【每日斯多葛】9月16日

September 16th

ANYONE CAN GET LUCKY, NOT EVERYONE CAN PERSEVERE

“Success comes to the lowly and to the poorly talented, but the special characteristic of a great person is to triumph over the disasters and panics of human life.”

—SENECA, ON PROVIDENCE, 4.1

Perhaps you know people who’ve been extraordinarily lucky in life. Maybe they hit the genetic lottery or have skated through classes and careers with ease. Despite never planning, making reckless decisions, jumping from one thing to the next, they’ve somehow survived without a scratch. There’s a saying: “God favors fools.”

It’s natural to be a bit envious of these folks. We want the easy life too—or so we think. But is the easy life really that admirable?

Anyone can get lucky. There’s no skill in being oblivious, and no one would consider that greatness.

On the other hand, the person who perseveres through difficulties, who keeps going when others quit, who makes it to their destination through hard work and honesty? That’s admirable, because their survival was the result of fortitude and resilience, not birthright or circumstance. A person who overcame not just the external obstacles to success but mastered themselves and their emotions along the way? That’s much more impressive. The person who has been dealt a harder hand, understood it, but still triumphed? That’s greatness.

9月16日

任何人都可能走运，但不是每个人都能坚持到底

“成功也会降临到卑微之人和才能平庸之人身上，但真正伟大之人的特殊品质，是能够战胜人生中的灾难与恐慌。”

——塞内卡，《论天意》，4.1

也许你认识一些在人生中运气好得出奇的人。也许他们中了“基因彩票”，或者一路轻轻松松地度过学业和职业生涯。尽管他们从不规划，常常作出鲁莽的决定，从一件事跳到另一件事，却不知怎么始终安然无恙。有一句话说：“上帝眷顾傻瓜。”

对这样的人有一点羡慕是很自然的。我们也想要轻松的人生——至少我们以为自己想要。但轻松的人生真的那么值得羡慕吗？

任何人都可能走运。浑浑噩噩又恰好没出事，并不需要什么本事，也没有人会把这称为伟大。

另一方面，那些在困难中坚持下来的人，那些在别人放弃时仍然继续前进的人，那些依靠勤奋与诚实最终到达目的地的人呢？这才值得钦佩，因为他们能够挺过来，靠的是坚毅与韧性，而不是与生俱来的优势或偶然的环境。一个人不仅克服了通往成功道路上的外部障碍，而且在这个过程中也掌控了自己和自己的情绪呢？那就更加令人敬佩。一个人明明拿到了一手更差的牌，清楚自己的处境，却仍然取得了胜利呢？这才是伟大。