琳达，2004年全奖（父母一分钱不花）进了美国顶级名校，哈佛大学，学化学。琳达大学毕业后，去英国的剑桥大学读研究生，读什么呢？读文学！以下是她的自述：
There were two types of drive that kept me studying hard.
上高中时迫使我学习的最大动力，有两个。
The first one is fear. Fear of doing badly and not getting into a good college after, for the subjects I didn't like, such as computer science, physics, bio; fear that not getting into a good college would mean not having a good future.
对那些我非常不感兴趣的，计算机，物理，生物这些课程来说，这个动力是恐惧。因为我害怕，如果不好好学，就可能进不了一个好的大学，进不了一个好的大学，就可能会有一个不怎么样的人生。
The second one is Interest and engagement in the subjects I did like, such as English, some history, chemistry. While this might work in high school and might, unfortunately, actually be necessary given the fact that you're responsible for such a wide range of subjects.
对那些我很感兴趣的文学，历史，化学等课程来说，这个动力是我自己内心由趣味而产生的自己对自己的约束。因恐惧而学习，对高中生来说也许很适用。而且不幸的是，在现实生活中，一个人的责任会很广泛，不是每一个责任你都会有兴趣去承担，恐惧这种动力对人来说会一直存在。
Fear I think is a terrible motivator in the long run. It teaches you to try "not to screw up" which is a negative construct, rather than to go after the things that matter to you , which I imagine, broadly speaking, is a much better way of finding satisfaction in life.
但从长远来看，恐惧本身，是一个非常可怕的负面动力。因为恐惧所教给你的，是尽力不范错误，它的建设性是负面的，它会让你失去对自己内心需求的寻找和追求。我觉得，对自己内心需求的寻找和追求，从广意来说，是一个更好的通往圆满人生的道路。
Looking back, I feel those efforts are worthy, in the sense that I got into a good college, and from there got to choose to work only on the things I liked and was interested in...
无论是出于恐惧，还是兴趣，现在回过头来看，我觉得那些努力和付出都算值得。因为我确实进了一所世界一流的学校。而且从那儿，我可以拥有只选择我所感兴趣的事情去做的“特权”。
The downside was that it took me too long to learn that it was okay to not be perfect at everything, so a lot of time in college was spent putting energy into things that I didn't care about, or I was doing just because I was seeing them as the path to "the next step."
但是，当年的努力和付出也有负面。这个负面是，那个让我很长时间都保持的惯性。这种惯性迫使我在大学期间对每一门功课都极为认真，从而导致我在与我根本无关的课程上，耗费了大量的时间和能量。当时我的思想还是停留在高中时期的观念，那就是只有样样都做得好，才能通过我人生的“下一关”。
I think that's a bad mentality to have in life, since then you never fully reflect on whether you're really suited/eager for whatever your ultimate endpoint might be. So, perhaps if you see doing well in high school as opening up opportunities to choose & cultivate your own unique, specific talents and interests later on, that might help? Unfortunately, even in this light, high school still becomes a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.
我认为，这种在高中时期养成的观念，对人生来说，是很有害的。因为在这种观念/惯性的驱使下，你所失去的，是全面完整地思考你自己真正渴望/适合的人生目标。如果你不能摆脱这个在高中所建立的观念/惯性，那么那个充满激烈竞争的高中，那个帮助你通往未来的通道，就已经成了你所追求的终点。
小编点评：
作者向我们传达了一个很重要的信息，那就是要全面完整地思考你自己真正渴望的的人生目标！一个人只有有目标，有梦想，他/她才能积极、主动地去学习去奋斗，他/她的潜能才能最大限度地发挥出来！永远不要停止独立思考，永远不要停止追求梦想！
