One of the hardest challenges we face in life is to simply live in our own skin – to just be right here, right now, regardless of where we are. Here are eight reasons so many of us miss out on life as it’s happening.

生活中最困难的一件事便是活在当下——不论处境如何，只活在此时此刻。以下便是很多人浪费生命的八大方式。

1. The fear of missing out.

1、总担心错过什么

If you feel anxious because you constantly feel like you’re missing out on something happening somewhere else, you’re not alone. We all feel this way sometimes. But let me assure you, you could run around trying to do everything, and travel around the world, and always stay connected, and work and party all night long without sleep, but you could never do it all. You will always be missing something.

总是焦灼忧虑、觉得自己错过了别处正在发生的某些事情么？那你可不是唯一有这种感觉的人。有时候人们都会这么想。但是我敢保证，就算你设法四处奔波忙碌、周游世界、与人联络、没日没夜地上班或聚会，事情也还是没完，你还是会觉得生活中少了什么。

So let it go, and realize you have everything right now. The best in life isn’t somewhere else; it’s right where you are, at this moment. Celebrate the perhaps not altogether insignificant¹ fact that you are alive right now. This moment, and who you are, is absolutely perfect. Take a deep breath, smile, and notice how lovely it is.

所以还是放手吧，想想自己已经拥有的。最好的生活不是生活在别处，而就是你此时此刻所经历的。撇开所有无足轻重的一切，为自己当下还活着而庆幸吧。此刻的你才是最好的。深呼吸，微笑，想想一切多么美好吧。

2. Avoiding pain and defeat.

2、逃避痛苦和挫折

Not to spoil the ending for you, but everything is going to be OK – you just need to learn a lesson or two first. Don’t run from the realities of the present moment. The pain and defeat contained within is necessary to your long-term growth. Remember, there is a difference between encountering defeats and being defeated. Nothing ever goes away until it teaches you what you need to know, so you can move on to the next step.

这么说并非是诅咒你失败，但一切总归会好起来吧——你只是先要吸取一两次教训罢了。请不要逃避此刻的现实，内心的痛苦和失落对你日后的长远发展也有必要。请记住：遭遇挫折与被打败之间是有区别的。生活总是先教导你让你明白事理，然后才让你继续前行。

3. Holding on to what’s no longer there.

3、对过去的一切耿耿于怀

Some of us spend the vast majority of our lives recounting past memories, and letting them steer² the course of the present. Don’t waste your time trying to live in another time and place. Let the past, go. You must accept the end of something in order to begin to build something new. So close some old doors today. Not because of pride, inability or egotism, but simply because you’ve entered each one of them in the past and realize that they lead to nowhere.

很多人会浪费大把时间追忆过去，让回忆占据当下生活。请别浪费时间试图活在另一段时光或另一个地方。过去的就让它过去吧。你必须接受已然发生的结局，开始新的生活。因此，现在就请尘封回忆之门——不是因为骄傲、无能或自尊，而是因为过去你已经一个一个开启过它们，已经知道它们指引不了什么了。

4. Retelling a self-defeating story.

4、重复挫败自己的故事

If we continue to repeat a story in our head, we eventually believe that story and embrace it – whether it empowers us or not. So the question is: Does your story empower you? Don’t place your mistakes on your mind, their weight may crush your current potential. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as a platform to view the horizon. Remember, all things are difficult before they are easy. What matters the most is what you start doing now.

如果我们在脑中反复讲述一个故事，最后我们就会信以为真并予以接受——不论这故事对我们是否有利。问题是：故事对你有利吗？请别对自己的错误铭记不忘，因为它们会扼杀你现在的潜能。相反你应该把它们踩在脚下，让它们成为你开阔视野的垫脚石。请记住：万事总是开头难。你现在所做的事情才是最重要的。

5. Attempting to fit in by becoming someone else.

5、为合群入流而迷失自我

The hardest battle you’re ever going to fight is the battle to be you, just the way you are in this moment. We cannot find ourselves if we are always searching for, or morphing into, someone else. In this crazy world that’s trying to make you like everyone else, find the courage to keep being your awesome³ self. Be your own kind of beautiful right now, in the way only you know how.

最困难的挑战便是成为自己、此时此刻的自己。如果我们总是不停追寻他人、模仿他人，那就会迷失自己。在这个疯狂的世界，这么做无异于试图把自己变成别人的模样，然后还得拿出勇气面对真实的自我。请现在就开始做个独特美好的自己吧。

6. The picture in your head of how it’s supposed to be.

6、脑中的愿景

What often screws us up the most in life is the picture in our head of how it’s supposed to be. Although every good thing has an end, in life every ending is just a new beginning. Life goes on – not always the way we had envisioned it would be, but always the way it’s supposed to be. Remember, we usually can’t choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it.

我们的生活往往是被我们脑中的愿景搅扰的。虽然好事终有结束之时，但在生活中，每一次结束都是新的开始。生活并不总是如我们所愿地前进，它自有其法。请记住：我们无法选择生活奏响的乐曲，但却可以选择如何舞蹈。

7. Berating⁴ yourself for not being perfect.

7、苛责自己未能至善至美

Don’t be too hard on yourself. There are plenty of people willing to do that for you. Do your best and surrender the rest. Tell yourself, “I am doing the best I can with what I have in this moment. And that is all I can expect of anyone, including me.” Love yourself and be proud of everything that you do, even your mistakes. Because even mistakes mean you’re trying.

别太苛责自己。其实有很多人愿意帮你。你只需尽力做好，其他就听天由命吧。请告诉自己：“我已经在现有能力内做到最好，这是我对所有人的全部期望——包括我自己。”请善待自己、为自己所做的一切感到自豪吧。即便是错误，也表示你曾尽力了。

8. Waiting, and then waiting some more.

8、一等再等

Stop waiting for tomorrow; you will never get today back. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. It doesn’t matter how low or unworthy you feel right now. The simple fact that you’re alive makes you worthy⁵. Life is too short for excuses. Stop settling. Stop procrastinating⁶. Start today by taking one courageous⁷ step forward. If you are not sure exactly which way to go, it is always wise to follow your heart.

别再等待明天了，否则你连今天都把握不住。你过去的一切都不再重要。你此刻的卑微和无价值感也不重要。事实是当下你还活着，这就足以证明你有价值。生命太短，何能嘘嗟！请别再搁浅。请别再拖延。现在就勇敢向前迈进吧。如果你还不确定该往哪个方向出发，遵从内心意愿就很不错哦！