CHAPTER VHABIT第五章 习惯Habit is our
"best friend or worst enemy." We are "walking bundles of
habits."Habit is the "fly-wheel of society," keeping men patient and docile
in the hard or disagreeable lot which some must fill. Habit is a "cable
which we cannot break." So say the wise men. Let me know your habits of
life and you have revealed your moral standards and conduct. Let me discover
your intellectual habits, and I understand your type of mind and methods of
thought. In short, our lives are largely a daily round of activities dictated
by our habits in this line or that. Most of our movements and acts are
habitual; we think as we have formed the habit of thinking; we decide as we are
in the habit of deciding; we sleep, or eat, or speak as we have grown into the
habit of doing these things; we may even say our prayers or perform other
religious exercises as matters of habit. But while habit is the veriest tyrant,
yet its good offices far exceed the bad even in the most fruitless or depraved
life.习惯是我们“最好的朋友或最坏的敌人”。我们是“行走的习惯束”。习惯是社会的“飞轮”，使人们在艰苦或不如意的境遇中保持耐心和顺从，这是一些人必须面对的命运。习惯是一条“我们无法打破的缆绳”。智者如是说。让我了解你的生活习惯，你就揭示了你的道德标准和行为准则。让我发现你的思维习惯，我就理解了你的思维类型和思考方式。简而言之，我们的生活在很大程度上是由我们在这方面或那方面的习惯所主导的日常活动循环。我们的大多数动作和行为都是习惯性的；我们按照形成的习惯去思考；我们按照习惯去做决定；我们睡觉、吃饭或说话，都是因为我们已经养成了做这些事情的习惯；我们甚至可以说我们的祈祷或其他宗教活动是出于习惯。但是，尽管习惯是最严厉的暴君，即使在最无果或堕落的生活中，它的好作用也远远超过了坏作用。1. THE NATURE OF HABIT1. 习惯的本质Many people when they speak or think of habit give the
term a very narrow or limited meaning. They have in mind only certain moral or
personal tendencies usually spoken of as one's "habits." But in order
to understand habit in any thorough and complete way we must, as suggested by
the preceding paragraph, broaden our concept to include every possible line of
physical and mental activity. Habit may be defined asthe tendency of
the nervous system to repeat any act that has been performed once or many times.许多人在谈论或思考习惯时，给予这个词一个非常狭窄或有限的含义。他们心中想的只是某些道德或个人倾向，通常被说成是某人的“习惯”。但为了全面彻底地理解习惯，我们必须如前一段所建议的，扩大我们的概念，以包括所有可能的身体和心理活动。习惯可以被定义为神经系统重复执行一次或多次已执行的行为的倾向。The Physical Basis of Habit.—Habit is to be explained
from the standpoint of its physical basis. Habits are formed because the
tissues of our brains are capable of being modified by use, and of so retaining
the effects of this modification that the same act is easier of performance
each succeeding time. This results in the old act being repeated instead of a
new one being selected, and hence the old act is perpetuated.习惯的生理基础——习惯可以从其生理基础的角度来解释。习惯的形成是因为我们大脑的组织能够通过使用而被修改，并且能够保留这种修改的效果，使得相同的行为在每次执行时都更加容易。这就导致了旧的行为被重复而不是选择一个新的行为，因此旧的行为就被延续下来。Even dead and inert matter obeys the same principles in
this regard as does living matter. Says M. Leon Dumont: "Everyone knows
how a garment, having been worn a certain time, clings to the shape of the body
better than when it was new; there has been a change in the tissue, and this
change is a new habit of cohesion; a lock works better after having been used
some time; at the outset more force was required to overcome certain roughness
in the mechanism. The overcoming of this resistance is a phenomenon of
habituation. It costs less trouble to fold a paper when it has been folded
already. This saving of trouble is due to the essential nature of habit, which
brings it about that, to reproduce the effect, a less amount of the outward
cause is required. The sounds of a violin improve by use in the hands of an
able artist, because the fibers of the wood at last contract habits of
vibration conformed to harmonic relations. This is what gives such inestimable
value to instruments that have belonged to great masters. Water, in flowing,
hollows out for itself a channel, which grows broader and deeper; and, after
having ceased to flow, it resumes when it flows again the path traced for
itself before. Just so, the impressions of outer objects fashion for themselves
in the nervous system more and more appropriate paths, and these vital
phenomena recur under similar excitements from without, when they have been
interrupted for a certain time."即使是无生命的物质，在这方面也遵循与生命物质相同的原则。莱昂·杜蒙说：“每个人都知道，一件衣服穿了一段时间后，会比刚买时更贴合身体的形状；这是因为组织发生了改变，这种改变是一种新的粘合习惯；一把锁使用一段时间后会运作得更好；一开始需要更多的力量来克服机制中的某些粗糙处。克服这种阻力是一个习惯性现象。当一张纸已经被折叠过时，再次折叠它会更容易。这种省力的原因在于习惯的本质，它使得要重现同样的效果，所需的外部原因更少。小提琴的声音在熟练的艺术家手中通过使用而改善，因为木材的纤维最终养成了符合和声关系的振动习惯。这就是为什么那些曾属于伟大大师的乐器具有无价之值的原因。水在流动时为自己挖出一条通道，这条通道会变得越来越宽、越来越深；而且，在停止流动后，再次流动时它会沿着之前为自己划定的路径继续流动。同样地，外部对象的印象在神经系统中为它们自己塑造了越来越合适的路径，这些生命现象在类似的外界刺激下再次出现，即使它们被中断了一段时间。”All Living Tissue Plastic.—What is true of
inanimate matter is doubly true of living tissue. The tissues of the human body
can be molded into almost any form you choose if taken in time. A child may be
placed on his feet at too early an age, and the bones of his legs form the
habit of remaining bent. The Flathead Indian binds a board on the skull of his
child, and its head forms the habit of remaining flat on the top. Wrong bodily
postures produce curvature of the spine, and pernicious modes of dress deform
the bones of the chest. The muscles may be trained into the habit of keeping
the shoulders straight or letting them droop; those of the back, to keep the
body well up on the hips, or to let it sag; those of locomotion, to give us a
light, springy step, or to allow a shuffling carriage; those of speech, to give
us a clear-cut, accurate articulation, or a careless, halting one; and those of
the face, to give us a cheerful cast of countenance, or a glum and morose
expression.所有生物组织都具有可塑性——无生命物质所遵循的规律，对于生物组织来说更是双倍成立。如果及时采取行动，人体组织几乎可以被塑造成你所选择的任何形态。一个孩子如果在过于年幼的时候就开始站立，他的腿部骨骼就会形成保持弯曲的习惯。扁头印第安人在孩子的头上绑上木板，其头部就会形成头顶保持扁平的习惯。错误的身体姿势会导致脊柱弯曲，而有害的穿衣方式会扭曲胸部的骨骼。肌肉可以被训练成习惯保持肩膀挺直或让它们下垂；背部的肌肉，保持身体在臀部上方挺直或让它松弛；运动肌肉，给我们轻盈、有弹性的步伐，或允许我们拖沓行走；言语肌肉，给我们清晰、准确的发音，或是随意、停顿的发音；面部肌肉，给我们愉悦的表情，或阴郁、愠怒的表情。Habit a Modification of Brain Tissue.—But the nervous tissue
is the most sensitive and easily molded of all bodily tissues. In fact, it is probable
that the real habit of our characteristic walk, gesture, or
speech resides in the brain, rather than in the muscles which it controls. So
delicate is the organization of the brain structure and so unstable its
molecules, that even the perfume of the flower, which assails the nose of a
child, the song69 of a bird, which strikes his ear, or
the fleeting dream, which lingers but for a second in his sleep, has so
modified his brain that it will never again be as if these things had not been
experienced. Every sensory current which runs in from the outside world; every
motor current which runs out to command a muscle; every thought that we think,
has so modified the nerve structure through which it acts, that a tendency
remains for a like act to be repeated. Our brain and nervous system is daily
being molded into fixed habits of acting by our thoughts and deeds, and thus
becomes the automatic register of all we do.习惯是大脑组织的修改——但神经组织是所有身体组织中最敏感、最易塑形的。实际上，我们独特的走路姿势、手势或言语的真正习惯可能存在于大脑中，而不是它所控制的肌肉中。大脑结构的组织如此精细，其分子如此不稳定，以至于即使是一朵花的香味袭击了一个孩子的鼻子，一只鸟的歌声触动了他的耳朵，或是在他睡眠中仅仅停留了一秒钟的短暂梦境，都足以改变他的大脑，使其永远不会再像未经历过这些事情一样。从外部世界流入的每一个感觉电流；流出以指挥肌肉的每一个运动电流；我们所思考的每一个思想，都通过它作用的神经结构进行了修改，留下了重复类似行为的倾向。我们的大脑和神经系统每天都在被我们的思想和行为塑形成固定的行为习惯，因此成为了我们所做的一切的自动记录器。The old Chinese fairy story hits upon a fundamental and
vital truth. These celestials tell their children that each child is
accompanied by day and by night, every moment of his life, by an invisible
fairy, who is provided with a pencil and tablet. It is the duty of this fairy
to put down every deed of the child, both good and evil, in an indelible record
which will one day rise as a witness against him. So it is in very truth with
our brains. The wrong act may have been performed in secret, no living being
may ever know that we performed it, and a merciful Providence may forgive it;
but the inexorable monitor of our deeds was all the time beside us writing the
record, and the history of that act is inscribed forever in the tissues of our
brain. It may be repented of bitterly in sackcloth and ashes and be
discontinued, but its effects can never be quite effaced; they will remain with
us a handicap till our dying day, and in some critical moment in a great
emergency we shall be in danger of defeat from that long past and forgotten
act.古老的中国神话故事触及了一个基本而重要的真理。这些神仙告诉他们的孩子，每个孩子在日夜、生命中的每一刻都有一个看不见的仙女相伴，她手中拿着铅笔和便签本。这位仙女的职责是记录下孩子的每一件行为，无论是好是坏，都将以不可抹去的记录保存下来，将来有一天会作为对他行为的见证出现。我们的大脑确实就是这样。错误的行为可能在秘密中进行，没有活着的人可能知道我们进行了它，慈悲的天意也许会原谅它；但我们行为的无情监督者一直在我们身边记录着，那个行为的历史永远刻印在我们的大脑组织中。我们可能会在悔过中痛苦地穿上苦行衣，用灰烬覆盖自己并停止这种行为，但它的影响永远无法完全消除；它们将伴随我们直到生命终结，成为我们的负担，在一些重大紧急情况的关键时刻，我们将因那久远而被遗忘的行为而面临失败的危险。We Must Form Habits.—We must,
then, form habits. It is not at all in our power to say whether we will form
habits or not; for, once started, they go on forming themselves by day and
night, steadily and relentlessly. Habit is, therefore, one of the great factors
to be reckoned with in our lives, and the question becomes not, Shall we form
habits? but What habits we shall form. And we have the
determining of this question largely in our own power, for habits do not just
happen, nor do they come to us ready made. We ourselves make them from day to
day through the acts we perform, and in so far as we have control over our
acts, in that far we can determine our habits.我们必须养成习惯——因此，我们必须养成习惯。我们根本无法控制自己是否要形成习惯；因为一旦开始，它们就会日以继夜、坚定不移地自我形成。因此，习惯是我们生活中必须考虑的重要因素之一，问题不在于我们是否应该形成习惯，而在于我们应该形成什么样的习惯。我们对这个问题的决定在很大程度上掌握在自己手中，因为习惯不是偶然发生的，也不是现成给予我们的。我们自己通过每天所执行的行为来塑造它们，只要我们能控制自己的行为，我们就能在很大程度上决定我们的习惯。2. THE PLACE OF HABIT IN THE ECONOMY OF
OUR LIVES2. 习惯在我们生活中的经济地位Habit is one of nature's methods of economizing time and
effort, while at the same time securing greater skill and efficiency. This is
easily seen when it is remembered that habit tends towardsautomatic action;
that is, towards action governed by the lower nerve centers and taking care of
itself, so to speak, without the interference of consciousness. Everyone has
observed how much easier in the performance and more skillful in its execution
is the act, be it playing a piano, painting a picture, or driving a nail, when
the movements involved have ceased to be consciously directed and become
automatic.习惯是自然界节约时间和精力的方法之一，同时确保更高的技能和效率。这一点很容易理解，只要记住习惯趋向于自动行动；也就是说，趋向于由较低的神经中心控制的行动，可以说是在没有意识干预的情况下自行处理。每个人都观察到，无论是弹钢琴、画画还是钉钉子，当所涉及的动作不再需要有意识地指导而变得自动时，执行起来会更容易，技巧也更熟练。Habit Increases Skill and Efficiency.—Practically all increase
in skill, whether physical or mental, depends on our ability to form habits.
Habit holds fast to the skill already attained while practice or intelligence
makes ready for the next step in advance. Could we not form habits we should
improve but little in our way of doing things, no matter how many times we did
them over. We should now be obliged to go through the same bungling
process of dressing ourselves as when we first learned it as children. Our
writing would proceed as awkwardly in the high school as the primary, our eating
as adults would be as messy and wide of the mark as when we were infants, and
we should miss in a thousand ways the motor skill that now seems so easy and
natural. All highly skilled occupations, and those demanding great manual
dexterity, likewise depend on our habit-forming power for the accurate and
automatic movements required.习惯提升技能与效率——几乎所有技能的提升，无论是身体上的还是心理上的，都依赖于我们形成习惯的能力。习惯牢牢把握住已经获得的技能，同时实践或智慧为下一步的进步做好准备。如果我们不能形成习惯，无论重复做多少次，我们在做事的方式上几乎不会有进步。我们现在不得不像小时候第一次学习时那样，经历同样的笨拙穿衣过程。我们的写作在高中阶段会像小学时一样笨拙，成年后的进食会像婴儿时期一样凌乱且偏离目标，我们会在许多方面失去现在看似如此简单自然的运动技能。所有高度熟练的职业，以及那些需要极大手工灵巧性的工作，同样依赖于我们形成习惯的能力，以实现所需的精确和自动运动。So with mental skill. A great portion of the fundamentals
of our education must be made automatic—must become matters of habit. We set out to learn the symbols
of speech. We hear words and see them on the printed page; associated with
these words are meanings, or ideas. Habit binds the word and the idea together,
so that to think of the one is to call up the other—and
language is learned. We must learn numbers, so we practice the
"combinations," and with 4×6, or 3×8 we associate 24. Habit secures this association in our minds, and
lo! we soon know our "tables." And so on throughout the whole range
of our learning. We learn certain symbols, or facts, or processes, and habit
takes hold and renders these automatic so that we can use them freely, easily,
and with skill, leaving our thought free for matters that cannot be made
automatic. One of our greatest dangers is that we shall not make sufficiently
automatic, enough of the necessary foundation material of education. Failing in
this, we shall at best be but blunderers intellectually, handicapped because we
failed to make proper use of habit in our development.对于心理技能也是如此。我们教育的基础大部分必须变得自动化——必须成为习惯的问题。我们开始学习语言符号。我们听到单词，看到它们印在纸上；与这些单词相关联的是意义或思想。习惯将单词和思想绑定在一起，以至于想到一个就会唤起另一个——语言就学会了。我们必须学习数字，所以我们练习“组合”，并将4×6或3×8与24联系起来。习惯在我们的头脑中确保这种联系，瞧！我们很快就掌握了我们的“乘法表”。这样的过程贯穿于我们整个学习范围。我们学习某些符号、事实或过程，习惯抓住并使这些自动运行，这样我们就可以自由、轻松且熟练地使用它们，让我们的思维自由地处理那些无法自动化的事务。我们最大的危险之一是，我们没有将足够多的教育必要基础材料自动化。如果做不到这一点，我们充其量只是智力上的笨拙者，因为我们未能在发展中正确利用习惯而受到阻碍。For, as we have seen in an earlier chapter, there is a
limit to our mental energy and also to the number of objects to which we are
able to attend. It is only whenattention has been freed from the many
things that can always be thought or done in the same way, that the
mind can devote itself to the real problems that require judgment, imagination
or reasoning. The writer whose spelling and punctuation do not take care of
themselves will hardly make a success of writing. The mathematician whose
number combinations, processes and formulæ are not automatic in his mind can
never hope to make progress in mathematical thinking. The speaker who, while
speaking, has to think of his gestures, his voice or his enunciation will never
sway audiences by his logic or his eloquence.因为，正如我们在前一章所见，我们的心智能量有限，我们能够关注的对象数量也有限。只有当注意力从许多总是可以以相同方式思考或做的事情中解放出来时，心灵才能致力于需要判断、想象或推理的真正问题。一个拼写和标点符号不能自我管理的作家很难在写作上取得成功。一个数字组合、过程和公式在他的头脑中不是自动的数学家永远无法在数学思维上取得进步。一个在讲话时必须考虑自己的手势、声音或发音的演讲者，永远不会用他的逻辑或口才打动听众。Habit Saves Effort and Fatigue.—We do most easily and
with least fatigue that which we are accustomed to do. It is the new act or the
strange task that tires us. The horse that is used to the farm wearies if put
on the road, while the roadster tires easily when hitched to the plow. The
experienced penman works all day at his desk without undue fatigue, while the
man more accustomed to the pick and the shovel than to the pen, is exhausted by
a half hour's writing at a letter. Those who follow a sedentary and inactive
occupation do not tire by much sitting, while children or others used to
freedom and action may find it a wearisome task merely to remain still for an
hour or two.习惯能够节省精力、减少疲劳。—我们做最轻松、最少疲劳的事情，是我们习惯做的事情。是新的行动或陌生的任务让我们感到疲惫。习惯了农场的马如果被放在路上会疲惫，而习惯了道路的马车在被套上犁时也很容易疲劳。有经验的作家可以在办公桌前工作一整天而不会感到过度疲劳，而更习惯于镐和铲子而不是笔的人，写一封信半小时就会筋疲力尽。那些从事久坐不动职业的人不会因为坐得太多而感到疲惫，而习惯了自由和活动的孩子或其他人可能会发现，仅仅是静静地坐上一两个小时就是一项累人的任务。Not only would the skill and speed demanded by modern
industry be impossible without the aid of habit, but without its help none
could stand the fatigue and strain. The new workman placed at a high-speed
machine is ready to fall from weariness at the end of his first day. But little
by little he learns to omit the unnecessary movements, the necessary movements
become easier and more automatic through habit, and he finds the work easier.
We may conclude, then, that not only do consciously directed movements show
less skill than the same movements made automatic by habit, but they also
require more effort and produce greater fatigue.不仅现代工业所要求的技能和速度没有习惯的帮助是不可能的，而且没有它的帮助，没有人能够承受疲劳和压力。新工人被安排在高速机器旁，第一天结束时就会因为疲惫而几乎倒下。但是渐渐地，他学会了省略不必要的动作，必要的动作通过习惯变得更容易、更自动化，他发现工作变得更轻松了。因此，我们可以得出结论，不仅是有意识地指导的动作比通过习惯自动完成相同动作的技能要差，它们还需要更多的努力并且产生更大的疲劳。（好的学习、生活、工作习惯，可以提高效率，减少疲劳。）Habit Economizes Moral Effort.—To have to decide each
time the question comes up whether we will attend to this lecture or sermon or
lesson; whether we will persevere and go through this piece of disagreeable
work which we have begun; whether we will go to the trouble of being courteous
and kind to this or that poor or unlovely or dirty fellow-mortal; whether we
will take this road because it looks easy, or that one because we know it to be
the one we ought to take; whether we will be strictly fair and honest when we
might just as well be the opposite; whether we will resist the temptation which
dares us; whether we will do this duty, hard though it is, which confronts us—to have to decide each of these questions every time it presents
itself is to put too large a proportion of our thought and energy on things
which should take care of themselves. For all these things should early become
so nearly habitual that they can be settled with the very minimum of
expenditure of energy when they arise.习惯节约道德努力。—每次出现问题时都要决定是否参加这次讲座、布道或课程；是否坚持完成我们已经开始的这项不愉快的工作；是否愿意费心对待这个或那个贫穷、不可爱或肮脏的同胞表示礼貌和友好；是否选择这条路因为它看起来容易，或者选择那条路因为我们知道他是我们应当走的路；是否在我们完全可以做相反选择时保持严格公正和诚实；是否抵制那些敢于诱惑我们的试探；是否履行这项艰巨的责任，尽管它正面临我们—每当这些问题出现时都必须做出决定，就是将我们过多的思考和精力投入到本应自行处理的事情上。因为所有这些事情都应该尽早变得几乎成为习惯，这样在它们出现时就可以用最少的精力解决。The Habit of Attention.—It is a noble thing to
be able to attend by sheer force of will when the interest lags, or some more
attractive thing appears, but far better is it so to have formed the habit of
attention that we naturally fall into that attitude when this is the desirable
thing. To understand what I mean, you only have to look over a class or an
audience and note the different ways which people have of finally settling down
to listening. Some with an attitude which says, "Now here I am, ready to
listen to you if you will interest me, otherwise not." Others with a
manner which says, "I did not really come here expecting to listen, and
you will have a large task if you interest me; I never listen unless I am
compelled to, and the responsibility rests on you." Others plainly say,
"I really mean to listen, but I have hard work to control my thoughts, and
if I wander I shall not blame you altogether; it is just my way." And
still others say, "When I am expected to listen, I always listen whether
there is anything much to listen to or not. I have formed that habit, and so
have no quarrel with myself about it. You can depend on me to be attentive, for
I cannot afford to weaken my habit of attention whether you do well or
not." Every speaker will clasp these last listeners to his heart and feed
them on the choicest thoughts of his soul; they are the ones to whom he speaks
and to whom his address will appeal.注意力的习惯。—当兴趣减弱或出现更吸引人的事物时，能够仅凭意志力集中注意力是一件高尚的事，但更好的是已经形成了如此的注意力习惯，以至于在这是理想选择时我们自然而然地进入那种状态。要理解我的意思，你只需观察一个班级或听众，并注意人们最终安下心来聆听的不同方式。有些人的态度似乎在说：“现在我就在这里，如果你能吸引我，我就准备听你说，否则就不。”另一些人的举止则像是在说：“我其实并不是真的来这里听的，如果你想吸引我，你将面临一项艰巨的任务；除非被迫，否则我从不听讲，这个责任在你身上。”还有的人明显表示：“我真的打算听，但我得费很大劲控制我的思绪，如果我走神了，我不会全怪你；这就是我的方式。”另外一些人则说：“当我被期待聆听时，我总是聆听，不管是否有很多东西值得听。我已经养成了这个习惯，所以我对此毫无怨言。你完全可以信赖我的专心，因为我不能让我的注意力习惯变得脆弱，不管你做得好不好。”每个演讲者都会紧紧抓住这些最后的听众，并用他灵魂中最精粹的思想喂养他们；他们是他说话的对象，也是他的演讲会吸引到的人。Habit Enables Us to Meet the Disagreeable.—To be able to persevere
in the face of difficulties and hardships and carry through the disagreeable
thing in spite of the protests of our natures against the sacrifice which it
requires, is a creditable thing; but it is more creditable to have so formed
the habit of perseverance that the disagreeable duty shall be done without a
struggle, or protest, or question. Horace Mann testifies of himself that
whatever success he was able to attain was made possible through the early
habit which he formed of never stopping to inquire whether he liked to
do a thing which needed doing, but of doing everything equally well and without
question, both the pleasant and the unpleasant.习惯使我们能够应对不愉快。—能够在困难和艰辛面前坚持不懈，尽管我们的本性反对它所需的牺牲，还是完成不愉快的事情，这是值得赞扬的；但更值得赞扬的是已经形成了坚持的习惯，以至于在没有挣扎、抗议或质疑的情况下完成了不愉快的职责。贺拉斯·曼自己证明，他所能达到的任何成功都是因为他早期形成的习惯，即从不停下来询问自己是否喜欢做需要做的事，而是同样出色且毫无疑问地完成一切，无论是令人愉快还是不愉快的事情。The youth who can fight out a moral battle and win
against the allurements of some attractive temptation is worthy the highest
honor and praise; but so long as he has to fight the same battle over and over
again, he is on dangerous ground morally. For good morals must finally become
habits, so ingrained in us that the right decision comes largely without effort
and without struggle. Otherwise the strain is too great, and defeat will
occasionally come; and defeat means weakness and at last disaster, after the
spirit has tired of the constant conflict. And so on in a hundred lines. Good
habits are more to be coveted than individual victories in special cases, much
as these are to be desired. For good habits mean victories all along the line.能够战胜道德之战并抵御某些吸引人的诱惑而取得胜利的年轻人，值得最高的荣誉和赞扬；但只要他不得不一次又一次地重复同样的战斗，他就在道德上处于危险的境地。因为良好的道德最终必须成为习惯，深深植根于我们之中，以至于正确的决定在很大程度上无需努力和挣扎就能做出。否则压力太大，偶尔会遭遇失败；而失败意味着软弱，最终在精神厌倦了持续的冲突后会导致灾难。因此在许多方面都是如此。良好的习惯比特殊案例中个别的胜利更值得追求，尽管这些胜利非常令人渴望。因为良好的习惯意味着全线的胜利。Habit the Foundation of Personality.—The biologist tells us
that it is the constant and not the occasional in
the environment that impresses itself on an organism. So also it is the habitual in
our lives that builds itself into our character and personality. In a very real
sense we are what we are in the habit of doing and thinking.习惯是人格的基石 — — 生物学家告诉我们，对有机体产生影响的是环境中恒定的因素而不是偶尔出现的因素。同样，在我们的生活中，对我们的性格和人格产生持久影响的是那些我们经常做的、思考的事情。从这个意义上讲，我们就是我们习惯性地做着和思考着的那种人。Without habit, personality could not exist; for we could
never do a thing twice alike, and hence would be a new person each succeeding
moment. The acts which give us our own peculiar individuality are our habitual
acts—the
little things that do themselves moment by moment without care or attention,
and are the truest and best expression of our real selves. Probably no one of
us could be very sure which arm he puts into the sleeve, or which foot he puts
into the shoe, first; and yet each of us certainly formed the habit long ago of
doing these things in a certain way. We might not be able to describe just how
we hold knife and fork and spoon, and yet each has his own characteristic and
habitual way of handling them. We sit down and get up in some characteristic
way, and the very poise of our heads and attitudes of our bodies are the result
of habit. We get sleepy and wake up, become hungry and thirsty at certain
hours, through force of habit. We form the habit of liking a certain chair, or
nook, or corner, or path, or desk, and then seek this to the exclusion of all
others. We habitually use a particular pitch of voice and type of enunciation
in speaking, and this becomes one of our characteristic marks; or we form the
habit of using barbarisms or solecisms of language in youth, and these cling to
us and become an inseparable part of us later in life.没有习惯，人格就不可能存在；因为我们不可能两次做同一件事，因此每一刻都会变成一个新的人。赋予我们独特个性的是我们的习惯性行为——那些不经意间、无需关心或注意就能重复的小事情，它们是我们真实自我最真实、最好的表达。我们中几乎没有人能确定自己是先穿哪只袖子，或者先穿哪只鞋；然而，我们每个人肯定早就养成了以某种方式做这些事情的习惯。我们可能无法准确描述自己如何拿刀叉和勺子，但每个人都有自己特有的、习惯性的使用方式。我们以某种特定的方式坐下和站起，甚至我们的头部姿势和身体态度都是习惯的结果。我们因为习惯而在特定时间感到困倦和醒来，变得饥饿和口渴。我们养成了喜欢某个特定的椅子、角落、路径或书桌的习惯，然后就会排除其他所有选择去寻求它。我们习惯性地使用特定音高的声音和发音类型说话，这成为我们的特征之一；或者我们在年轻时养成了使用语言中的野蛮用语或错误用法的习惯，这些习惯会伴随我们，并在以后的生活中成为我们不可分割的一部分。On the mental side the case is no different. Our thinking
is as characteristic as our physical acts. We may form the habit of thinking
things out logically, or of jumping to conclusions; of thinking critically and
independently, or of taking things unquestioningly on the authority of others.
We may form the habit of carefully reading good, sensible books, or of skimming
sentimental and trashy ones; of choosing elevating, ennobling companions, or
the opposite; of being a good conversationalist and doing our part in a social
group, or of being a drag on the conversation, and needing to be
"entertained." We may form the habit of observing the things about us
and enjoying the beautiful in our environment, or of failing to observe or to
enjoy. We may form the habit of obeying the voice of conscience or of weakly
yielding to temptation without a struggle; of taking a reverent attitude of
prayer in our devotions, or of merely saying our prayers.在心理层面上，情况并无不同。我们的思考方式和我们的身体行为一样具有特征性。我们可能会养成习惯，要么逻辑严谨地思考问题，要么急于下结论；要么批判性和独立地思考，要么不加质疑地接受他人权威的观点。我们可能会养成习惯，仔细阅读有益、明智的书籍，或者浏览多愁善感和无价值的读物；选择提升自己、使自己高尚的伙伴，或者相反；成为一个善于交谈的人，在社交团体中尽自己的一份力，或者成为谈话中的累赘，需要被“娱乐”。我们可以养成习惯，观察周围的事物并享受环境中的美好，或者未能观察到或享受不到。我们可以养成习惯，听从良知的声音或者软弱地向诱惑屈服而不进行挣扎；在我们的祈祷中采取一种虔诚的态度，或者只是机械地说出我们的祷告。Habit Saves Worry and Rebellion.—Habit has been called
the "balance wheel" of society. This is because men readily become
habituated to the hard, the disagreeable, or the inevitable, and cease to
battle against it. A lot that at first seems unendurable after a time causes
less revolt. A sorrow that seems too poignant to be borne in the course of time
loses some of its sharpness. Oppression or injustice that arouses the fiercest
resentment and hate may finally come to be accepted with resignation. Habit
helps us learn that "what cannot be cured must be endured."习惯减轻忧虑和反叛。——习惯被称为社会的“平衡轮”。这是因为人们很容易习惯于艰难、不愉快或不可避免的事情，并停止与之抗争。一开始看似无法忍受的事情，随着时间的推移会引起较少的反感。一种似乎太过痛苦以至于无法承受的悲伤，随着时间流逝会失去一些锐利感。激起最激烈愤慨和仇恨的压迫或不公正最终可能会被接受，并带着无奈。习惯帮助我们学会“无法治愈的必须忍受。”3. THE TYRANNY OF HABIT3.习惯的专横Even Good Habits Need to Be Modified.—But even in good habits
there is danger. Habit is the opposite of attention. Habit relieves attention
of unnecessary strain. Every habitual act was at one time, either in the
history of the race or of the individual, a voluntary act; that is, it was
performed under active attention. As the habit grew, attention was gradually
rendered unnecessary, until finally it dropped entirely out. And herein lies
the danger. Habit once formed has no way of being modified unless in some way
attention is called to it, for a habit left to itself becomes more and more
firmly fixed. The rut grows deeper. In very few, if any, of our actions can we
afford to have this the case. Our habits
need to be progressive, they need to grow, to be modified, to be improved.
Otherwise they will become an incrusting shell, fixed and unyielding, which
will limit our growth.即使是好习惯也需要调整。——但即使在好习惯中也存在危险。习惯与注意力相对立。习惯免除了注意力不必要的紧张。每一个习惯性行为，无论是在种族的历史中还是个体的历史上，都曾经是一个自愿的行为；也就是说，它是在积极的注意力下执行的。随着习惯的形成，注意力逐渐变得不必要，直到最后完全消失。这就是危险的所在。一旦形成的习惯，除非以某种方式引起注意，否则无法被修改，因为任其自流的习惯会变得越来越固定。车辙越来越深。在我们很少的、如果有的话的行为中，我们能负担得起这种情况。我们的习惯需要是进步的，它们需要增长，需要被修改，需要被改善。否则，它们将变成一个固定的、坚硬的外壳，限制我们的成长。It is necessary, then, to keep our habitual acts under
some surveillance of attention, to pass them in review for inspection every now
and then, that we may discover possible modifications which will make them more
serviceable. We need to be inventive, constantly to find out better ways of
doing things. Habit takes care of our standing, walking, sitting; but how many
of us could not improve his poise and carriage if he would? Our speech has become largely automatic,
but no doubt all of us might remove faults of enunciation, pronunciation or
stress from our speaking. So also we might better our habits of study and
thinking, our methods of memorizing, or our manner of attending.因此，有必要将我们的习惯性行为置于某种注意力的监督之下，不时地对它们进行检查，以便我们发现可能的修改，使它们更加有用。我们需要具备创造性，不断寻找更好的做事方法。习惯照顾着我们的站立、行走、坐着；但我们中有多少人如果能愿意的话，不能改善自己的姿态和举止呢？我们的语言在很大程度上已经自动化了，但毫无疑问，我们所有人都可以从说话中去除发音、发音或重音的错误。同样，我们也可以改善我们的学习和思考习惯，我们的记忆方法，或者我们的注意力方式。The Tendency of "Ruts."—But this will require
something of heroism. For to follow the well-beaten path of custom is easy and
pleasant, while to break out of the rut of habit and start a new line of action
is difficult and disturbing. Most people prefer to keep doing things as they
always have done them, to continue reading and thinking and believing as they
have long been in the habit of doing, not so much because they feel that their
way is best, but because it is easier than to change. Hence the great mass of
us settle down on the plane of mediocrity, and become "old fogy." We
learn to do things passably well, cease to think about improving our ways of
doing them, and so fall into a rut. Only the few go on. They make use of habit
as the rest do, but they also continue to attend at critical points of action,
and so make habit an ally in place of accepting it as a tyrant.“车辙”的倾向。——但这将需要一些英雄主义。因为遵循习惯的熟路是容易和愉快的，而跳出习惯的车辙并开始一系列新的行动则是困难和令人不安的。大多数人宁愿继续按照他们一直以来的方式做事，继续阅读、思考和信仰他们已经习惯了的事情，这不仅仅是因为他们觉得他们的方式是最好的，而是因为它比改变更容易。因此，我们中的大多数人在平庸的层面上安定下来，变成了“老顽固”。我们学会了勉强做好事情，停止思考改善我们的做事方式，因此陷入车辙。只有少数人继续前进。他们像其他人一样利用习惯，但他们也继续在行动的关键节点上保持注意力，从而让习惯成为一个盟友，而不是接受它作为一个暴君。【聪明的人，学会培养、驯服和驾驭自己的习惯。】4. HABIT-FORMING A PART OF EDUCATION4.教育，就是习惯养成It follows from the importance of habit in our lives that
no small part of education should be concerned with the development of
serviceable habits. Says James, "Could the young but realize how soon they
will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their
conduct while in the plastic state. We are spinning our own fates, good or
evil, and never to be undone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves
its never-so-little scar." Any youth who is forming a large number of useful
habits is receiving no mean education, no matter if his knowledge of books may
be limited; on the other hand, no one
who is forming a largenumber of bad habits is being well educated, no
matter how brilliant his knowledge may be.在我们的生活中，习惯的重要性意味着教育的一个不小的部分应该关注于发展有用的习惯。詹姆斯说：“如果年轻人能够意识到他们很快就会变成仅仅是行走的习惯的集合体，他们在可塑性状态下会更加注意自己的行为。我们正在编织自己的命运，无论是好是坏，永远都无法撤销。每一次最小的美德或恶行都会留下它的疤痕，无论多么微小。”任何一个正在形成大量有用习惯的年轻人，即使他的知识有限，也正在接受一种不平凡的教育；另一方面，任何一个正在形成大量坏习惯的人，无论他的知识多么辉煌，都不是在接受良好的教育。Youth the Time for Habit-forming.—Childhood and youth is
the great time for habit-forming. Then the brain is plastic and easily molded,
and it retains its impressions more indelibly; later it is hard to modify, and
the impressions made are less permanent. It is hard to teach an old dog new
tricks; nor would he remember them if you could teach them to him, nor be able
to perform them well even if he could remember them. The young child will,
within the first few weeks of its life, form habits of sleeping and feeding. It
may in a few days be led into the habit of sleeping in the dark, or requiring a
light; of going to sleep lying quietly, or of insisting upon being rocked; of
getting hungry by the clock, or of wanting its food at all times when it finds
nothing else to do, and so on. It is
wholly outside the power of the mother or the nurse to determine whether the
child shall form habits, but largely within their power to say what habits
shall be formed, since they control his acts.青少年时期是形成习惯的关键时期。儿童和青少年时期是形成习惯的重要时期。那时大脑具有可塑性，容易塑造，而且它更难以磨灭地保留其印象；后来则很难修改，而且所留下的印象也不够持久。教一只老狗新把戏是很困难的；即使你能教会它，它也不会记住，即使它能记住，也不一定能很好地执行。年幼的孩子在出生后的最初几周内就会形成睡觉和进食的习惯。几天之内，孩子就可能被引导形成在黑暗中睡觉或需要光线的习惯；安静躺着入睡或坚持要求被摇晃的习惯；按照时钟感到饥饿或在发现没有其他事情可做时就想要食物的习惯等等。母亲或护士无法决定孩子是否应该形成习惯，但他们在很大程度上可以决定应该形成哪些习惯，因为他们控制着孩子的行为。As the child grows older, the range of his habits
increases; and by the time he has reached his middle teens, the greater number
of his personal habits are formed. It is very doubtful whether a boy who has
not formed habits of punctuality before the age of fifteen will ever be
entirely trustworthy in matters requiring precision in this line. The girl who
has not, before this age, formed habits of neatness and order will hardly make
a tidy housekeeper later in her life. Those
who in youth have no opportunity to habituate themselves to the usages of
society may study books on etiquette and employ private instructors in the art
of polite behavior all they please later in life, but they will never cease
tobe awkward and ill at ease. None are at a greater disadvantage than
the suddenly-grown-rich who attempt late in life to surround themselves with
articles of art and luxury, though their habits were all formed amid barrenness
and want during their earlier years.随着孩子的成长，他的习惯范围也在增加；到他进入青少年中期时，他的大部分个人习惯已经形成。一个在十五岁之前没有养成守时习惯的男孩是否完全值得信赖，在需要精确度的事务上是值得怀疑的。在这个年龄之前还没有养成整洁和有序习惯的女孩，在以后的生活中几乎不可能成为一个整洁的家庭主妇。那些在青年时期没有机会使自己习惯于社会习俗的人，以后可以尽情地学习礼仪书籍，并在礼貌行为的艺术上聘请私人教练，但他们永远不会停止显得笨拙和不自在。突然暴富的人试图在晚年用艺术品和奢侈品包围自己，尽管他们早年的习惯都是在匮乏和贫困中形成的，这些人处于最大的不利地位。The Habit of Achievement.—What youth does not
dream of being great, or noble, or a celebrated scholar! And how few there are
who finally achieve their ideals! Where does the cause of failure lie? Surely
not in the lack of high ideals. Multitudes of young people have
"Excelsior!" as their motto, and yet never get started up the
mountain slope, let alone toiling on to its top. They have put in hours
dreaming of the glory farther up, and have never begun to climb.
The difficulty comes in not realizing that the only way to become what we wish
or dream that we may become is to form the habit of being that thing.To form the habit of achievement, of
effort, of self-sacrifice, if need be. To form the habit of deeds along with
dreams; to form the habit of doing.成就的习惯。——哪个青年不梦想成为伟大的人、高尚的人或著名的学者！而最终实现理想的人又有多少呢！失败的原因在哪里？肯定不在于缺乏崇高的理想。许多年轻人以“Excelsior!”（更高）为座右铭，然而却从未开始攀登山坡，更不用说辛苦地到达山顶了。他们花费数小时梦想着更高处的荣耀，却从未开始攀登。困难在于没有意识到，要成为我们所希望或梦想成为的那样，唯一的方法就是养成那个样子的习惯。如果需要的话，形成成就、努力、自我牺牲的习惯。与梦想一起形成行动的习惯；养成做事的习惯。Who of us has not at this moment lying in wait for his
convenience in the dim future a number of things which he means to do just as
soon as this term of school is finished, or this job of work is completed, or
when he is not so busy as now? And how seldom does he ever get at these things
at all! Darwin tells that in his youth he loved poetry, art, and music, but was
so busy with his scientific work that he could ill spare the time to indulge
these tastes. So he promised himself that he would devote his time to
scientific work and make his mark in this. Then he would have time for the
things that he loved, and would cultivate his taste for the fine arts. He made
his mark in the field of science, and then turned again to poetry, to music, to
art. But alas! they were all dead and dry bones to him, without life or
interest.He had passed the time when he could ever form the taste for
them. He had formed his habits in
another direction, and now it was forever too late to form new habits. His own
conclusion is, that if he had his life to live over again, he would each week
listen to some musical concert and visit some art gallery, and that each day he
would read some poetry, and thereby keep alive and active the love for them.我们中有谁此刻不是在昏暗的未来中等待着他的方便时刻，准备在学校这个学期结束、这项工作完成或当他不像现在这么忙的时候去做一些事情？而他却很少真正去做这些事情！达尔文说，他年轻时热爱诗歌、艺术和音乐，但由于忙于科学工作，他几乎无法抽出时间来满足这些兴趣。因此，他向自己承诺，他会将时间投入到科学研究上，并在这一领域取得成就。然后，他将有时间去做他热爱的事情，并培养他对美术的品味。他在科学领域取得了成就，然后再次转向诗歌、音乐和艺术。但是，唉！对他来说，它们都是死气沉沉、枯燥无味的，没有生命或兴趣。他已经错过了形成对它们的品味的时间。他已经在另一个方向上形成了习惯，现在要形成新的习惯已经永远太晚了。他自己的结论是，如果他能重新活过一生，他每周都会去听一些音乐会，参观一些艺术画廊，每天读一些诗歌，从而保持对它们的爱能够活跃且积极。So every school and
home should be a species of habit-factory—a place where children develop habits
of neatness, punctuality, obedience, politeness, dependability and the other
graces of character.因此，每个学校和家庭都应该是一个习惯工厂——一个让孩子们养成整洁、守时、服从、礼貌、可靠以及其他品格美德的地方。5. RULES FOR HABIT-FORMING5.养成习惯应遵守的规则James's Three Maxims for Habit-forming.—On the forming of new
habits and the leaving off of old ones, I know of no better statement than that
of James, based on Bain's chapter on "Moral Habits." I quote this
statement at some length: "In the acquisition of a new habit, or the
leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch ourselves with
as strong and decided an initiative as possible. Accumulate all the possible circumstances which shall reënforce right
motives; put yourself assiduously in conditions that encourage the new way;make engagements incompatible with the old; take a public pledge, if the case
allows; in short, develop your resolution with every aid you know. This will
give your new beginning such a momentum that the temptation to break down will
not occur as soon as it otherwise might; and every day during which a breakdown
is postponed adds to the chances of its not occurring at all.詹姆斯关于形成习惯的三条格言。——在养成新习惯和改掉旧习惯方面，我知道没有比詹姆斯基于贝恩关于“道德习惯”章节的论述更好的陈述了。我引用这段陈述如下：“在养成一个新习惯或放弃一个旧习惯时，我们必须注意以尽可能强烈和果断的主动性来启动自己。积累所有可能的情况，这些情况会增强正确的动机；让自己勤奋地处于鼓励新方式的环境中；做出与旧习惯不兼容的承诺；如果情况允许，公开宣誓；简而言之，用你所知道的一切帮助发展你的决心。这将给你的新开始带来如此大的势头，以至于打破它的诱惑不会像其他情况那样早出现；而且，每一天推迟失败都会增加它根本不会发生的机会。"The second maxim is:Never suffer an exception
to occur until the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each
lapse is like letting fall a ball of string which one is carefully winding up;
a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again. Continuity of
training is the great means of making the nervous system act infallibly
right.... The need of securing success nerves one to future vigor.第二条格言是：在新习惯牢固地扎根于你的生活之前，永远不要让例外发生。每一次的失误就像让一个正在小心卷起的线团掉落一样；一次失误所破坏的，比许多次努力重新卷起的还要多。连续的训练是使神经系统准确无误地行动的重要手段……确保成功的需要使人对未来充满活力。"A third maxim may be added to the preceding
pair:Seize the very first
possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make, and on every
emotional prompting you may experience in the direction of the habits you
aspire to gain.It is not in the moment of their forming, but in
the moment of their producing motor effects, that resolves and
aspirations communicate the new 'set' to the brain."第三条格言可以补充到前面的两条中：抓住每一个可能的机会，按照你所做的每一个决定行动，以及你可能经历的每一次情感驱动，朝着你渴望养成的习惯方向前进。决心和愿望不是在形成的时刻，而是在产生运动效果的时刻，将新的‘设定’传递给大脑。The Preponderance of Good Habits Over Bad.—And finally, let no one
be disturbed or afraid because in a little time you become a "walking
bundle of habits." For in so far as your good actions predominate over
your bad ones, that much will your good habits outweigh your bad habits.
Silently, moment by moment, efficiency is growing out of all worthy acts well
done. Every bit of heroic self-sacrifice, every battle fought and won, every
good deed performed, is being irradicably credited to you in your nervous
system, and will finally add its mite toward achieving the success of your
ambitions.好习惯优于坏习惯。——最后，不要让任何人因为在短时间内你变成了一个“行走的习惯束”而感到不安或害怕。因为你的良好行为比不良行为更占优势，所以你的好习惯就会超过坏习惯。默默地，每时每刻，效率都在所有值得做得很好的行为中增长。每一次英勇的自我牺牲，每一场战斗的胜利，每一次善行的执行，都在你的神经系统中被不可磨灭地记在你的名下，最终将为你实现抱负的成功添上一份微薄之力。6. PROBLEMS IN OBSERVATION AND
INTROSPECTION6.供观察和反省的问题1. Select some act which you have recently begun to
perform and watch it grow more and more habitual. Notice carefully for a week
and see whether you do not discoversome habits which you did not know you
had. Make a catalog of your bad habits; of the most important of your good
ones.2. Set out to form some new habits which you desire to
possess; also to break some undesirable habit, watching carefully what takes
place in both cases, and how long it requires.3. Try the following experiment and relate the results to
the matter of automatic control brought about by habit: Draw a star on a sheet
of cardboard. Place this on a table before you, with a hand-mirror so arranged
that you can see the star in the mirror. Now trace the outline of the star with
a pencil, looking steadily in the mirror to guide your hand. Do not lift the
pencil from the paper from the time you start until you finish. Have others try
this experiment.4. Study some group of pupils for their habits (1) of
attention, (2) of speech, (3) of standing, sitting, and walking, (4) of study.
Report on your observations and suggest methods of curing bad habits observed.5. Make a list of "mannerisms" you have
observed, and suggest how they may be cured.6. Make a list of from ten to twenty habits which you
think the school and its work should especially cultivate. What ones of these
are the schools you know least successful in cultivating? Where does the
trouble lie?1. 选择你最近开始执行的某个行为，并观察它变得越来越习惯性。仔细留意一周，看看你是否发现了一些你之前不知道的习惯。列出你的坏习惯清单；以及最重要的好习惯清单。2. 开始养成你希望拥有的新习惯；同时尝试改掉一些不良习惯，仔细观察在两种情况下发生的变化，以及需要多长时间。3. 尝试以下实验并将结果与由习惯带来的自动控制联系起来：在一张卡片上画一个星星。将这张卡片放在你面前的桌子上，摆放一面手镜，以便你可以在镜子中看到星星。现在用铅笔描绘星星的轮廓，同时稳定地看着镜子来引导你的手。从开始到结束，不要把铅笔从纸上抬起。让其他人也尝试这个实验。4. 研究一组学生的习惯（1）注意力，（2）说话，（3）站立、坐着和行走，（4）学习。报告你的观察结果，并提出纠正观察到的坏习惯的方法。5. 列出你观察到的“癖好”，并建议如何纠正它们。6. 列出你认为学校及其工作应该特别培养的十到二十个习惯。这些习惯中哪些是你所知的学校最不成功的？问题出在哪里？
