and that's how, in 2010,I was able to publish the dreaded follow-upto "Eat, Pray, Love."And you know what happened with that book?It bombed, and I was fine.Actually, I kind of felt bulletproof,because I knew that I had broken the spelland I had found my way back hometo writing for the sheer devotion of it.And I stayed in my home of writing after that,and I wrote another book that just came out last yearand that one was really beautifully received,which is very nice, but not my point.My point is that I'm writing another one now,and I'll write another book after thatand another and another and anotherand many of them will fail,and some of them might succeed,but I will always be safefrom the random hurricanes of outcomeas long as I never forget where I rightfully live.
06:10
Look, I don't know where you rightfully live,but I know that there's something in this worldthat you love more than you love yourself.Something worthy, by the way,so addiction and infatuation don't count,because we all know that those are not safe places to live. Right?The only trick is that you've got to identifythe best, worthiest thing that you love most,and then build your house right on top of itand don't budge from it.And if you should someday, somehowget vaulted out of your homeby either great failure or great success,then your job is to fight your way back to that homethe only way that it has ever been done,by putting your head down and performingwith diligence and devotionand respect and reverencewhatever the task is that loveis calling forth from you next.You just do that, and keep doing thatagain and again and again,and I can absolutely promise you, from long personal experiencein every direction, I can assure youthat it's all going to be okay.Thank you.(Applause)
Notes by Sophina, who watch TEDTalks almost everyday.
00:12
So, a few years ago I was at J-F-K Airport about to get on a flight, when I was approached by two women who I do not think would be insulted to hear themselves described as tiny old tough-talking Italian-American broads. (US slang, old-fashioned + often offensive: woman)
insult 侮辱 辱骂
00:26
The taller one, who is like up here, she comes marching up to me, and she goes, "Honey, I gotta ask you something. You got something to do with that whole 'Eat, Pray, Love' thing that's been going on lately?"
00:37
And I said, "Yes, I did."
00:40
And she smacks her friend and she goes, "See, I told you, I said, that's that girl. That's that girl who wrote that book based on that movie." (Laughter)
smack用巴掌打；掴；啪的一声使劲放（或扔、甩等）；使劲碰（或撞）
00:50
So that's who I am. And believe me, I'm extremely grateful to be that person, because that whole "Eat, Pray, Love" thing was a huge break for me. But it also left me in a really tricky position moving forward as an author trying to figure out how in the world I was ever going to write a book again that would ever please anybody, because I knew well in advance that all of those people who had adored "Eat, Pray, Love" were going to be incredibly disappointed in whatever I wrote next because it wasn't going to be "Eat, Pray, Love," and all of those people who had hated "Eat, Pray, Love" were going to be incredibly disappointed in whatever I wrote next because it would provide evidence that I still lived. So I knew that I had no way to win, and knowing that I had no way to win made me seriously consider for a while just quitting the game and moving to the country to raise corgis.
But if I had done that, if I had given up writing, I would have lost my beloved vocation, so I knew that the task was that I had to find some way to gin up the
inspiration to write the next book regardless of its inevitable negative outcome.
And I did, in the end, find that inspiration, but I found it in the most unlikely and unexpected place. I found it in lessons that I had learned earlier in life about how creativity can survive its own failure.
tricky 难办的 棘手的 adore 崇拜 corgis(威尔斯产脚短身长的)狗；gin醉酒；诱捕；轧棉；喝酒
02:07
So just to back up and explain, the only thing I have ever wanted to be for my whole life was a writer. I wrote all through childhood, all through adolescence, by the time I was a teenager I was sending my very bad stories to The New Yorker, hoping to be discovered. After college, I got a job as a diner waitress, kept working, kept writing, kept trying really hard to get published, and failing at it. I failed at getting published for almost six years. So for almost six years, every single day, I had nothing but rejection letters waiting for me in my mailbox. And it was devastating every single time, and every single time, I had to ask myself if I should just quit while I was behind and give up and spare myself this pain. But then I would find my resolve, and always in the same way, by saying, "I'm not going to quit, I'm going home."
adolescence 青春期 devastating毁灭性的；令人难受的；令人印象深刻的；压倒性的
02:53
And you have to understand that for me, going home did not mean returning to my family's farm. For me, going home meant returning to the work of writing because writing was my home, because I loved writing more than I hated failing at writing, which is to say that I loved writing more than I loved my own ego, which is ultimately to say that I loved writing more than I loved myself. And that's how I pushed through it.
ego自我；自我价值感
03:15
But the weird thing is that 20 years later, during the crazy ride of "Eat, Pray, Love," I found myself identifying all over again with that unpublished young diner waitress who I used to be, thinking about her constantly, and feeling like I was her again, which made no rational sense whatsoever because our lives could not have been more different. She had failed constantly. I had succeeded beyond my wildest expectation. We had nothing in common. Why did I suddenly feel like I was her all over again?
rational合理的；理性的；明智的；理智的
03:40
And it was only when I was trying to unthread that that I finally began to comprehend the strange and unlikely psychological connection in our lives between the way we experience great failure and the way we experience great success. So think of it like this: For most of your life, you live out your existence here in the middle of the chain of human experience where everything is normal and reassuring and regular, but failure catapults you abruptly way out over here into the blinding darkness of disappointment.Success catapults you just as abruptly but just as far way out over here into the equally blinding glare of fame and recognition and praise.And one of these fates is objectively seen by the world as bad, and the other one is objectively seen by the world as good, but your subconscious is completely incapable of discerning the difference between bad and good. The only thing that it is capable of feeling is the absolute value of this emotional equation, the exact distance that you have been flung from yourself. And there's a real equal danger in both cases of getting lost out there in the hinterlands of the psyche.
unthread从(针上等)把线抽下；摆脱(缠缚)；曲折地走出(迷宫等)；解(谜) comprehend理解；领悟 reassuring令人感到宽慰的；令人放心的 catapult用弩炮[弹弓、弹射机]发射；用发射机射出(飞机) abruptly突然；立刻；忽然间；猝然 glare刺眼的光 discern 识别；觉察出；
fling 扔；摔倒；摔下；关进 hinterland腹地；穷乡僻壤；psyche 心灵
04:42
But in both cases, it turns out that there is also the same remedy for self-restoration, and that is that you have got to find your way back home again as swiftly and smoothly as you can, and if you're wondering what your home is, here's a hint:Your home is whatever in this world you love more than you love yourself.So that might be creativity, it might be family, it might be invention, adventure, faith, service, it might be raising corgis, I don't know,your home is that thing to which you can dedicate your energies with such singular devotion that the ultimate results become inconsequential.
swiftly迅速地
05:15
For me, that home has always been writing. So after the weird, disorienting success that I went through with "Eat, Pray, Love," I realized that all I had to do was exactly the same thing that I used to have to do all the time when I was an equally disoriented failure. I had to get my ass back to work, and that's what I did, and that's how, in 2010, I was able to publish the dreaded follow-up to "Eat, Pray, Love." And you know what happened with that book? It bombed, and I was fine. Actually, I kind of felt bulletproof, because I knew that I had broken the spell and I had found my way back home to writing for the sheer devotion of it. And I stayed in my home of writing after that, and I wrote another book that just came out last year and that one was really beautifully received, which is very nice, but not my point. My point is that I'm writing another one now, and I'll write another book after that and another and another and another and many of them will fail, and some of them might succeed, but I will always be safe from the random hurricanes of outcome as long as I never forget where I rightfully live.
bulletproof 防弹的 hurricane 飓风
06:10
Look, I don't know where you rightfully live, but I know that there's something in this world that you love more than you love yourself. Something worthy, by the way, so addiction and infatuation don't count, because we all know that those are not safe places to live. Right? The only trick is that you've got to identify the best, worthiest thing that you love most, and then build your house right on top of it and don't budge from it. And if you should someday, somehow get vaulted out of your home by either great failure or great success, then your job is to fight your way back to that home the only way that it has ever been done, by putting your head down and performing with diligence and devotion and respect and reverence whatever the task is that love is calling forth from you next. You just do that, and keep doing that again and again and again, and I can absolutely promise you, from long personal experience in every direction, I can assure you that it's all going to be okay. Thank you. (Applause)
addiction瘾；嗜好；入迷 infatuation 热恋 diligence 勤奋 reverence 尊敬
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