评论
打印
Many of us crave to be more interesting people.
我们很多人都渴望成为更有趣的人。
The question is how we might become so.
问题是我们是如何做到的。
We rightly tend to associate being ‘interesting’ with achieving difference from the norm: with being able to serve up some unusual and intriguing stories and ideas.
我们倾向于将“有趣”与不同于常人联系在一起: 能够提供一些不寻常的和有趣的故事和想法。
But what might be the best way to lay our hands on these
但想成为有趣的人，最好的方法是什么呢
One prestigious thesis tells us that we should try our best to root out new and well-reviewed books and articles, travel to remote places and befriend people who are prominent in the arts and business.
一篇著名的论文告诉我们，我们应该尽最大努力去寻找新的、广受好评的书籍和文章，去偏远的地方旅行，与那些在艺术和商业领域杰出的人交朋友。
This correctly latches on to something - that we should aim to be different
没错，这抓住了一些东西——我们应该力求与众不同
- but it entirely overlooks that, before we’ve ever read a single book, gone to any foreign country or met any Nobel Prize laureates, we are all compellingly different anyway.
—但这完全忽略了一点:在我们读过一本书、去过任何一个国家或遇到任何诺贝尔奖得主之前，我们都是截然不同的。
The problem is that we just don’t allow ourselves to come across as such.
问题是，我们就是不允许自己成为这样的人。
To get a taste for this pre-existing level of originality, imagine if we placed a microphone in any of our minds and listened closely in on the chatter.
为了体验这种已经存在的水平，想象一下，如果我们在任何一个人的脑海中放置一个麦克风，并仔细聆听他们的谈话。
We would quickly find the most surprising, and authentically gripping information:
我们很快就会发现最令人惊讶、最扣人心弦的信息:
we’d realise that we were attracted to some very unexpected people, often just the sort we weren’t supposed to have any feelings for.
我们会意识到自己被一些意想不到的人所吸引，而这些人往往是我们本不应该有任何感觉的那种人。
We’d realise that we had some hilariously personal (and shocking) takes on politics and society - and that we didn’t agree with most of the standard lines proposed to us by the media.
我们会意识到，我们对政治和社会有一些有趣的个人(和令人震惊的)的看法——我们不同意媒体向我们提出的大多数标准台词。
Our anxieties, fears, hopes and excitements would show a properly distinctive and captivating pattern.
我们的焦虑、恐惧、希望和兴奋将显示出一种适当的独特和迷人的模式。
We are - though we try so hard never to admit this to ourselves let alone anyone else - already a real character.
我们已经是一个真正的角色——尽管我们努力从不向自己承认这一点，更不用说向别人承认了。
We understand this point in relation to children.
我们要理解这一点，与儿童有关。
Every child under seven is fascinating.
每个七岁以下的孩子都很迷人。
They almost never do anything interesting in the outside world, but it’s the honest, uncensored way in which they report on their inner lives that guarantees their interest.
他们在外面的世界里几乎从不做任何有趣的事情，但他们以诚实、不受审视的方式报道自己的内心生活，这保证了他们的兴趣。
When they chit chat about their granny or their teacher or their take on their dad, we’re open mouthed.
当他们闲聊他们的奶奶、老师或他们对父亲的看法时，我们都会被惊呆。
We were once fascinating too, before we got overly worried about seeming normal.
在我们过分担心自己看起来很正常之前，我们也曾经很有魅力。
There are of course some things that we should - as we grow up - take care not to mention to spare others hurt, but a lot fewer than we think.
当然，在我们成长的过程中，有一些事情是我们应该注意不提的，以免伤害别人，但比我们想象的要少得多。
When we next fear coming across as dull, we need only lean in more closely on the data from our deep selves:
当我们下一次的恐惧被认为是无聊的时候，我们只需要更接近我们内心深处的数据:
we should, and the habit may require a little conscious effort to develop, get in touch with what we actually believe.
我们应该去接触我们真正相信的东西，这个习惯可能需要有意识的努力去养成。
What emerges may sound odd, but it is also liable to be hugely charming, warm-hearted and comforting - and a lot closer to what people around the table deep down feel too than what was printed in today’s newspaper.
这些内容可能听起来很奇怪，但也可能是非常有魅力的、热情的和令人安慰的—比今天报纸上的内容更接近于围坐在餐桌旁的人的内心感受。
Everyone is interesting.
每个人都很有趣。
So-called interesting people are simply those who’ve allowed themselves to listen in on and share with others a selection of what is really going through their minds.
所谓有趣的人，只不过是那些允许自己倾听并与他人分享自己内心真实想法的人。
They have not allowed self-hatred and self-suspicion to block them from disclosing their reality.
他们不允许自我憎恨和自我怀疑，以阻止他们揭露自己的真实感受。
They have been confident enough to imagine that the truth about themselves could be a pleasure for others to hear - and, with a few obvious caveats, it almost certainly will be.
他们已经有足够的信心去想象，关于他们自己的真相，别人听到可能会很高兴—而且，一些明显的告诫称，这肯定会是一种乐趣。
