Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.
從前,一個非常強壯的樵夫向一個木材商人要了一份工作,他得到了。工資很高,工作條件也很好。出於這些原因,樵夫決心盡最大努力。
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees. "Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on that way!"
他的老闆給了他一把斧頭,讓他看看他應該工作的地方。第一天,樵夫帶來了18棵樹「恭喜你,」老闆說往那邊走!」
Very motivated by the boss's words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees.
第二天,樵夫在老闆的話的激勵下更加努力,但他只能帶來15棵樹。
The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.
第三天,他更加努力,但他只能帶來10棵樹。他每天帶的樹越來越少。
"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.
樵夫想:「我一定是失去力氣了。」。他去找老闆道歉,說他不明白髮生了什麼事。
"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.
「你上次磨斧頭是什麼時候?」老闆問。
"Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…"
「削尖?我沒時間磨斧子。我一直忙著砍樹……」
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don't take time to sharpen the "axe".
我們的生活就是這樣。我們有時很忙,以至於不花時間磨「斧頭」。
In life, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay "sharp"?
在生活中,似乎每個人都比以往任何時候都忙,但比以往任何時候都不快樂。為什麼?是不是我們忘記了如何保持「敏銳」?
There's nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like our personal life, taking time to get close to those we love, giving more time to our families, and taking time to read etc.
活動和努力工作沒有錯。但是我們不應該太忙而忽視生活中真正重要的事情,比如我們的個人生活,花時間去接近我們愛的人,給我們的家人更多的時間,花時間去閱讀等等。
We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don't take the time to sharpen the "axe", we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.
我們都需要時間放鬆,思考和冥想,學習和成長。如果我們不花時間磨「斧頭」,我們就會變得遲鈍,失去效率。
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