Now well into my 30s, there are several good habits I’m thankful I started in my 20s. If you’re still in your 20s, or even if you’re not, I challenge you to implement¹ the habits below into your daily routine, one at a time, starting today. A year from now, I guarantee you’ll appreciate the results.

现在30多岁的我回过头去看，非常庆幸自己在20多岁就开始坚持了一些好习惯。无论你是否身处20多岁，或还没到20岁，我依然建议你把以下20条好习惯列入到你的日常生活中去。这样一年后的你，一定能感受到巨大的变化并因此感激自己的决定。

1. Focus on the activities and people that make you happy.

把注意力放在那些能让你快乐的活动和人上。

Sometimes we make things complicated when they are really quite simple: Find what it is that makes you happy and spend more time doing it. Find who it is that makes you smile and spend more time with them. Living your dream is really just a state of mind. It’s feeling comfortable in your own skin, and realizing that where you are at any given moment is exactly where you want to be. Thus, happiness and success in life is simply the gratifying combination liking² yourself, liking what you do, and liking who you do it with.

有时候，我们自己无形中把简单的事情复杂化了。其实很简单的：找到那些能让你快乐的事物，并把更多的精力放在上面；找出那些总让你快乐的人，并跟他们度过更多时光。所谓的活出你的梦想，指的其实就是一种心理状态，也就是每一刻你都活得自在，并充分享受当下的状态。所以想让生活变得幸福成功的话，你只需要爱自己、爱自己所做的事、爱那些在你周围的人就可以啦。

2. Trust your instincts on new opportunities.

相信自己对于新机会的直觉。

Life is too short to wait. Every new day is another chance to change your life. Every great accomplishment³ starts with the decision to try. Trust that little voice inside your head that says, “What if…” and then GO DO IT. You would be surprised how often “what if” works. And no, you’re not obligated to win every time. You’re obligated to keep trying – to do the best you can do every day – to be better than you were yesterday.

生命太过短暂，不能浪费在等待中。每一天都是一个改变生活的新机会。每一个伟大的成功都来源于最初的尝试。相信你内心那个小小的声音吧，如果它在说“假如我去做…的话”，那么直接去做。你会惊讶地发现，那些假如通常都能实现！你不需要事事争第一，但需事事尽力，展现出那个最好的自己，那个比昨天更棒更优秀的自己。

3. Build the courage to face your fears.

勇于面对恐惧。

Everything you want is on the other side of fear. Don’t ever hesitate to give yourself a chance to be everything you are capable of being. It’s better to cross the line and suffer the consequences of a lesson learned, than to just stare at that line for the rest of your life and always wonder. And remember, courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid; courage means you don’t let your fear stop you.

你想要的每一件东西都在恐惧的另一面。别因为害怕而不敢去尝试你能成为的角色。一件事，做过、失败过、体会过个中滋味，总比永远没做而一辈子懊悔来得更好。记住，所谓“勇气”，并不代表没有恐惧，而是指面对恐惧，你依然有向前的决心。

4. Focus on the resources you do have access to.

重视那些你实在拥有的东西。

It all begins and ends in your mind. Too many of us are hung up on what we don’t have, can’t have, or won’t ever have. We spend too much energy being down, when we could use that same energy – if not less of it – doing, or at least trying to do, some of the things we really want to do. So focus on the opportunities you DO have, and exploit the resources you DO have access to.

万事皆出于心。我们中的太多人都被那些得不到东西掌控住，浪费了太多精力。而这些精力本可以运用到那些我们更应该去做的事情上的。所以，请珍惜自己真正拥有的机会，开拓那些真正属于你的领域吧。

5. Be less busy, and more productive.

花更少的时间，做更高效的人。

Incessant⁴ busyness is often a sign of ineffectiveness and laziness. Because it’s easy to be busy – just partake in a bunch of random⁵ activities that drains all your time. Doing so justifies⁶ never having enough time to clean, cook for yourself, go out with friends, meet new people, etc. Right? Wrong. Don’t just get things done; get the right things done. Results are always more important than the time it takes to achieve them.

忙得连轴转代表着低效和懒惰。因为想忙起来很容易，只需要随便参与点很占用时间的活动就行，所以你总是没有足够的时间来整理家务、烹饪、聚会、和结识新朋友，对吧？其实这样是不对的。不要总奔忙于繁琐中，而应该先完成那些最应该完成的任务。人们只会注重结果，而不会在意为完成它所花了多少时间。

6. Make your goals a priority.

你的目标最重要。

Never put off or give up on a goal that’s important to you. Not because you still have tomorrow to start or try again, but because you may not have tomorrow at all. Life is shorter than it sometimes seems. Make today count.

永远不要推迟和放弃对你来说很重要的目标。这不是因为你还有明天重新来过，正相反，因为今天很可能就是我们生命中的最后一天。有时候日子总是比自己预期的要短！所以珍惜当下，充实当下。

7. Accept your humanness.

接受你的本性。

You can stop pretending. It feels good to own up to stuff… to admit that you’re human – a work in progress – a beautiful mess. You’re fine. Having a little anxiety is fine. Being a little fearful is fine. Your secrets are fine. You’re a good person. You’re intelligent. You’re blowing things out of proportion. You’re fine just the way you are.

你无法伪装。承认自己的本性、承认自己并非完人，一团美丽的但需要时间来梳理完善的乱麻，这样不是也挺好嘛。所以，偶尔焦虑也没什么；偶尔害怕也没什么；有点小秘密也没什么。这些都不影响。你依旧是个不错的家伙；你很聪明；你偶尔会犯大错。因为你就是你。

8. Seek less approval from others.

不要过分追求他人的赞同。

Your ideas and choices don’t have to be on everyone’s ‘approved’ list. Regardless of the opinions of others, at the end of the day the only reflection staring back at you in the mirror is your own. Make sure you’re proud of who that person is. Approach others with the belief that you’re a good person, whether they respond positively⁷ or not. It’s normal to want the people around you to like you, but it becomes a self-imposed burden when too much of your behavior is explicitly⁸ designed to constantly reassure⁹ you of their approval.

你的想法和选择不需要经过所有人同意。忽略别人的看法吧，毕竟一天结束站在镜子前，你看到的只是你自己。做一个让自己骄傲的你。和别人打交道时，无论他们的反馈是积极或消极，都要相信自己很不错。希望周围的人都喜欢自己，这样的想法很正常。但是，若太过在意别人的看法，反而会给自己平添许多不必要的压力。

9. Ignore society’s comparisons.

忽略世俗的攀比。

Constantly checking your life against one of society’s prewritten stories of how things ‘should’ be is a phony way of living. It’s sort of like renting your identity. Just be you. You are far more nuanced than anyone else’s narrative¹⁰ you try to fit yourself into, and more complex than society’s story of what ‘should’ be happening.

不停地按照别人的生活路线来衡量自己的生活，这并不是真正的生活，而是“租借”的生活。做你自己。你和那些你想尽力融入的任何人不同；你的生活应该比那些所谓“正确的生活” 来得精彩复杂得多。

10. Believe in your ability to succeed.

相信自己能够成功。

You control the ultimate result of where you will end up, what you may become, and how successful you can be. No matter what your current circumstances are, always maintain a strong belief in your ability to succeed, and then put your beliefs to work. Do so, and in time you will amaze yourself.

未来如何，你将成为什么样的人、你将能有多成功……这些因素都取决于你。无论现在身处何种环境，请始终保持必胜的信念，并把它带进工作中去。等你做到了这一切，你会让自己惊讶的！