四级英语学习：10种埋没潜能的生活方式02

Get caught up in the details vs. the big picture.

为琐事发愁VS.着眼大局。

      If you're a perfectionist, you might find yourself caught up with perfecting details on a regular basis.  If so, you're not alone - I'm the same way.  I spend a lot of time editing the nitty-gritty, so that everything can be perfect and the way I envision it to be.  For example in my articles, I can spend an hour or more looking for the perfect photo that expresses the exact intention of my article.  I can spend hours just improving my blog and forums so that my readers can get the perfect experience.

      如果你是一个完美主义者，你会发觉自己经常在处理一些小细节。如果这样，你也不是一个人在  这么做，我也是这样的。我会用许多时间在编辑些基本的事实，然后所有的事情都会是完美无暇的，也会按是我设想的那样呈现出来。比如说，在我的文章里，我会花费一个小时或者更多的时间去寻找最匹配的照片，这些照片会准确地表达出文章的旨意。我会耗费几个小时去打理我的博客和论坛，所以读者们在阅读时会感觉非常棒。

      However, I have come to realize that by spending all my time on the details, I'm not making the best use of my time.  According to the 80/20 principle, 80% of the results we can achieve comes from 20% of our actions.  In trying to achieve the remaining 20% to get the perfect 100% outcome, we have to spend 80% more effort!

      但终究我却意识到，我确实在这些小细节上十分用心，可是我并没有最好地利用时间。根据80/20原则，80%的结果得益于20%的时间。为了得到最后的20%结果以达到完美的100%，我们必须要耗费80%这么多的努力！

      Some of us may think that we should do everything to achieve the best outcome.  While I agree with this, it fails to hold true outside of certain situational contexts.  For example, while it may be gratifying to get the best picture for each blog article, the extra time spent looking for that best picture prevents me from working on higher value tasks, such as writing new books or creating new challenges for my readers.  It goes without saying that one hour spent on the latter adds more value than one hour spent looking for a picture.

      有些人也许觉得我们应该竭尽全力以达到最好的目标。我虽然也赞同这一点，可是这点在某些情况下并不奏效。比如说，虽然为每篇博客配一张完美的图确实令人庆幸，可是为了这而花费的时间却阻止了我做更大价值的工作，比如写一本新书或者为我的读者带来更多的挑战。后者的价值要高于寻找一张图片，这点不言而喻。

      By looking at the big picture, it helps you realize what does matter and what doesn't so that you can then channel your energy accordingly.  The Gifts of Imperfection is a good read on this topic.

      着眼大局可以帮助你看清什么更重要，然后你可以根据重要性重新分配精力。在《The Gift of Imperfection》一书中会有更好的诠释。