My 5-Step Process to Getting What You Want Out of Life

实现梦想的五大步骤

The you I am referring to here is the strategic you – the one who is deciding on what you want and how best to get it, previously referred to as you (1).

这里的你（1号）是指制定战略的你，所做的主要是决定目标和最佳获得方式。

There are five things that you have to do to get what you want out of life. First, you have tochoose your goals, which will determine your direction. Then you have todesign a planto achieve your goals. On the way to your goals, you willencounter problemsAs I mentioned, these problems typically cause pain. The most common source of pain is in exploring your mistakes and weaknesses. You will either react badly to the pain or react like a master problem solver. That is your choice. To figure out how to get around these problems you must be calm and analytical to accuratelydiagnose your problems. Only after you have an accurate diagnosis of them can youdesign a plan that will get you around your problems. Then you have to do thetasksspecified in the plan. Through this process of encountering problems and figuring out how to get around them, you will become progressively more capable and achieve your goals more easily. Then you will set bigger, more challenging goals, in the same way that someone who works with weights naturally increases the poundage. This is the process of personal evolution, which I call my 5-Step Process.

要实现梦想，得做五件事，首先，选择你的目标，这会为你指明方向。然后你需要设计一个方案来实现你的目标。这个过程中，你会遇到问题，正如我说过的，这些问题一般都会带来痛苦。痛苦最普遍的是来源于自己犯的错和缺点。面对问题，你将要么对着痛苦怨声载道，要么像大师级的问题解决能手一样从容应对，这是你自己的选择。要解决这些问题，必须冷静，精准分析，诊断问题。只有精准诊断问题后，才能设计解决问题的方案。接下来，你要完成方案里设置的具体任务。通过遇到问题，寻找解决方案，你会变得更积极，更有能力，更易实现梦想，进而就能设置更宏伟，更具挑战性的目标了，就像练哑铃的人也会不断增加哑铃的重量一样。这就是个人成长过程，我称之为五大步骤。

In other words, “The Process” consists of five distinct steps:

也即，该方法包括五大具体步骤：

Have cleargoal.

目标清晰。

Identify and don’t tolerate theproblemsthat stand in the way of achieving your goals.

发现问题，对阻碍目标实现的问题零容忍。

Accuratelydiagnosethese problems.

精准诊断这些问题。

Designplans that explicitly lay out tasks that will get you around your problems and on to your goals.

设计方案，清晰列出待解决的问题，实现目标的各项具体任务。

mplementthese plans—i.e.,dothese tasks.

落实方案，也就是完成具体任务。

You need to do all of these steps well in order to be successful.

这些步骤完成好了才会走向成功。

Before discussing these individual steps in more detail, I want to make a few general points about the process.

开始分述每个步骤前，我想先简单谈谈整个过程。

1.You must approach these as distinct steps rather than blur them together.For example,when setting goals, just set goals (don’t think how you will achieve them or the other steps); when diagnosing problems, just diagnose problems (don’t think about how you will solve them or the other steps). Blurring the steps leads to suboptimal outcomes because it creates confusion and short-changes the individual steps. Doing each step thoroughly will provide information that will help you do the other steps well,since the process is iterative.

每个步骤要界限分明，独立操作，不可交叉重叠，混为一谈。例如，设置目标时就只想着设置目标，不要想你怎么实现或想别的步骤；诊断问题时就仅仅诊断问题，不要想怎么解决或想别的步骤。目标间相互混杂会导致不尽人意的结果，因为这样会令人产生困惑，给每个步骤带来临时的变数。完整地完成每个步骤，有助于更好地完成其他步骤，因为整个过程可以循环往复。

2.Each of these five steps requires different talents and disciplines.Most probably, you havelots of some of these and inadequate amounts of others. If you are missing any of the required talents and disciplines, that is not an insurmountable problem because you can acquire them, supplement them, or compensate for not having them, if you recognize your weaknesses anddesign around them. So you must be honestly self-reflective.

每个步骤都需要具备不同的能力，了解不同学科的知识。很可能你这方面懂很多，那方面懂一点，有些方面则没什么了解，如果你在完成步骤所需的资质或学科知识上不够完备，也不是什么不可逾越的大问题，因为不会的可以学，可以补充，不知道的地方也有抵消的办法，只要你认识到自己的缺点，并设计出解决方案，这就不是难事儿。所以请做一名诚实的自省者。

3.It is essential to approach this process in a very clear-headed, rational way rather than emotionally.Figure out what techniques work best for you; e.g., if emotions are getting the betterof you, take time out until you can reflect unemotionally, seek the guidance of calm, thoughtful others, etc.

操作这个过程，需要头脑清醒理智，而非感情用事。指出哪些技巧最适合你，若个人情感在左右你的选择，就先跳出来冷静下直到可以理性反思，向处事冷静且考虑周全之人寻求指导。

To help you do these things well—and stay centered and effective rather than stressed and thrown off by your emotions—try this technique for reducing the pressure:treat your life like a gameor a martial art. Your mission is to figure out how to get around your challenges to get to your goals. In the process of playing the game or practicing this martial art, you will become more skilled. As you get better, you will progress to ever- higher levels of the game that will require—and teach you—greater skills. I will explain what these skills are in the next section. However,the big and really great news is that you don’t needto have all of these skills to succeed!You just have to 1) know they are needed; 2) know you don’thave some of them; and 3) figure out how to get them (i.e., either learn them or work with others who have them).

为了帮你摆脱压力和情绪化的影响，进而聚精会神、高效顺利地完成这些步骤，试试这个减压技巧：把你的生活当作一场游戏或武术。你的使命是找出应对挑战的办法，实现目标。在玩游戏或练武术的过程中，技艺日益娴熟，变得强大，升级到需要新技能的关卡，新的关卡也会教会你新的技能。我会在下一部分详述这些技能是指什么。不过，最鼓舞人心的消息是，你实现成功并不需要具备所有的这些技能！你只需要：1）知道你需要这些技能；2）知道你没必要掌握全部技能；3）指出如何获得这些技能，通过学习或跟已掌握这些技能的人一起工作。

This particular game—i.e., your life—will challenge you in ways that will be uncomfortable at times. But if you work through this discomfort and reflect on it in order to learn, you will significantly improve your chances of getting what you want out of life.By and large, life will give you what you deserve and itdoesn’t give a damn what you “like.” So it is up to you to take full responsibility to connect what you want with what you need to do to get it, and then to do those things—which often are difficult but produce good results—so that you’ll then deserve to get what you want.

这个特别的游戏，也就是你的人生，会时而出现令你不悦的挑战。但如果你克服了这种不悦，反思学习，就能大幅度提升实现梦想的几率。总体来说，生活会给你应得的回报，生活不会谴责你的喜好，所以你要自己负起责任来，搭建起“自己想要什么”和“要得到想要的该如何做”之间的桥梁，然后脚踏实地干起来，做起来虽然不那么容易，但能收获满意的结果，实现你的梦想。

That’s just the way it is, so you might as well accept it. Once you accept that playing the game will be uncomfortable, and you do it for a while, it will become much easier (like it does when getting fit) . When you excel at it, you will find your ability to get what you want thrilling. You’ll see that excuses like “That’s not easy” are of no value and that it pays to “push through it” at a pace you can handle. Like getting physically fit, the most important thing is that you keep moving forward at whatever pace you choose, recognizing the consequences of your actions. When you think that it’s too hard, remember that in the long run, doing the things that will make you successful is a lot easier than being unsuccessful. The first-order consequences of escaping life’s challenges may seem pleasurable in the moment, but the second-and third-order consequences of this approach are your life and, over time, will be painful. With practice, you will eventually play this game like a ninja, with skill and a calm centeredness in the face of adversity that will let you handle most of your numerous challenges well.

游戏就是这么玩的，你最好还是接受这样的设定。一旦你也确实觉得玩这场游戏会遭受一些不适，请坚持一段时间，一切会变得越来越容易，就像健身一样。当你实现了超越，会为实现了梦想而兴奋不已，像“这可不容易”之类的借口就会变得毫无价值，按自己能掌控的节奏“突破自己”就会带来回报。跟健身一样，最重要的是，无论你选择了什么速度，都要坚持前行，才能认识到这样做的结果。当你觉得这太困难时，请记住，从长远来看，做能让自己成功的事，比失败容易得多。逃避人生中挑战的一级效应在那一刻看起来是令人愉悦的，但其带来的二、三级效应，随时间积淀，才真的会带来痛苦的人生。通过不断练习，最终你能跟忍者一样技艺娴熟，面对逆境能做到冷静专注，从容应对各种挑战。

However, you will never handle them all well: mistakes are inevitable, and it’s important to recognize and accept this fact of life. The good news, as I have mentioned, is that most learning comes through making mistakes—so there is no end to learning how to play the game better. You will have an enormous number of decisions to make, so no matter how many mistakes you make, there will be plenty of opportunities to build a track record of success.

诚然，你没有办法做得面面俱到：犯错难以避免，重要的是认识并接受这个人生事实。但利好的一面我也提到过，大多数的学习都是通过犯错得来的，所以人生这场游戏怎么玩得更好，其中的学问是无止境的。你得做大量决定，所以无论犯多少错误，都会有大量机会构建成功。

That’s basically the whole concept.

上述是整体概念。

Let’s pause and reflect on this before moving on.

我们暂且停顿一下，继续展开前先反思一下。

Does what I am saying make sense to you?

我所说的你都理解了么？

Do you agree that it is true?

你认为我所说的是对的吗

If not, why not?

如果你不同意，为什么？

If you can’t work through your doubts alone, speak to me or to others about it, but PLEASE do not proceed until you agree with the basic logic behind the 5-Step Process. Either you will get comfortable with it and internalize it or you will point out something that is wrong and the process will get better.

若心存质疑，自己没法解答，可以告诉我或跟别人说说，但在认同五大步骤背后的基本逻辑前，请勿进行下一步。要么你会适应并消化这套基本逻辑，要么你也可以指出哪里有问题，帮助我们把这个过程做得更好。

What follows now is a closer examination of each of the five steps.

下面是对这五个步骤更进一步的探讨。

The 5 Steps Close-U

五大步骤的特写详述

1) Setting Goals

1）设定目标

You can have virtually anything you want, but you can’t have everything you want.

事实上，你想要什么都行，但你无法拥有一切。

The first, most important, and typically most difficult step in the 5-Step Process is setting goals, because it forces you to decide what you really want and therefore what you can possibly get out of life. This is the step where you face the fundamental limit: life is like a giant smorgasbord of more delicious alternatives than you can ever hope to taste. So you have to reject having some things you want in order to get other things you want more.

五大步骤中，通常最重要又最困难的就是设定目标了，因为这是在逼你决定什么是你真正想要的以及可能获得的现实结果。这一步会面临最根本的局限：生活如同一盘大杂烩，美味佳肴种类繁多、应接不暇。所以你得学会舍弃一些想要的东西，才能获得你更想要的东西。

Some people fail at this point, afraid to reject a good alternative for fear that the loss will deprive them of some essential ingredient to their personal happiness. As a result, they pursue too many goals at the same time, achieving few or none of them.

有人会在这点上失败，不敢舍弃看起来不错的选择，害怕一旦失去，个人幸福感中某些重要组成元素就被剥夺了。所以这些人同时设置很多目标，但鲜有真正实现的。

So it’s important to remember: it doesn’t really matter if some things are unavailable to you, because the selection of what IS available is so great. (That is why many people who had major losses—e.g., who lost their ability to walk, to see, etc.—and who didn’t narrow-mindedly obsess about their loss but rather open-mindedly accepted and enjoyed what remained, had equally happy lives as those who didn’t ever have these losses.)

所以得记住，无法拥有某些东西并不要紧，因为在可以拥有的东西中进行挑选是很棒的事情。有人先天残疾，比如无法行走，看不见东西，但能和身体健全的人一样幸福，因为他们不狭隘地沉浸在失去的情绪中，而是大方接受并享受自己依然拥有的东西。

In other words, you can have an enormous amount: much, much more than what you need to have for a happy life. So don’t get discouraged by not being able to have everything you want, and for God’s sake, don’t be paralyzed by the choices. That’s nonsensical and unproductive. Get on with making your choices.

换句话说，你可以拥有很多东西，远多于你生活幸福所需，所以无法拥有一切也不要沮丧，也千万别被各种选择打垮，这样既没意义又无效，要习惯做选择。

Put another way,to achieve your goals you have to prioritize, and that includes rejecting good alternatives(so that you have the time and resources to pursue even better ones—time being probablyyour greatest limiting factor, though, through leverage, you can substantially reduce time’s constraints).

换个说法，要实现目标就要有优先次序，包括舍弃看起来还不错的选项。这样你就有时间和资源追寻更好的选项，时间可能是限制你最多的因素，最大程度利用好时间，就能极大减少时间带来的约束。

It is important not to confuse “goals” and “desires.”

不要混淆“目标”和“欲望”，这很重要。

Goals are the things that you really want to achieve, while desires are things you want that can prevent you from reaching your goals—as I previously explained, desires are typically first-order consequences. For example, a goal might be physical fitness, while a desire is the urge to eat good-tasting, unhealthy food (i.e., a first-order consequence) that could undermine you obtaining your fitness goal. So, in terms of the consequences they produce, goals are good and desires are bad.

目标是你真的想实现的东西，而欲望是你想要但会阻碍你实现目标的东西。我之前解释过，欲望一般是一级效应。例如，假设目标是身体健康，欲望就是吃可口但不健康的食物，这个是一级效应。这种结果不利于你实现健康这一目标。所以单从结果来看，目标是好的，欲望是不好的。

Some societies define evil to be the desires that can take you away from your goals, which I think is a good way of seeing the difference between goals and desires. That doesn’t mean I think that there isn’t room for a little “bad”, but I do think that desires that fundamentally divert you from your goals should be avoided at all cost.

有社会学家把导致自己远离目标的欲望称为邪恶，我认为这是用来区分目标与欲望很好的思路。这并不是说我不允许大家“不以恶小而为之”，但我真的认为，要想让自己远离目标的欲望应不惜一切代价将其铲除干净。

Don’t get me wrong; I believe you can choose to pursue any goal you want as long as you consider the consequences. So, staying with this example, I think it is perfectly OK for you to make your goal to enjoy eating good-tasting, unhealthy food if that choice will bring you what you really want. As I said earlier, if you want to be a couch potato, that’s fine with me—seriously. But if that’s not what you want, you better not open that bag of chips. In other words, failing to make the distinction between goals and desires will lead you in the wrong direction, because you will be inclined to pursue things you want that will undermine your ability to get things you want more. In short, you can pursue anything you desire—just make sure that you know the consequences of what you are doing.

别误解了我的意思，只要考虑了后果，我认为你完全可以去追寻任何你想要的目标。还是拿健身举例，如果你要把尽享可口不健康的食物作为目标，这是完全没问题的，只要能带来你想要的结果就行。我说过，你想做成天宅在家里看电视吃薯片无所事事的人，这对于我来说真的完全没问题。但如果这不是你想要的生活，最好就别撕开薯片包装袋了，换句话说，不能清晰辨别目标与欲望，将于事无补。因为你会倾向于追求你渴望的事情，而这件事情会影响你收获更多的能力。简而言之，你想追求什么都行，只要你确信自己知道这样做的后果就行。

Another common reason people fail at this stage is that they lose sight of their goals, getting caught up in day-to-day tasks.

导致你在这个阶段失败的另一个普遍原因是你忽视了自己的目标，陷入到一复一日的工作任务中去了。

Avoid setting goals based on what you think you can achieve.

避免基于自己主观意愿设定目标。

As I said before, do each step separately and distinctly without regard to the others. In this case, that means don’t rule out a goal due to a superficial assessment of its attainability. Once you commit to a goal, it might take lots of thinking and many revisions to your plan over a considerable time period in order to finalize the design and do the tasks to achieve it. So you need to set goals without yet assessing whether or not you can achieve them.

我提到过，每一步都要单独操作，绝不相互影响。这种情况下，也就是说目标不能仅根据表面上的可实现度而进行设定。一旦开始投身到实现目标的过程中，会需要大量的思考、反思，耗费大量的时间来最终确定实现目标的方案和具体任务。所以设定目标时，不要一开始就下结论说能不能实现。

This requires some faith that you really can achieve virtually anything, even if you don’t know how you will do it at that moment. Initially you have to have faith that this is true, but after following this process and succeeding at achieving your goals, you will gain confidence. If you like, you can start with more modest goals and, when you build up the track record to give you faith, increase your aspirations.

这需要你坚信没什么是办不到的。即使当下不知道怎么操作也不要紧。只要刚开始坚定这个信念，按这个过程依次推进，实现目标后，就会获得真正的信心。如果你愿意，刚开始可以设定一些简单普通的目标，小有成就后就能增强信念，个人志向也开始日趋宏大起来。

This might sound inconsistent with the previous point that you can’t have everything. It’s not. I am saying that, at this stage of goal-setting, don’t set your goals based on what you think you can achieve. In the process of doing the other four steps (especially designing) you will thoroughly think through what is possible. Then you will circle back and enter the goal-setting mode again. As I mentioned, this five-step process is iterative, but it must be pursued one step at a time in order to do each step excellently.

这里似乎和我之前提到的“你不能拥有一切”的观点有点矛盾，其实不是。在目标设置阶段，不要根据主观认为能实现什么而设定目标。在进行另外四个步骤，特别是方案设计时，你将会仔细思考可能的解决方案。那时又会返回到目标设定模式。我提过，这五大步骤是循环往复的，但每次必须认真完成一个步骤，才能为下一步顺利完成打好基础。

Every time I set goals, I don’t yet have any idea how I am going to achieve them because I haven’t yet gone through the process of thinking through them. But I have learned that I can achieve them if I think creatively and work hard.

每次我设定目标时都还不知道怎么去实现，因为这还没进入到仔细思考的步骤，但我认为只要思维富有创造性，勤奋努力，就能实现我的目标。

The more creative I am, the less hard I have to work.

我的创造力越强，我的工作就越轻松。

I also know that I can “cheat.” Unlike in school, in life you don’t have to come up with all the right answers. You can ask the people around you for help—or even ask them to do the things you don’t do well.

我还知道可以“作弊”。学校里事事都得有正确答案，而现实生活中，遇到问题你可以问身边的人，甚至让他们做你不擅长的事情。

In other words, there is almost no reason not to succeed if you take the attitude of 1) total flexibility—good answers can come from anyone or anywhere (and in fact, as I have mentioned, there are far more good answers “out there” than there are in you) and 2) total accountability: regardless of where the good answers come from, it’s your job to find them.

换句话说，采取以下的态度，没有理由不成功。1）完全的灵活性-任何人在任何地方都能提供令人满意的答案，事实上如我所说，我们自身能提供的答案是有限的，外在的人和环境能提供多得多的答案；2）要完全负责。不管合适的答案来自何处，找到它们是你的职责所在。

This no-excuses approach helps me do whatever it takes to get whatever I want most. Not all goals are achievable, of course. There are some impossibilities or near-impossibilities, such as living forever, or flying with just the power of your arms. But it’s been my experience that if I commit to bringing creativity, flexibility, and determination to the pursuit of my goals, I will figure out some way to get them, i.e., almost all goals are attainable. And as I don’t limit my goals to what seems attainable at the moment I set them, the goals I set tend to be higher than they would otherwise be. Since trying to achieve high goals makes me stronger, I become increasingly capable of achieving more. Great expectations create great capabilities, in other words. And if I fail to achieve my goal, it just tells me that I have not been creative or flexible or determined enough to do what it takes, and I circle back and figure out what I need to do about this situation.

这种不找借口的方法，助我尽全力实现最想达成的目标。当然，不是所有的目标都有可能实现。有些目标是不可能或几乎不可能实现的，例如长生不死，张开双臂飞翔等等。但根据我的经验，只要在追寻目标时，投入创造力，灵活性和决心，总能找到办法实现的。这么看来，几乎所有的目标都是可以实现的。我设置目标时，也不只是看它当下是否可能实现，我设的目标都是立足长远的。努力实现高难度目标，助我变得强大，能够实现更多的新目标。对期望值设定越高，能力也会变得越强。如果没能实现目标，我会对自己说，肯定我不够创新，不够灵活，毅力不够，然后回过头思考应该怎么解决。

Achieving your goals isn’t just about moving forward.

实现目标不仅仅只是前进

Inevitably, you must deal with setbacks. So goals aren’t just those things that you want and don’t have. They might also be keeping what you do have, minimizing your rate of loss, or dealing with irrevocable loss. Life will throw you challenges, some of which will seem devastating at the time. Your goal is always to make the best possible choices, knowing that you will be rewarded if you do. It’s like playing golf: sometimes you will be in the fairway and sometimes you will be in the rough, so you have to know how to play it as it lies.

挫折无法避免。目标是你想要但还没实现的东西，目标也能让你保留已有的东西，让失去的机率最小化，应对不可挽回的损失。生活会向你抛来挑战，有时是灾难性的。你的目标基本上都是在寻找最优解，并明白实现就能获得回报。跟打高尔夫球一样，有时球在光滑的球道上，有时在粗糙的地面上，要根据具体情况才能知道怎么去玩。

Generally speaking, goal-setting is best done by those who are good at big-picture conceptual thinking, synthesizing, visualizing, and prioritizing. But whatever your strengths and weaknesses are, don’t forget the big and really great news here: it is not essential that you have all of these qualities yourself, because you can supplement them with the help of others.

总的来说，目标设置最好能够由擅于在把握大局情况下进行概念思维、合成、形象化和优先排序的人来操作。不管你有什么优缺点，都别忘了最令人兴奋的好消息，就是你不必具备所有的能力素质，因为你可以通过别人的帮助来进行补充。

In summary, in order to get what you want, the first step is to really know what you want, without confusing goals with desires, and without limiting yourself because of some imagined impediments that you haven’t thoroughly analyzed.

总的来说，要实现梦想，第一步是真的知道自己要什么，不混淆目标与欲望，不因缺乏全面分析的假想障碍而把自己限制住了。

How well do you know what you want most out of life?

你有多了解自己想要什么？

What are your most important goals?

你最重要的目标是什么？

Are you good at setting your goals?

你擅于设定目标吗?

How confident are you that your assessment of your ability to set goals is right?

对自己设定目标的能力进行评估，你有几分自信？

If you are confident of your self-assessment, why should you be confident (e.g. because you have a demonstrated track-record, because many believable people have told you, etc)?

如果你对自我评估很有信心，请论述自信的原因。是因为有过往业绩吗，还是值得信赖之人告诉过你？

2) Identifying and Not Tolerating Problems

2）发现问题，对问题零容忍

After you set your goals, you must come up with a plan or a design to achieve them and then you must execute that plan by doing the tasks. On the way to achieving your goals and executing your design, you will encounter problems that have to be diagnosed, so that the design can be modified to get around these obstacles. That’s why you need to identify and not tolerate problems.

设定目标后，你得设计出一套方案来实现目标，并且要实施方案里布置的各项任务。在实现目标、实施方案的过程中，你会碰到问题、诊断问题，进而完善设计方案以避免这些阻碍，所以要发现问题，并对问题零容忍。

Most problems are potential improvements screaming at you.

大多数问题都是蕴含着改善良机的。

Whenever a problem surfaces, you have in front of you an opportunity to improve.The more painful theproblem, the louder it is screaming. In order to be successful, you have to 1) perceive problems and 2) not tolerate them.

一旦有问题出现，摆在你面前的就是一个提升改善的良机。问题越棘手，带来的反应越大，要想成功，你得 1）发现问题；2）对问题零容忍。

Though I’ve said it before, it’s worth saying again: I understand that recognizing harsh realities can be extremely painful. But I’ve learned that if you can stare hard at your problems, they almost always shrink or disappear, because you almost always find a better way of dealing with them than if you don’t face them head on. The more difficult the problem, the more important it is that you stare at it and deal with it. After seeing how effectively facing reality – especially your problems, mistakes and weaknesses – works, you will become comfortable with it and won’t want to operate any other way. I also believe that one of the best ways of getting at truth is reflecting with others who have opposing views and who share your interest in finding the truth rather than being proven right.

虽然说过，但有必要再强调下：我明白，认识到残酷的现实非常痛苦，但我也发现，只要紧盯你的问题，这些问题基本都会减少或消失，因为比起躲避这些问题，你经常就已经找到了更好的解决办法了。问题越困难，越是需要对其紧抓不放。在面对现实情况时看到这种办法的有效性，尤其是面对自己的问题，错误和缺点，终会从容应对，到时候都不会想用其他方法解决了。我也相信，获得真相的最佳途径是同他人一起反思，尤其是当对方与你的观点相对立时，或与你一样乐于自己去寻找真相而不是乐于坐等事实被别人证明。

If you don’t identify your problems, you won’t solve them, so you won’t move forward toward achieving your goals. As a result, it is essential to bring problems to the surface.

若不能发现问题，你就无法解决问题，也就不能前行实现目标。所以，让问题显现出来十分关键。

Most people don’t like to do this. But most successful people know that they have to do this.

大多数人不爱这么做，但大多数成功人士知道他们必须这样做。

The most common reasons people don’t successfully identify their problems are generally rooted either in a lack of will or in a lack of talent or skill:

人们不能很好地发现自身问题，主要是源于缺少意愿、天赋或技能。

They can be “harsh realities” that are unpleasant to look at, so people often subconsciously put them “out of sight” so they will be “out of mind.”

直面“残酷的现实”令人不悦，人们会下意识忽略，不去想。

Thinking about problems that are difficult to solve can produce anxiety that stands in the way of progress.

思考棘手的问题，可能产生焦虑，阻碍进步。

People often worry more about appearing to not have problems than about achieving their desired results, and therefore avoid recognizing that their own mistakes and/or weaknesses are causing the problems. This aversion to seeing one’s own mistakes and weaknesses typically occurs because they’re viewed as deficiencies you’re stuck with rather than as essential parts of the personal evolution process.

人们常常更担心表面上是否看起来有问题，而不担心能否实现预期目标，因此就回避自身可能产生问题的错误或弱点。这种对自身错误的反感非常普遍，因为人们认为犯错是一种缺陷，而没有把犯错当做个人进化过程中的重要一环。

Sometimes people are simply not perceptive enough to see the problems.

有时人们仅仅是对问题缺乏洞察力罢了。

Some people are unable to distinguish big problems from small ones. Since nothing is perfect, it is possible to identify an infinite number of problems everywhere. If you are unable to distinguish the big problems from the little ones, you can’t “successfully” (i.e., in a practical way) identify problems.

有人不会区分大问题和小问题。世上没有完美的事情，所以每个地方都可能发现数不完的问题，要不能从这一堆问题中分辨出大问题，实际上是不能顺利发现问题的。

Remember, you don’t have to be good at any of the five steps (in this case, identifying problems) to be successful if you get help from others. So push through the pain of facing your problems, knowingyou will end up in a much better place.

记住，五大步骤你不必样样精通（这里就是说发现问题的能力），因为能够从别人那里获得帮助。所以直面问题，经受住痛苦，相信自己的结果会比现在好很多。

When identifying problems, it is important to remain centered and logical.

发现问题时，保持聚精会神和逻辑思维。

While it can be tempting to react emotionally to problems and seek sympathy or blame others, this accomplishes nothing.Whatever the reasons, you have to get over the impediments to succeed. Remember that the pains you are feeling are “growing pains” that will test your character and reward you if you push through them. Try to look at your problems as a detached observer would. Remember thatidentifying problems is like finding gems embedded in puzzles; if you solve the puzzles you will get the gems that will make your life much better. Doing this continuously will lead to your rapidevolution. So, if you’re logical, you really should get excited about finding problems because identifying them will bring you closer to your goals.

面对问题时采取情绪化的做法，比如寻求同情或斥责他人，是毫无用处的。无论是什么原因，要想成功就要越过障碍。记住，你所体验的痛苦是“成长的痛苦”，会锻炼你的性格，经受住了考验就能获得回报。尝试以一个置身事外的观察者身份看待自己的问题。记住，发现问题就像是搜寻谜阵里镶嵌的宝石，解开了谜阵，就能获得宝石，让人生变得更好。持续这样做，会加速你的进化过程。如果你的逻辑思维很好，那你应该很乐于寻找问题，因为发现问题会让你更接近目标。

This is typically because they let their emotions control their behavior and/or they haven’t learned how to deal with their problems e.g., the amygdala is “hijacking” decision-making away from the pre-frontal cortex.

一般这样是因为个人情绪控制了他们的行为，他们还没学会如何解决问题，比如：大脑的杏仁体把决策行为从前额叶皮层那抢了过去

How good are you at perceiving problems?

你擅于察觉问题吗？

How confident are you that your assessment of your ability to perceive problems is right?

你对上述问题的自我评估有信心吗？

If you are confident of your self-assessment, why should you be confident (e.g. because you have a demonstrated track-record, because many believable people have told you, etc)?

如果你对自我评估很有信心，请论述自信的原因。（例如过去有过辉煌的记录，或值得信赖之人告诉过你等等）？

Be very precise in specifying your problems.

问题要精准且具体化。

It is essential to identify your problems with precision, for different problems have different solutions. For example, if your impediments are due largely to issues of will—to your unwillingness to confront what is really happening—you have to strengthen your will, for example by starting small and building up your confidence.

要精准地发现问题，这很关键，因为不同的问题有不同的解决办法。例如，如果你的障碍主要是由于个人意愿，不愿意直面现实。那你需要增强意愿，从小事做起建立信心。

If your problems are related to lack of skill or innate talent, the most powerful antidote is to have others point things out to you and objectively consider whether what they identify is true. Problems due to inadequate skill might then be solved with training, whereas those arising from innate weaknesses might be overcome with assistance or role changes. It doesn’t matter which is the case; it only matters that the true cause is identified and appropriately addressed.

如果你的问题是缺少技能或天赋，克服问题的良方就是让别人当你的面指出来，客观思考他们说的是不是正确的。能力不足就加强训练，天生的缺点可能需要帮助或角色改变才能克服。无论是什么情况，找到真正的原因并恰当化解才是最重要的。

There are also other antidotes that we will delve into in the next book.

对此还有别的良方，下一本书里我再做探讨。

The more precise you are, the easier it will be to come up with accurate diagnoses and successful solutions. For example, rather than saying something like “People don’t like me,” it is better to specify which people don’t like you and under what circumstances.

问题发现的越准确，越容易对问题进行诊断和提供有效的解决方案。例如，与其说“大家不喜欢我”，不如具体一点，说说谁不喜欢你，在什么情况下不喜欢你。

Don’t confuse problems with causes.

不要混淆问题和原因。

“I can’t get enough sleep” is not a problem; it is a cause of some problem. What exactly is that problem? To avoid confusing the problem with its causes, try to identify the suboptimal outcome, e.g., “I am performing badly in my job because I am tired.”

“我睡眠不足”不是一个问题，这个是一些问题的原因。问题实际上是什么？要避免混淆问题与原因，尝试看一下不满意的结果，比如说：我工作表现不好是因为我太累了。

Once you identify your problems, you must not tolerate them.

一旦发现了自身的问题，必须采取零容忍的态度。

Tolerating problems has the same result as not identifying them (i.e., both stand in the way of getting past the problem), but the root causes are different. Tolerating problems might be due to not thinking that they can be solved, or not caring enough about solving them.People who tolerate problems are the worse off because, without the motivation to move on, they cannot succeed. In other words, if you are motivated, you can succeed even if you don’t have the abilities (i.e., talents and skills) because you can get the help from others. But if you’re not motivated to succeed, if you don’t have the will to succeed, the situation is hopeless.

容忍问题带来的后果，和不发现它们一样，都会阻碍问题的解决。但两者的根本原因是不一样的，容忍问题可能是认为这些问题无法解决，或者不在乎能否解决。容忍问题的存在更为糟糕，因为这是缺乏前进动力的表现，是不会成功的。换句话说，只要你有成功的积极性，就算没有能力、天资、技能，你也能成功，因为你可以从别人那获得帮助。但你要连想成功的积极性都没有，就没有成功的意愿，毫无成功希望。

Not caring to solve problems often occurs when the expected reward is less than the expected cost. For example, when someone is working toward someone else’s goals without being appropriately supervised, rewarded or punished.

如果解决问题的回报低于解决成本，那么人们就可能不在乎是否能解决问题。例如，一个人为实现另一个人的目标而工作，但不受其监管奖惩。

* How much do you tolerate problems?

你容忍问题的程度怎样？

How confident are you that your assessment of how much you tolerate problems is right?

你对上述问题的自我评估有几分信心？

If you are confident of your self-assessment, why should you be confident (e.g. because you have a demonstrated track-record, because many believable people have told you, etc)?

如果你对自我评估很有信心，请论述自信的原因。是因为你有过往业绩，或值得信赖之人这样评价过你？

People who are good at this step—identifying and not tolerating problems—tend to have strong abilities to perceive and synthesize a clear and accurate picture, as well as demonstrate a fierce intolerance of badness (regardless of the severity).

擅于发现问题并对问题零容忍的人，对问题的洞察力和综合能力很强，擅于构思清晰准确的方案，也说明他们不能忍受任何不良情况（不管多严重)。

Remember that you need to do each step independently from the other steps before moving on.

记住，每一步都要单独完成后再进入其他步骤。

Can you comfortably identify your problems without thinking about how to solve them? It is a good exercise to just make a list of them, without possible solutions. Only after you have created a clear picture of your problems should you go to the next step.

你能在不思考怎么解决的情况下轻松地发现你的问题吗？列个清单，不写解决方案，这是个不错的练习方式。当你对自己的问题有了清晰的认识后，再进入到下一个步骤。

For a more detailed explanation of identifying and not tolerating problems, please read My Management Principles.

想要了解更多关于发现问题与对问题零容忍的内容，可以阅读第三章，我的管理原则。

3) Diagnosing the Problems

3）诊断问题

You will be much more effective if you focus on diagnosis and design rather than jumping to solutions.

比起直接跳到解决方案，关注问题的诊断与解决方案的设计会有效得多。

It is a very common mistake for people to move directly from identifying a tough problem to a proposed solution in a nanosecond without spending the hours required to properly diagnose and design a solution. This typically yields bad decisions that don’t alleviate the problem. Diagnosing and designing are what spark strategic thinking.

人们常犯的一个错误就是，发现了难题就不假思索跳到解决方案了，而没有多花点时间对问题进行适当的诊断并设计解决方案。这样通常会产生不明智的决策，解决不了问题。诊断问题与方案设计才是具有战略性思维的源泉。