1 . Richard is a very a successful businessman. It is common for him to work hard with a non-stop. He wasn’t aware that he might wear himself out or die an early death until he overslept one morning, which was a sort of alarm. And then what happened? He had a week’s leave during which time he read novels, listened to music and walked with his wife on a beach, which has enabled Richard to return to work again.

In our modern life, we have lost the rhythm between action and rest. Amazingly, within this world there is a universal but silly saying: “I am so busy.”

We say this to one another as if our tireless efforts were a talent by nature and an ability to successfully deal with stress. The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, and to be unable to find time to relax — this has become the model of a successful life.

Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the guide telling us where to go, the food providing us with strength, the quiet giving us wisdom.

How have we allowed this to happen? I believe it is this: we have forgotten the Sabbath, the day of the week — for followers of some religions — for rest and praying. It is a day when we are not supposed to work, a time when we devote ourselves to enjoying and celebrating what is beautiful. It is a good time to bless our children and loved ones, give thanks, share meals, walk and sleep. It is a time for us to take a rest, to put our work aside, trusting that there are larger forces at work taking care of the world.

Rest is s spiritual and biological need; however, in our strong ambition to be successful and care for our many responsibilities, we may feel terribly guilty when we take time to rest. The Sabbath gives us permission to stop work. In fact, “Remember the Sabbath” is more than simply permission to rest; it is a rule to obey and a principle to follow.

3 . Many years ago, I bumped into an old friend of mine. He had devoted his life to acting but had never been quite successful. In his middle age, he seemed defeated and sad.

I thought of his dogged (顽强的) perseverance. Was it smart or foolish? What could he have achieved? Had he quit his dream of acting and moved on? Our culture does not look kindly upon quitting. Failure is perfectly acceptable as long as it eventually results in success.

We chant (反复喊着) “Winners never quit” and “If at first you don’t succeed, try again. ” We lap up (欣然接受) stories of persistence, of the author who submitted stories for years before her novels were published or of the athlete who trained since childhood to win gold at the Olympics.

Persistence pays off when it is rewarded with success, but it does not reward every person. For every JK Rowling, there are thousands of aspiring writers who will never get published. For every Olympic athlete, there are innumerable (无数的) others who trained every day of their lives and never made the cut.

We all agree that doing the same things and expecting a different result is unwise. So why do we believe that persevering through failure after failure is a good idea? We consider quitting in the face of failure to be weak. We believe that perseverance is the key to success. Perseverance is only one part of success. You need talent or skill, as well as passion and drive. Luck and timing are also key to any great success.

Our society believes that anything is possible, as long as you “believe”. But not everyone can make it. Quitting when you’ re not ahead is sometimes the smartest thing to do. Obviously, if you enjoy a pursuit, regardless of its outcome, you should continue. If you knew your novel would never be published, would you want to write? If you could never be a champion swimmer, would you still train? Sometimes, it is wise to put your energy into something else.

Failure is not always the path to success. Sometimes, failure is the door to something new.

5 . Imagine a world in which there was suddenly no emotion — a world in which human beings could feel no love or happiness, no terror or hate. Try to imagine the consequences of such a transformation. People might not be able to stay alive: knowing neither joy nor pleasure, anxiety nor fear, they would be as likely to repeat acts that hurt them as acts that were beneficial. They could not learn: they could not benefit from experience because this emotionless world would lack rewards and punishments. Society would soon disappear: people would be as likely to harm one another as to provide help and support. Human relationships would not exist: in a world without friends or enemies, there could be no marriage, affection among companions, or bonds among members of groups. Society’s economic underpinnings (支柱) would be destroyed: since earning $10 million would be no more pleasant than earning $10, there would be no incentive (刺激, 动机) to work. In fact, there would be no incentives of any kind, for as we will see, incentives imply a capacity to enjoy them.

In such a world, the chances that the human species would survive are next to zero, because emotions are the basic instruments of our survival and adaptation. Emotions structure the world for us in important ways. As individuals, we categorize (分类) objects on the basis of our emotions. True, we consider the length, shape, size or texture (质地, 纹理), but an object’s physical aspects are less important than what it has done or can do to us — hurt us, surprise us, anger us or make us joyful. We also use categorizations colored by emotions in our families, communities, and overall society. Out of our emotional experience with objects and events comes a social feeling of agreement that certain things and actions are “good” and others are “bad”, and we apply these categories to every aspect of our social life — from what foods we eat and what clothes we wear to how we keep promises and which people our group will accept. In fact, society uses our emotional reactions and attitudes, such as loyalty, morality, pride, shame, guilt, fear and greed, in order to maintain itself. It gives high rewards to individuals who perform important tasks such as surgery, makes heroes out of individuals for unusual or dangerous achievements such as flying fighter planes in a war, and uses the legal penal (刑法的) system to make people afraid to engage in antisocial acts.

7 . Many intelligent people equate happiness with fun. The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. Fun is what we experience during the act. Happiness is what we experience after an act. It is deeper, more abiding emotion.

Going to an amusement park of ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.

The way people cling to the belief that a fun-filled, pain free life equals happiness actually decreases their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

As a result, many people avoid the very endeavors that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, charitable work, self-improvement.

Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he’s honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For a commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement. Marriage has such movement, but they are not its most distinguishing features.

Similarly, couples who choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness. They can dine out whenever they want, travel wherever they want and sleep as late as they want. Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation. I don’t know any parents would choose the word fun to describe raising children.

But couples who decide not to have children never experience the pleasure of hugging them or tucking them into bed at night. They never know the joy of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild. Difficult endeavors — writing, raising children, trying to do good in the world — will bring us more happiness than can ever be found in fun, that least permanent of things.

The moment we understand that fun does not bring happiness, we began to lead our lives differently. The effect can be, quite literally, life-transforming.

10 . Life is meant to be lived. No excuses. No reservations. No holding back.

An inspiring story about violinist Fritz · Kreisler tells how he once _________ a beautiful violin he wanted to acquire. When he finally _________ the money for the violin, he returned to buy it and learned that it had already been sold to a(n)_________.

He went to the new owner’s home in order to try to _________ him to sell the violin. But the collector said it was one of his _________ possessions and he could not let it go.

Disappointed Kreisler turned to leave, but then _________ a favour. “May I play the instrument once more _________ it is placed to silence？”

_________ was given and the great musician began to play. The violin sang out a piece of quality music, so _________ that the collector himself could only listen in wonderment. “I have no __________ to keep that to myself.” he said after the musician finished. “The violin is yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people __________ it.”

William Arthur Ward said, “If you believe in prayer, pray; if you believe in serving, serve; if you believe in giving, give.” For you and I are fine violin—our music is __________ to be heard.

I want to live my life that way—to take it into the world and live it __________. I’d rather burn out than rust out(锈尽). I’d rather be used up than die not having done __________ I can.

I’m not talking about __________ ourselves out on over-activity. Happiness is __________ found in excessive(过度) busyness. But it is found in __________ our lives in others. Say yes when asked for a hand. Volunteer some time for a worthwhile organization and __________ an hour with a lonely relative.

In the end, I know that my __________ is not only about my ability or my inability. It is about my__________. My life is meant to be lived.