Every morning in SEAL training
海豹训练中 每个早晨
my instructors, who at the time were all Viet Nam veterans
我的教官 当时都是一些越战老兵
would show up in my barracks room
他们会来到我的营房
and the first thing they would do was inspect my bed
第一件事就是检查我的床铺
If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight
被子要求叠得有棱有角 四四方方
the pillow centered just under the headboard
枕头要放在床头板下正中的位置
and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack
多出来的床单要整齐地折叠到床脚下
It was a simple task, mundane at best
这是一个简单的任务 至少看起来平淡无奇
But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection
每天早上 我们都被要求将床铺得尽善尽美
It seemed a little ridiculous at the time
看起来可能有些荒唐
particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors
特别是对于我们这样立志成为真正战士的人
tough battle hardened SEALs
吃苦耐劳 坚毅顽强的海豹成员
but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over
但实际上 这一简单任务的智慧已经被证明过无数次
If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day
早上起来铺好床 你就完成了这一天的第一个任务
It will give you a small sense of pride
它会让你有小小的成就感
and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another
并让你做下一个任务时更有信心 一个接一个 形成良性循环
By the end of the day, that one task completed
完成这一个不起眼的任务
will have turned into many tasks completed
在一天结束之前 会促成很多任务的完成
Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter
铺床还能让你体会到 小事的重要性
If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right
小事如果都做不好 大事又怎么可能做得好呢
And, if by chance you have a miserable day
而且 就算一天下来 你过得很失败
you will come home to a bed that is made that you made
至少回去睡觉时还有一张铺好的床等着你 这是你铺的
and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better
这张铺好的床能够鼓舞你 让你期待明天会更好
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed
想要改变世界 请从铺好床开始
During SEAL training the students are broken down into boat crews
在海豹训练中 学员被分成了几组船员
