"That's what I thought at first too，" the first sailor said， "but it turned out to be good luck... As soon as we took the sails down to fix the masts， we were hit by a squall so suddenly and so hard， it would surely have blown us over if our sails were up at the time."
"How lucky！"
"That's exactly what I thought at the time， too. But because our sails were down， we couldn't steer ourselves， and because of the wind， we were blown onto a reef. The hole in the hulls was too big to fix. We were stranded."
"That is bad luck indeed."
"That' s what I thought， too， when it first happened. But we all made it to the beach alive and had plenty to eat. But now here's the real kicker： While we were on the island whining about our terrible fate， we discovered a buried treasure！"
As this story illustrates， you don't know if an event is "good" or "bad" except maybe in retrospect， and even then you don't really know because life keeps going. The story's not over yet. Just because something hasn't turned out to be an advantage yet doesn't mean it is not ever going to.
Therefore， you can simply assume whatever happens is "good". I know that sounds awfully airy-fairy， but it's very practical. If you think an event is good， it's easy to maintain a positive attitude. And your attitude affects your health， it affects the way people treat you and how you treat others， and it affects your energy level. And those can help pave the way for things to turn out well. A good attitude is a good thing. And a bad attitude does you no good at all.
So get in the habit of saying "That's good！". Since you don't know for sure whether something will eventually work to your advantage or not， you might as well assume it will. It is counterproductive to assume otherwise. Think about it. If someone ahead of you in line at a store is slowing everything down， say to yourself， "That's good！" They may have saved you from getting into an accident when you get back in your car. Or maybe， because you slowed down， you might meet a friend you would have missed. You never know. The truth is， life is uncertain. And even that can work to your advantage.
兩個水手在一個酒吧偶遇，喝了幾杯啤酒後，其中的一個水手向另一個說起了他最近的航海經曆。他說：“我們在海上走了一個月後，發現桅杆被白蟻蛀空了！幾乎什麽都沒有留下來。”
“那太可怕了。”另一個水手說道。
“開始我也是這麽認為的，”第一個水手說，“但後來情況有了轉機，因為我們剛把帆降下來準備修桅杆時，就遭到一場突如其來的暴風雨的襲擊。如果當時我們掛著帆，船肯定被掀翻了。”
“真幸運啊。”
“我們當時也是這麽想的。但是因為帆降下來了，我們無法控製帆船。由於風很大，我們被風吹著觸礁了。船撞出一個無法修補的大洞，我們都束手無策。”
“那確實太倒黴了。”
“一開始我也這麽想。但我們都活著來到沙灘上，並且有充足的食物。然後就發生了真正讓人興奮的事：就在我們抱怨自己時運不濟時，我們發現了一處深埋在地下的寶藏！”
就像這個故事闡釋的，一件事的好壞，也許隻有在你回顧過去時，才能確定；即使是那個時候，你可能仍然不知道，因為生活還在延續，故事尚未結束。一件事還沒有呈現出它有利的方麵時，並不意味著它永遠不會。
因此，發生的所有事情你都可以簡單地假定是“好事”。我知道這聽起來像天方夜譚，但非常實用。如果你認為一件事是好事，要保持一種積極的心態就比較容易。而且，你的態度影響著你的健康，影響著你和他人彼此間的態度，並且對你的精力也有影響。而這些又有助於事情向好的方向發展。良好心態本身就是一件好事，而不良心態則對你毫無益處。
所以，我們要養成說“那很好！”的習慣。既然一件事最終對你是否有利，你無法確定，那就先假設，來肯定它。否定的假設會產生不良的效果。好好想想吧！你購物時，如果排在你前麵的人正在磨磨蹭蹭，浪費其他人的時間，你可以對自己說：“那很好！”這也許能使你避免回到車上時碰到事故。或者，因為你的速度放慢了，你可能會碰見一個朋友，而本來你們會錯過，你永遠都不知道。事實是，人生變幻無常。即使這樣，你仍然可以從中受益。
老子說：“福兮禍之所倚，禍兮福之所伏。”世間萬物均在各自矛盾交替的輪回中存在著，沒有一勞永逸的成功，也不存在永恒的失敗。正如陰晴雨雪的天氣一樣，成與敗，喜與悲，總是輪流登場，而你隻要擁有良好的心態，天陰的時候，也可以心晴。
termite ['t：mait] n. 白蟻；白蟻類
Termite often destroys wood.
白蟻經常破壞樹木。
strand [str鎛d] v. 使擱淺；使處於困境
He was left stranded penniless in a strange city.
他流落到一個陌生的城市裏，身無分文，一籌莫展。
kicker ['kik] n. （一連串事情的）意外結局
The real kicker is that he takes the same way back！
真正讓人意外的是，他采取同樣的方法回來了！
counterproductive ['kauntpr，dktiv] adj. 產生反效果；適得其反
Increases in taxation would be counterproductive.
多征稅的效果會適得其反。
一件事還沒有呈現出它有利的方麵時，並不意味著它永遠不會。
良好心態本身就是一件好事，而不良心態則對你毫無益處。
事實是，人生變幻無常。即使這樣，你仍然可以從中受益。
Two sailors ran into each other in a pub.
run into：偶然遇見
You don't know if an event is "good" or "bad" except maybe in retrospect.
in retrospect：回顧往事；檢討過去
學校裏無硝煙的戰爭
Challenges of School
佚名 / Anonymous
Life is full of challenges. School has to be the most challenging obstacle in the lives of youth today.
Elementary school brings about a few challenges characteristic of those years spent there. There's the challenge of coloring in the lines， a very real problem to any youngster. Or how about the challenge of remembering to raise one's hand before one speaks？ There are hundreds of rules and regulations that govern these young children. The one thing that keeps these children in line is the hope of reward. Yes， this is the brass ring. The reward for a clean desk is an extra five minutes of recess！ The prize for having all homework done， a shiny-new pencil topper！ These small wonders keep small people in line. They make the children love challenge.
Middle school is not so easy. It is not easy for the students， and it also isn't easy for the teachers. The challenge of staying out of trouble， or writing that research paper—these are the new confrontations of an older， wiser group. This clan has outgrown the recess and pencil-topper tricks. They know that their efforts have to bring them something really useful， so morn and pop are pulled onto the scene. How does five， ten dollars for each "A" sound？ Or， how about no telephone if one doesn't do good in school？ Need I say more？
By the time high school arrives， a student's place in academic excellence or else their unlikelihood to even graduate has been established. Little can be done now to make life's challenges seem interesting， especially where school comes in. The slothful are rewarded with a nice job at a gas station， and a fifteen-year-old Ford. The diligent are rewarded with an SAT score of over 1100， acceptance into Yale University，and a ticket to life. By meeting the challenges of school， sticking it out， and pulling through， they are given their greatest reward： success.
生活中處處有挑戰。如今，年輕人所麵臨的最大挑戰莫過於學校。