第一篇：TED英文演講稿：談轉變心態的珠峰游(附翻譯)

TED英文演講稿：談轉變心態的珠峰游

（附翻譯）

last year when i was here, i was speaking to you about a swim which i did across the north pole.去年，當我站在這里的時候，我在談論我橫跨 北極的游泳。

and while that swim took place three years ago, i can remember it as if it was yesterday.那還是發生在3年前，對我則好像是昨天一般。

i remember standing on the edge of the ice, about to dive into the water, and thinking to myself, i have never ever seen any place on this earth which is just so frightening.我還記得我站在冰層的邊緣，就要扎進水里，然后我自己想到，我再也再也 不要看到地球上的這個地方，這里是如此的讓人恐懼。

the water is completely water is minus degrees centigrade, or 29 degrees 's flipping freezing in that water.那里的水是全黑色。水的溫度是負攝氏度，華氏29度。那水里就是翻動的冰塊。

and then a thought came across my mind: if things go pear-shaped on this swim, how long will it take for my frozen body to sink the four and a half kilometers to the bottom of the ocean?然后一個念頭在我腦中劃過： 如果這場泳出了點問題，我這冰凍的身體要花多長時間 才能沉到這4500米的底部呢?

and then i said to myself, i've just got to get this thought out of my mind as quickly as possible.然后我告誡我自己，我要把這個念頭盡快的 拋在我的腦后。

and the only way i can dive into that freezing cold water and swim a kilometer is by listening to my ipod and really revving myself up,能讓我扎入 這冰冷的水里 然后游了4千米的唯一方法就是 聽著我的ipod，讓我自己全力運轉起來，listening to everything from beautiful opera all the way across to puff daddy, and then committing myself a hundred percent--there is nothing more powerful than the made-up mind--and then walking up to the edge of the ice and just diving into the water.我聽了所有的歌，從華麗的歌劇 到吹牛老爹，然后全身心的投入 沒有什么比下定決心還要厲害的--然后走到冰的邊緣 扎入水里。

and that swim took me 18 minutes and 50 seconds, and it felt like 18 days.這次游泳花了我 18分50秒，但好像是18天一樣。

and i remember getting out of the water and my hands feeling so painful and looking down at my fingers, and my fingers were literally the size of sausages because--you know, we're made partially of water--when water freezes it expands, and so the cells in my fingers had frozen and expandedand burst.我記得當我從水里出來時 我的手時如此的疼痛 然后我看著我的手指，我的手指真的像香腸一樣粗，因為--你們知道了，我們身體一部分由水組成--當水結冰時會膨脹，這樣我手指的里細胞 就冷凍了，膨脹了炸裂了。and the most immediate thought when i came out of that water was the following: i'm never, ever going to do another cold water swim in my life again.我從水里上岸的一瞬間的想法 時這樣的： 我一生中 再也再也不要去在冰冷的水里游泳了。

anyway, last year, i heard about the himalayas and the melting of the--(laughter)and the melting of the glaciers because of climate change.就這樣，去年，我聽到了喜馬拉雅山 以及那里融化的--(笑)因為氣候變化 所融化的冰川。

i heard about this lake, lake imja.我聽說了這個湖泊，映佳湖。

this lake has been formed in the last couple of years because of the melting of the glacier.這個湖是幾年前 由于冰川融化所形成的。

the glacier's gone all the way up the mountain and left in its place this big lake.這些冰川順山而下 然后在這里留下了這個大湖。

and i firmly believe that what we're seeing in the himalayas is the next great, big battleground on this earth.由此我堅信 我要去看見的喜馬拉雅 就是我下一個在地球上的 戰場。

nearly two billion people--so one in three people on this earth--rely on the water from the himalayas.將近20億的人口--世界上三分之一的地球人口--依靠著喜馬拉雅山的水源。

and with a population increasing as quickly as it is, and with the water supply from these glaciers--because of climate change--decreasing so much, i think we have a real risk of instability.而世界人口照這個速度發展下去，而冰川水源的提供--由于氣候的變化--下降的如此之快，我像我們就有了一個十分不穩定的威脅。

north, you've got china;south, you've india, pakistan, bangladesh, all these countries.北方，我們由中國;南方，我們有印度，巴基斯坦，孟加拉，和其它所有國家。

and so i decided to walk up to mt.everest, the highest mountain on this earth, and go and do a symbolic swim underneath the summit of mt.everest.這樣我決定了 登上珠峰，地球上的最高峰，如何在珠峰下 游一次具有象征意義的泳。

now, i don't know if any of you have had the opportunity to go to mt.everest, but it's quite an ordeal getting up there.我不知道，你們是否有機會去珠峰，但是要去那的話，是一個考驗。great, big, powerful yaks carrying all the equipment up onto this mountain--i don't just have my speedo, but there's a big film crew who then send all the images around the 只巨大的牦牛 載著所有的儀器登上山峰--我不僅僅帶這我的泳褲。還有一個攝像團隊這個攝像團隊，會向世界各地直播。

the other thing which was so challenging about this swim is not just the altitude.這次游泳的挑戰不僅僅只有 海拔。

i wanted to do the swim at 5,300 meters above sea level.我想做的是在5300米的海平面上游泳。

so it's right up in the heavens.所以直達天堂。

it's very, very difficult to breath.you get altitude sickness.這里呼吸十分，十分困難。你會有高原反應。

i feels like you've got a man standing behind you with a hammer just hitting your head all the time.你會感到有一個人不停的那著一把錘子 在敲你的后腦勺。

that's not the worst part of it.這還不是最差的。

the worst part was this year was the year where they decided to do a big cleanup operation on mt.everest.最糟糕的是，這一年他們決定 在珠峰上做一個大掃除。

many, many people have died on mt.everest, and this was the year they decided to go and recover all the bodies of the mountaineers and then bring them down the mountain.許多人死在珠峰上，然后今年，他們決定 收回珠峰上所有的尸體然后把他們帶下山。

and when you're walking up the mountain to attempt to do something which no human has ever done before, and, in fact, no fish--there are no fish up there swimming at 5,300 meters--而當你想上山 做一些事情 一些沒有人做過的事情，事實上，魚都沒游過。在5300米的海拔高度上，沒有任何魚在那里游過。

when you're trying to do that, and then the bodies are coming past you, it humbles you, and you also realize very, very clearly that nature is so much more powerful than we are.當你嘗試著去做這些事情，然后你看到這些尸體和你擦肩而過，這讓人不禁有些氣餒，也讓你就會清晰的認識到 自然比我們要強大多了。

and we walked up this pathway, all the way up.然后我們就沿著這條路 一直走上去。

and to the right hand side of us was this great khumbu glacier.然后在我們的右手邊 是巨大的昆布冰川。

and all the way along the glacier we saw these big pools of melting ice.然后，我們在沿路經過所看到的冰川的 都是一大塊融化的冰塊。

and then we got up to this small lake underneath the summit of mt.everest, and i prepared myself the same way as i've always prepared myself,for this swim which was going to be so very difficult.然后我們到達在珠峰下 的一個小湖這 然后我開始準備自己，像往常一樣準備自己，因為這樣的游泳方式會是十分艱難的。

i put on my ipod, i listened to some music, i got myself as aggressive as possible--but controlled aggression--and then i hurled myself into that water.我帶上我的ipod, 我聽聽歌，我讓我能有多激奮就多激奮--但是是可以控制的激奮--然后我把我自己扎進水里。

i swam as quickly as i could for the first hundred meters, and then i realized very, very quickly, i had a huge problem on my hands.我盡力的游著 最起碼在前一百米，然后，我突然意識到，我面臨一個巨大的問題。

i could barely breathe.我幾乎不能呼吸。i was gasping for air.我喘了一口氣。i then began to choke, and then it quickly led to me vomiting in the water.然后我開始嗆水了，這導致我在水里嘔吐。

and it all happened so quickly: i then--i don't know how it happened--but i went underwater.這一切發生的如此之快 然后--我不知到是怎么發生的--但是我沉入水底。

and luckily, the water was quite shallow, and i was able to push myself off the bottom of the lake and get up and then take another gasp of air.但幸運的是，水比較的淺，我可以從湖底跳起來 然后喘另一口氣。

and then i said, carry on.carry on.carry on.然后我說道，堅持，堅持，堅持。

i carried on for another five or six strokes, and then i had nothing in my body, and i went down to the bottom of the lake.我繼續劃了五到六下水，然后我就筋疲力盡了，我沉入湖底。

and i don't where i got it from, but i was able to somehow pull myself up and as quickly as possible get to the side of the lake.但是我不知從哪來的力氣，我可以就這樣 把自己從湖底以最快的速度 弄到湖的岸邊。

i've heard it said that drowning is the most peaceful death that you can have.我聽說過溺水 是你可以死的最安詳的方式。

i have never, ever heard such utter bollocks.我從來沒有聽過 這樣的胡說八道。

(laughter)it is the most frightening and panicky feeling that you can have.(笑)這是你們所感受過的 最恐懼，最驚慌的感覺。

i got myself to the side of the lake.我把我自己拽到湖岸。

my crew grabbed me, and then we walked as quickly as we could down--over the rubble--down to our camp.我的隊友抓住了我，然后我們以最快的速度 下山--在碎石中--到達我們的營地。

and there, we sat down, and we did a debrief about what had gone wrong there on mt.everest.在那里，我們坐下來，然后我們做了一下在珠峰 哪里出錯的報告。

and my team just gave it to me straight.然后我的隊員直接告訴我。

they said, lewis, you need to have a radical tactical shift if you want to do this swim.他們說道，lewis, 你要有一個 劇烈的戰術變化 如果你想完成這個游泳。

every single thing which you have learned in the past 23 years of swimming, you must forget.你必須忘掉 在23年里所學到的游泳 里所有的東西。

every single thing which you learned when you were serving in the british army, about speed and aggression, you put that to one side.以及忘掉你在英國部隊里 所學習的，關于那些速度和激奮，你要先放在一旁。

we want you to walk up the hill in another two days' time.我們想讓你花兩天走上山。

take some time to rest and think about things.花點時間休息和思考。

we want you to walk up the mountain in two days' time, and instead of swimming fast, swim as slowly as of swimming crawl, swim breaststroke.我們想讓你花兩天走上山。不要游的太快，但是慢慢的游。不用自由泳，但是用蛙泳。

and remember, never ever swim with aggression.然后記住，不要游太激奮。

this is the time to swim with real humility.是時候謙遜地 去游泳了。

and so we walked back up to the mountain two days later.所以我們又走了回去 兩天后回到山峰下。

and i stood there on the edge of the lake, and i looked up at mt.everest--and she is one of the most beautiful mountains on the earth--我站在那 在湖的邊緣，然后望向珠峰--她是地球上最美麗的山峰之一--

and i said to myself, just do this slowly.我就像這樣慢慢的對我自己說道。

and i swam across the lake.然后我游過了這個湖泊。

and i can't begin to tell you how good i felt when i came to the other side.我無法告訴你們 當我到達湖的另一邊時 我感覺有多好。

but i learned two very, very important lessons there on mt.everest, and i thank my team of sherpas who taught me this.但是我從珠峰學習到兩個十分，十分 重要的教訓。我十分感謝我隊伍中的夏爾巴告訴了我這些。

the first one is that just because something has worked in the past so well, doesn't mean it's going to work in the future.第一個就是 一個事情無論原來是怎樣的，并不代表在未來就會怎樣。

and similarly, now, before i do anything, i ask myself what type of mindset do i require to successfully complete a task.相同的，現在，在我做一件事情之前，我問到我自己，我需要 怎樣的一種態度 才能成功的完成我的任務。

and taking that into the world of climate change--which is, frankly, the mt.everest of all problems--just because we've lived the way we have lived for so long,just because we have consumed the way we have for so long and populated the earth the way we have for so long, doesn't mean that we can carry on the way we are carrying on.然后這樣來想一想氣候變化，那是，說實話，珠峰和其他所有的問題--不能因為我們已經像這樣生活了這么長時間，不能因為我們已經像這樣消費了那么長時間 不能因為我們像這樣人口增長了這么長時間，就意味著我們可以這樣像以往一樣堅持下去。

the warning signs are all there.警告信號就在那。

when i was born, the world's population was billion people.當我出生時，世界的人口 只有35億。

we're now billion people, and we're expected to be 9 billion people by 2050.現在有68億 然后我們預計在2050年有 90億。

and then the second lesson, the radical, tactical shift.這里就有第二個教訓，劇烈的戰術改變。

and i've come here to ask you today: what radical tactical shift can you take in your relationship to the environment, which will ensure我今天來到這里問你們： 你在你的環境里 能做出怎樣的劇烈的戰術轉變 才能保證

that our children and our grandchildren live in a safe world and a secure world, and most importantly, in a sustainable world?我們的子孫 能居住在一個安全的 一個保險的世界，最重要的是，一個可持續發展的世界?

and i ask you, please, to go away from here and think about that one radical tactical shift which you could make, which will make that big difference,然后我要求你，請你們，從這里出發 然后想象 你要做怎樣的 激進的戰術變化，才能做出巨大的改變，and then commit a hundred percent to doing it.如何下定決心去做。

blog about it, tweet about it, talk about it, and commit a hundred percent, because very, very few things are impossible to achieve if we really put our whole minds to it.些關于這些變化的博客，微博，談論一下，然后全身心投入。因為如果我們 全身心投入，只有很少事情是不可能的。

so thank you very, very much.所以，十分感謝你們。

編輯推薦：

TED英文演講稿：Why you will fail to have a great career

TED英文演講稿：內向性格的力量

第二篇：競選學生會主席英文演講稿(附翻譯)

競選學生會主席英文演講稿（附翻

譯）

競選學生會主席英文演講稿（附翻譯）

文/小雷

2017年9月8日

It is great to be at our school, it is an honor to have everybody here to listen to my speech.This is beyond anybody’s expectation, I stand here run for the student council president.My name is Thor, today is my 15th birthday.In your mind, maybe I’m a person like Chaplin, a comedian, a person don’t take thing’s seriously.But now, I’m ready for new challenges.In the past two years, the student council officers

were all girls, it doesn’t mean boys don’t have the ability to run the student council, I don’t know what they are fearing about, why students were kept talking about the weaknesses about the student council, but don’t have the courage to stand here and run for the president.People who are close to me knows, I have a good sense of humor, also I’m a person that is willing to help other people.I’m a person who follow my passion, during 2012 to 2014, I was the leader of the singing group that consisted by my classmates.I’m not a person that force other people to do something, I let people in the group vote which song they want to sing, so they are very happy to sing with each other, most importantly I light their passion of singing.In the end, we sang two song on a charity party, it received a lot of appreciation, that’s why I think democracy is very important.In my life, the most important thing is to keep my friends around me, in our school, I made lots of friends.In the past 3 years, our school have a lot of activities and events that helped me to increase our friendships.The thing I like the most about our school is that we don’t have a lot of students in each class, and each class is mixed by students from different countries and different backgrounds.Another thing I like about this school is that the student council listens to student’s ideas.Although some activities can’t come to reality because of the financial problems.To get more money for student council, I will make relation products for our mascot, sell them and gathering money to make students’s ideas come true.In our school, we have a lot of talented student, I’m good at music, so I want to do a few concert with our

musicians and artist in our school, I will give the profit to the blind school in Qingdao.This activity also gives a chance to students to do there service and action.If I become the president of the student council, I will try to gather every student’s idea and turn their ideas into reality, this will help students to get involved in the school’s community, and it also will help students to be a more successful person in their future life.I am planning to start a sport department in our school, sports is an area which we should improve on I will support students who are interested at sports to run the sport department.Then I will continue the youth club on Friday after school, we will do more activities and try to enjoy our weekend time, such as skate board club, photography club and debate club as some of the students talked about, I will

organize those kinds of club if I am elected, and I will let students in our school take leaderships.The school is developing, open your visions, don’t see things in tiny views.You should start thinking about what school’s going to be like in the future.Keep following your passions, you can eventually succeed.so Tell me what’s your passion, and we will work together and make your dreams come true.Thank you.Vote for me, I will offer you a great school year.非常高興能在美好國際學校。很榮幸大家能坐在這里聽我演講。我知道，任何人都沒有想到，我會在這里競選學生會總統。

我的名字叫雷元帥，今天是我的十五歲生日。在你的印象中，我可能是一個喜劇演員，一個不經常認真做事的人。今年，我已經準備好接受新的挑戰了。在過去的兩年中，學生會的主要成員都

是女生，這并不代表男生沒有能力去領導學生會，我不知道為什么同學們總是在討論學生會不好的地方，但是卻沒有勇氣站在這里競選會長。

我身邊的好朋友都知道我是一個幽默感很強，樂于助人的男人。

在我的生活中，最重要的事情就是跟朋友保持良好的關系，在我們學校，我交到了很多好朋友。在過去的三年中，我們學校有很多活動來增進我和朋友之間的關系。在這個學校中，我最喜歡的地方就是一個班的人數很少，并且同學都來自不同國家，有著不一樣的背景。這樣在與朋友的交往中，也可以學到其他國家的文化。

這個學校另一個讓我喜歡的的地方是，學生會會采納學生們的意見，但是因為經濟的問題，有些學生的想法不能實現。

為學生會賺到更多的錢，我會做一些我們學校吉祥物的周邊產品，然后賣掉來賺取資金。

在我們學校，有很多有天賦的學生，我計劃與我們學校的音樂家和藝術家們舉辦幾場演奏會，我會把演奏會的收入捐給慈善機構，這項活動也可以給學生們提供機會做他們的社會實踐活動。

如果我變成學生會主席，我會試著幫助每個學生實現他們的想法，這會幫助學生更好的融入學校的生活，這也會幫助學生在將來成為一個更加成功的人。我計劃開設體育部，體育一直是我們學校需要進步的地方，我會讓熱愛體育的學生去領導體育部。

我還要繼續我們學校周五下午的青年俱樂部，我們會做更多有趣的活動，享受我們的周末時光，比如說去年同學們提出的滑板俱樂部，攝影俱樂部，辯論俱樂部等。如果我選上了總統，我會做以上這些有趣的活動，并且讓學生來領導這些活動。

學校在發展，不要用狹小的眼光去看事情。你應該開始想一想學校將來會

是什么樣子。跟著你的激情走，你將會是一個成功的人。告訴我你的夢想，我們來一起實現它。

謝謝大家。投票給我，我會給你一個精彩的學年。

第三篇：競選學生會主席英文演講稿（附翻譯）

競選學生會主席英文演講稿（附翻譯）

文/小雷

2017年9月8日

It is great to be at our school, it is an honor to have everybody here to listen to my speech.This is beyond anybody’s expectation, I stand here run for the student council president.My name is Thor, today is my 15th birthday.In your mind, maybe I’m a person like Chaplin, a comedian, a person don’t take thing’s seriously.But now, I’m ready for new challenges.In the past two years, the student council officers were all girls, it doesn’t mean boys don’t have the ability to run the student council, I don’t know what they are fearing about, why students were kept talking about the weaknesses about the student council, but don’t have the courage to stand here and run for the president.People who are close to me knows, I have a good sense of humor, also I’m a person that is willing to help other people.I’m a person who follow my passion, during 2012 to 2014, I was the leader of the singing group that consisted by my classmates.I’m not a person that force other people to do something, I let people in the group vote which song they want to sing, so they are very happy to sing with each other, most importantly I light their passion of singing.In the end, we sang two song on a charity party, it received a lot of appreciation, that’s why I think democracy is very important.In my life, the most important thing is to keep my friends around me, in our school, I made lots of friends.In the past 3 years, our school have a lot of activities and events that helped me to increase our friendships.The thing I like the most about our school is that we don’t have a lot of students in each class, and each class is mixed by students from different countries and different backgrounds.Another thing I like about this school is that the student council listens to student’s ideas.Although some activities can’t come to reality because of the financial problems.To get more money for student council, I will make relation products for our mascot, sell them and gathering money to make students’s ideas come true.In our school, we have a lot of talented student, I’m good at music, so I want to do a few concert with our musicians and artist in our school, I will give the profit to the blind school in Qingdao.This activity also gives a chance to students to do there service and action.If I become the president of the student council, I will try to gather every student’s idea and turn their ideas into reality, this will help students to get involved in the school’s community, and it also will help students to be a more successful person in their future life.I am planning to start a sport department in our school, sports is an area which we should improve on I will support students who are interested at sports to run the sport department.Then I will continue the youth club on Friday after school, we will do more activities and try to enjoy our weekend time, such as skate board club, photography club and debate club as some of the students talked about, I will organize those kinds of club if I am elected, and I will let students in our school take leaderships.The school is developing, open your visions, don’t see things in tiny views.You should start thinking about what school’s going to be like in the future.Keep following your passions, you can eventually succeed.so Tell me what’s your passion, and we will work together and make your dreams come true.Thank you.Vote for me, I will offer you a great school year.非常高興能在美好國際學校。很榮幸大家能坐在這里聽我演講。我知道，任何人都沒有想到，我會在這里競選學生會總統。

我的名字叫雷元帥，今天是我的十五歲生日。在你的印象中，我可能是一個喜劇演員，一個不經常認真做事的人。今年，我已經準備好接受新的挑戰了。在過去的兩年中，學生會的主要成員都是女生，這并不代表男生沒有能力去領導學生會，我不知道為什么同學們總是在討論學生會不好的地方，但是卻沒有勇氣站在這里競選會長。

我身邊的好朋友都知道我是一個幽默感很強，樂于助人的男人。

在我的生活中，最重要的事情就是跟朋友保持良好的關系，在我們學校，我交到了很多好朋友。在過去的三年中，我們學校有很多活動來增進我和朋友之間的關系。在這個學校中，我最喜歡的地方就是一個班的人數很少，并且同學都來自不同國家，有著不一樣的背景。這樣在與朋友的交往中，也可以學到其他國家的文化。

這個學校另一個讓我喜歡的的地方是，學生會會采納學生們的意見，但是因為經濟的問題，有些學生的想法不能實現。

為學生會賺到更多的錢，我會做一些我們學校吉祥物的周邊產品，然后賣掉來賺取資金。

在我們學校，有很多有天賦的學生，我計劃與我們學校的音樂家和藝術家們舉辦幾場演奏會，我會把演奏會的收入捐給慈善機構，這項活動也可以給學生們提供機會做他們的社會實踐活動。

如果我變成學生會主席，我會試著幫助每個學生實現他們的想法，這會幫助學生更好的融入學校的生活，這也會幫助學生在將來成為一個更加成功的人。我計劃開設體育部，體育一直是我們學校需要進步的地方，我會讓熱愛體育的學生去領導體育部。

我還要繼續我們學校周五下午的青年俱樂部，我們會做更多有趣的活動，享受我們的周末時光，比如說去年同學們提出的滑板俱樂部，攝影俱樂部，辯論俱樂部等。如果我選上了總統，我會做以上這些有趣的活動，并且讓學生來領導這些活動。

學校在發展，不要用狹小的眼光去看事情。你應該開始想一想學校將來會是什么樣子。跟著你的激情走，你將會是一個成功的人。告訴我你的夢想，我們來一起實現它。

謝謝大家。投票給我，我會給你一個精彩的學年。

第四篇：一篇初一英文演講稿Oral Presentation(附翻譯)

一篇Oral Presentation(附翻譯)

Hello everyone.On this special day, it’s my pleasure to tell you my viewpoints on what happiness is about.Students may get happiness when they have got high scores on schooling.Employees may get happiness when they have got more salaries.Employers may get happiness when they have pursued maximum profits.But for me, happiness is very simple.One will feel comfortable and pleasant when he accompanies a girl on her side.You may get happiness when you are addicted to some hobbies such as playing music instrument, doing some handwriting or something else.Happiness will appear immediately if you have the belief of your own.Enjoy life and freedom.Well-being will stay with you for the lifetime.大家好，在今天這個特別的日子，我很高興跟大家說說我對幸福的看法。學生拿到高分就會有幸福感。員工漲工資就會有幸福感。老板獲得最大化利益就會有幸福感。但對我來說，幸福很簡單。當一個人陪在她的身邊就會感到舒服快樂。當你沉迷于某些愛好如玩樂器，練書法等等，也會有幸福感。當你有了你自己的信念，幸福感會立刻出現。享受生活和自由。幸福感會伴隨你一生。

第五篇：TED英語演講稿：二十幾歲不可揮霍的光陰(附翻譯)_1

TED英語演講稿：二十幾歲不可揮霍的光陰（附翻譯）

when i was in my 20s, i saw my very first psychotherapy client.i was a student in clinical psychology at berkeley.she was a 26-year-old woman named alex.now alex walked into her first session wearing jeans and a big slouchy top, and she dropped onto the couch in my office and kicked off her flats and told me she was there to talk about guy problems.now when i heard this, i was so relieved.my classmate got an arsonist for her first client.(laughter)and i got a twentysomething who wanted to talk about boys.this i thought i could handle.but i didn't handle it.with the funny stories that alex would bring to session, it was easy for me just to nod my head while we kicked the can down the road.“thirty's the new 20,” alex would say, and as far as i could tell, she was right.work happened later, marriage happened later, kids happened later, even death happened later.twentysomethings like alex and i had nothing but time.but before long, my supervisor pushed me to push alex about her love life.i pushed back.i said, “sure, she's dating down, she's sleeping with a knucklehead, but it's not like she's going to marry the guy.”

and then my supervisor said, “not yet, but she might marry the next one.besides, the best time to work on alex's marriage is before she has one.”

that's what psychologists call an “aha!” moment.that was the moment i realized, 30 is not the new 20.yes, people settle down later than they used to, but that didn't make alex's 20s a developmental downtime.that made alex's 20s a developmental sweet spot, and we were sitting there blowing it.that was when i realized that this sort of benign neglect was a real problem, and it had real consequences, not just for alex and her love life but for the careers and the families and the futures of twentysomethings everywhere.there are 50 million twentysomethings in the united states right now.we're talking about 15 percent of the population, or 100 percent if you consider that no one's getting through adulthood without going through their 20s first.raise your hand if you're in your 20s.i really want to see some twentysomethings here.oh, yay!y'all's awesome.if you work with twentysomethings, you love a twentysomething, you're losing sleep over twentysomethings, i want to see — okay.awesome, twentysomethings really matter.so i specialize in twentysomethings because i believe that every single one of those 50 million twentysomethings deserves to know what psychologists, sociologists, neurologists and fertility specialists already know: that claiming your 20s is one of the simplest, yet most transformative, things you can do for work, for love, for your happiness, maybe even for the world.this is not my opinion.these are the facts.we know that 80 percent of life's most defining moments take place by age 35.that means that eight out of 10 of the decisions and experiences and “aha!” moments that make your life what it is will have happened by your mid-30s.people who are over 40, don't panic.this crowd is going to be fine, i think.we know that the first 10 years of a career has an exponential impact on how much money you're going to earn.we know that more than half of americans are married or are living with or dating their future partner by 30.we know that the brain caps off its second and last growth spurt in your 20s as it rewires itself for adulthood, which means that whatever it is you want to change about yourself, now is the time to change it.we know that personality changes more during your 20s than at any other time in life, and we know that female fertility peaks at age 28, and things get tricky after age 35.so your 20s are the time to educate yourself about your body and your options.so when we think about child development, we all know that the first five years are a critical period for language and attachment in the brain.it's a time when your ordinary, day-to-day life has an inordinate impact on who you will become.but what we hear less about is that there's such a thing as adult development, and our 20s are that critical period of adult development.but this isn't what twentysomethings are hearing.newspapers talk about the changing timetable of adulthood.researchers call the 20s an extended adolescence.journalists coin silly nicknames for twentysomethings like “twixters” and “kidults.” it's true.as a culture, we have trivialized what is actually the defining decade of adulthood.leonard bernstein said that to achieve great things, you need a plan and not quite enough time.isn't that true? so what do you think happens when you pat a twentysomething on the head and you say, “you have 10 extra years to start your life”? nothing happens.you have robbed that person of his urgency and ambition, and absolutely nothing happens.and then every day, smart, interesting twentysomethings like you or like your sons and daughters come into my office and say things like this: “i know my boyfriend's no good for me, but this relationship doesn't count.i'm just killing time.” or they say, “everybody says as long as i get started on a career by the time i'm 30, i'll be fine.”

but then it starts to sound like this: “my 20s are almost over, and i have nothing to show for myself.i had a better résumé the day after i graduated from college.”

and then it starts to sound like this: “dating in my 20s was like musical chairs.everybody was running around and having fun, but then sometime around 30 it was like the music turned off and everybody started sitting down.i didn't want to be the only one left standing up, so sometimes i think i married my husband because he was the closest chair to me at 30.”

where are the twentysomethings here? do not do that.okay, now that sounds a little flip, but make no mistake, the stakes are very high.when a lot has been pushed to your 30s, there is enormous thirtysomething pressure to jump-start a career, pick a city, partner up, and have two or three kids in a much shorter period of time.many of these things are incompatible, and as research is just starting to show, simply harder and more stressful to do all at once in our 30s.the post-millennial midlife crisis isn't buying a red sports car.it's realizing you can't have that career you now want.it's realizing you can't have that child you now want, or you can't give your child a sibling.too many thirtysomethings and fortysomethings look at themselves, and at me, sitting across the room, and say about their 20s, “what was i doing? what was i thinking?”

i want to change what twentysomethings are doing and thinking.here's a story about how that can go.it's a story about a woman named emma.at 25, emma came to my office because she was, in her words, having an identity crisis.she said she thought she might like to work in art or entertainment, but she hadn't decided yet, so she'd spent the last few years waiting tables instead.because it was cheaper, she lived with a boyfriend who displayed his temper more than his ambition.and as hard as her 20s were, her early life had been even harder.she often cried in our sessions, but then would collect herself by saying, “you can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends.”

well one day, emma comes in and she hangs her head in her lap, and she sobbed for most of the hour.she'd just bought a new address book, and she'd spent the morning filling in her many contacts, but then she'd been left staring at that empty blank that comes after the words “in case of emergency, please call....” she was nearly hysterical when she looked at me and said, “who's going to be there for me if i get in a car wreck? who's going to take care of me if i have cancer?”

now in that moment, it took everything i had not to say, “i will.” but what emma needed wasn't some therapist who really, really cared.emma needed a better life, and i knew this was her chance.i had learned too much since i first worked with alex to just sit there while emma's defining decade went parading by.so over the next weeks and months, i told emma three things that every twentysomething, male or female, deserves to hear.first, i told emma to forget about having an identity crisis and get some identity capital.by get identity capital, i mean do something that adds value to who you are.do something that's an investment in who you might want to be next.i didn't know the future of emma's career, and no one knows the future of work, but i do know this: identity capital begets identity capital.so now is the time for that cross-country job, that internship, that startup you want to try.i'm not discounting twentysomething exploration here, but i am discounting exploration that's not supposed to count, which, by the way, is not exploration.that's procrastination.i told emma to explore work and make it count.second, i told emma that the urban tribe is overrated.best friends are great for giving rides to the airport, but twentysomethings who huddle together with like-minded peers limit who they know, what they know, how they think, how they speak, and where they work.that new piece of capital, that new person to date almost always comes from outside the inner circle.new things come from what are called our weak ties, our friends of friends of friends.so yes, half of twentysomethings are un-or under-employed.but half aren't, and weak ties are how you get yourself into that group.half of new jobs are never posted, so reaching out to your neighbor's boss is how you get that un-posted job.it's not cheating.it's the science of how information spreads.last but not least, emma believed that you can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends.now this was true for her growing up, but as a twentysomething, soon emma would pick her family when she partnered with someone and created a family of her own.i told emma the time to start picking your family is now.now you may be thinking that 30 is actually a better time to settle down than 20, or even 25, and i agree with you.but grabbing whoever you're living with or sleeping with when everyone on facebook starts walking down the aisle is not progress.the best time to work on your marriage is before you have one, and that means being as intentional with love as you are with work.picking your family is about consciously choosing who and what you want rather than just making it work or killing time with whoever happens to be choosing you.so what happened to emma? well, we went through that address book, and she found an old roommate's cousin who worked at an art museum in another state.that weak tie helped her get a job there.that job offer gave her the reason to leave that live-in boyfriend.now, five years later, she's a special events planner for museums.she's married to a man she mindfully chose.she loves her new career, she loves her new family, and she sent me a card that said, “now the emergency contact blanks don't seem big enough.”

now emma's story made that sound easy, but that's what i love about working with twentysomethings.they are so easy to help.twentysomethings are like airplanes just leaving lax, bound for somewhere west.right after takeoff, a slight change in course is the difference between landing in alaska or fiji.likewise, at 21 or 25 or even 29, one good conversation, one good break, one good ted talk, can have an enormous effect across years and even generations to come.so here's an idea worth spreading to every twentysomething you know.it's as simple as what i learned to say to alex.it's what i now have the privilege of saying to twentysomethings like emma every single day: thirty is not the new 20, so claim your adulthood, get some identity capital, use your weak ties, pick your family.don't be defined by what you didn't know or didn't do.you're deciding your life right now.thank you.(applause)

譯文：

記得見我第一位心理咨詢顧客時，我才20多歲。當時我是berkeley臨床心理學在讀博士生。我的第一位顧客是名叫alex的女性，26歲。第一次見面alex穿著牛仔褲和寬松上衣走進來，她一下子栽進我辦公室的沙發上，踢掉腳上的平底鞋，跟我說她想談談男生的問題。

當時我聽到這個之后松了一口氣。因為我同學的第一個顧客是縱火犯，而我的顧客卻是一個20出頭想談談男生的女孩。我覺得我可以搞定。但是我沒有搞定。

alex不斷地講有趣的事情，而我只能簡單地點頭認同她所說的，很自然地就陷入了附和的狀態。alex說：“30歲是一個新的20歲。”沒錯，我告訴她“你是對的”。工作還早，結婚還早，生孩子還早，甚至死亡也早著呢。像alex和我這樣20多歲的人，什么都沒有但時間多的是。

但不久之后，我的導師就要我向alex的感情生活施壓。我反駁說：“當然她現在正在和別人交往，她現在和一個傻瓜男生睡覺，但看樣子她不會和他結婚的。”而我的導師說：“不著急，她也許會和下一個結婚。但修復alex婚姻的最好時期，是她還沒擁有婚姻的時期。”

這就是心理學家說的“頓悟時刻”。正是那個時候我意識到，30歲不是一個新的20歲。的確，和以前的人相比，現在人們更晚才安定下來，但是這不代表alex就能長期處于20多歲的狀態。更晚安定下來，應該使alex的20多歲成為發展的黃金時段，而我們卻坐在那里忽視這個發展的時機。從那時起我意識到，這種善意的忽視，確實是個問題，它不僅給alex本身和她的感情生活帶來不良后果，而且影響到處20多歲的人的事業、家庭和未來。

現在在美國，20多歲的人有五千萬，也就是15%的人口，或者可以說所有人口，因為所有成年人都要經歷他們的20多歲。我專門研究20多歲的人，因為我堅信這五千萬的20多歲的人，每一個人都應該去了解那些心理學家、社會學家、神經學家和生育專家已經知道的事實：你的20多歲是極簡單，卻極具變化的時期之一。你20多歲的時光決定了你的事業、愛情、幸福甚至整個世界。

這不是我的看法。這些是事實。我們知道80%決定你生活的時刻發生在35歲之前。這就意味著你生活的重要決定、經歷和突然的領悟，有八成是在你30多歲之前發生的。那些超過40歲的朋友不要驚慌，我想這群人會沒事的。

我們知道職業生涯的前XX年，對你將來的收入有重大影響。我們知道到了30歲的時候，超過半數的美國人會結婚，或者和未來的另一半同居或者約會。我們知道人在20多歲的時候，大腦停止第二次也是最后一次重組，以適應成年世界的快速發育階段。這就意味著不管你想怎樣改變自己，現在是時間改變了。

我們知道在20多歲的時候，性格的改變多于生命中任何時期。我們也知道女性的最佳生育時期，在28歲的時候達到頂峰，35歲之后生育變得困難。所以你的20多歲正是了解你自身和選擇的時期。

當我們想到孩童的成長時，我們都知道1-5歲，是大腦學習語言和感知的重要時期。這個時期，日常的普通生活，都會對你的未來道路影響巨大。但是我們卻很少聽到成年發展期，而我們的20多歲正是成年發展期的關鍵。

但是20多歲的人卻聽不到這些，報紙討論的只是成年年齡界線的變更。研究者稱20多歲是延長的青春期。記者就引用傻傻的外號稱呼20多歲的人，比如“twixters”(twenty-mixters)和“kidults”(kid-adults)。這是真的。作為一種文化，我們的忽視的正是對成年起到決定性作用的十年(從20歲到30歲)。

雷昂納德·伯恩斯坦說過：要想取得成就，你需要一個計劃和緊迫的時間。這是大實話啊!所以當你拍著一個20多歲的人的腦袋，跟他說，“你有額外的XX年去開始你的生活”，你覺得這改變了什么?什么都沒改變。你只是奪走了那個人的緊迫感和雄心壯志，絕對沒有改變什么。

然后每天，那些聰明有趣的20多歲的人，就像你們和你們的兒子女兒一樣，走入我的辦公室開始說：“我知道我的男朋友對我不夠好，但是我們的關系不算數。我只是在消磨時光而已。”或者說“每個人都告訴我，只要能在30歲的時候開始我的事業，這就足夠了。”

但是實際聽上去卻是：“我馬上就要三十了，卻根本就沒有東西展示。我只是在大學畢業時，有過一份最漂亮的簡歷。”或是這樣：“我20多歲時的約會，就像找凳子。每個人都繞著凳子跑，隨便玩一玩，但是快30的時候，就像音樂停止了，所有人開始坐下。我不想成為那唯一站著的人，所以有時候我會想我和我丈夫之所以會結婚，是因為在我30歲的時候，他是當時離我最近的那張凳子。”

20多歲的人吶，千萬不要這樣做。這個做法聽起來有點輕率，但是不要犯錯，因為風險很高。當很多事都被擠到你30多歲的時候，就會有巨大壓力，在很短的時間內快速啟動一項事業，挑一個城市，找到伴侶，生兩三個孩子。這些事大多是不能同時完成的，正如研究表明，在30歲的時候，要想工作、生活一步到位，難度很高，壓力很大。

千禧年后的中年危機并不是一輛紅色跑車。而是意識到你不能擁有你想擁有的事業，意識到你不能擁有你想要的孩子，或者給你的孩子添個兄弟姐妹。太多30多歲40多歲的人，看看他們自己，看看我，坐在屋子里談論自己的20多歲，“我當時都干么了?我當時都想啥了?”我想改變現在20多歲人的所思所為。

這里我想講個故事說明問題。這個故事是關于名叫emma一個女人。她25歲的時候，走入我的辦公室，因為用她自己的話說，她有自我認識危機。她說她也許想從事關于藝術或者娛樂的工作，但是她還沒決定。所以取而代之的是，她花了過去幾年的時間當服務員。為了減少開銷，她和她的男朋友同居，一個脾氣暴躁而無志向的人。

正如她悲慘的20多歲，她早年的生活更加悲慘。她經常在談話過程中哭泣，努力鎮定下來后說“你沒辦法選擇你的家庭，但是你可以選擇你的朋友。”有一天，emma走進來，她雙手抱頭于膝蓋，然后抽泣了幾乎一個小時。她剛買了一個新的通訊錄本子，然后花了一整個早上的時間，填寫她的聯系人信息。當她填到“萬一發生緊急情況，請聯系…”的時候，她沒有任何人可填。

她幾乎崩潰地看著我并說，“如果我被車撞了，誰會在那里?假如我得癌癥了，誰會在那里?”在那種情況下，我花了好大力氣才忍住說“我會。”emma所需要的，并不是理療師所真正關心的。她需要一個更好的生活，我知道這是她的機會。自alex開始，我從這份工作上學到了很多，不能只是坐在那里看著emma十年黃金定型期白白消逝。所以接下去的幾個星期幾個月，我告訴emma三件事，所有20多歲的男生女生都值得聽一聽。

首先，我告訴emma忘掉她的自我認識危機，去獲得一些身份認定的資本。

身份資本是指做增加自我價值的事。為自己下一步想成為的樣子，做一些事一些投資。我不知道emma的工作將來是什么樣的，也沒人知道將來的工作是什么樣的，但是我知道：身份資本會創造出更多身份資本。

現在是時候去嘗試你想要的海外工作、實習或者新起點。我不是輕視20多歲的自我探索，而是輕視那些隨便玩玩無所謂的探索，或者從某種意義上說那不是探索。那是拖沓!我告訴emma去探索工作，讓她的探索有所回報。

第二，我告訴emma不要高估自己的朋友圈。

好朋友會載你去機場，而和“志同道合的朋友”瞎混的20多歲的人，他們的交際圈、知識面、思維方式、說話方式和工作層面都被限制住了。新的資本或者新的約會對象，往往是從內部交際圈之外來的。新的事情來自我們所謂的“遠的關系”，我們朋友的朋友的朋友。

沒錯，半數20多歲的人，處在失業和半失業的狀態。但是另外一半的人卻不是這樣的，“遠的關系”正是你融入一個新的群體的紐帶。有半數的新工作從來不公示出來，所以聯絡你鄰居的老板，是你找到那些未公示工作的方式。這不叫作弊，這是信息傳播的科學方式。

最后一點也很重要，emma相信你無法選擇你的家庭，但是你可以選擇你的朋友。可這只是她成長時期的狀況。

作為一個20多歲的人，emma很快會與某人為伴組建她自己的新家庭。我告訴emma現在就是你選擇你家庭的時候。現在你也許會想相比于20歲，25歲或30歲時組建家庭會更好。我同意你的看法。但是當你facebook上的朋友，都開始步入婚姻殿堂時，你隨便抓一個人一起生活、睡覺，絕對不是組建家庭的過程。

經營你婚姻的最佳時間，是你還沒結婚的時候，這意味要像你為了工作一樣精心謀劃。選擇你的家庭，是有意識地去選擇你想要的人和事，而不是為了結婚或者消磨時光，任意選擇一個正好選擇你的人。

emma發生了什么變化呢?

我們翻了一遍通訊錄，她發現她原來的舍友的表妹，在另一個州的一家藝術博物館工作。這層遠關系幫助她在那里得到一份工作。這份工作給她一個理由離開她那同居的男友。現在五年過去了，她是一名博物館特別活動策劃者。她和一個她用心選擇的男人結婚了。她愛她的事業，她愛她的新家，她寄給我一張賀卡寫道，“現在緊急聯系欄似乎不夠填呢。”

emma的故事聽起來簡單，這正是為什么我愛和20多歲人打交道。幫助20多歲的人很容易。20多歲就像離開洛杉磯飛往西部某處的飛機，起飛之后，一點小小變化，都會影響到它最終將降落在阿拉斯加還是斐濟。

同理，在你21歲，25歲甚至29歲的時候，一次好的談話、好的休息、好的ted演講，能在未來的幾年甚至幾代人的時間里，帶來巨大的影響。因此這個想法值得傳達給每一個你所認識的20多歲人。這想法就像我后來告訴alex的話一樣簡單。

我每天都對像emma這樣的20多歲的人說：30歲不是一個新的20歲，所以規劃好你的成年生活，獲得一些身份認同資本，利用你的遠關系，選擇你的家庭。不要被你所不知道的，從未做過的事所禁錮。你現在的作為決定著你的人生。

來源：