外在的事物是否讓你分心？如果是這樣，你就要花些時間，學習有價值的東西，不要再讓自己的心思飄忽不定。我們的注意力總是會在做你 “應該做 ”的事和你想做的事之間搖擺不定。奧勒留認為專注的核心是做有價值的事情，當一個人做他認為有意義的事情時，他自然可以做到心無旁騖。而當一個人做他認為應該做的事時，分心也是自然而然的結果。
中英字幕
In /Meditations/， Marcus Aurelius wrote about the path to ultimate focus。He said， “［do］ external things distract you？Then make time for yourself to learn something worthwhile； stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions。But make sure you guard against the other kind of confusion。 People who labor all their lives but have no purpose to direct every thought and impulse toward are wasting their time—even when hard at work。”
馬可·奧勒留在《沉思錄》探討了通往心無旁騖境界的道路。他說，“外在的事物是否讓你分心？那麼你就要花些時間，學習有價值的東西，不要再讓自己的心思飄忽不定，但也要確保防止另一種混亂的發生，那些一生碌碌，卻沒有一個目標來引導他們每一個思想和衝動的人，只是在浪費時間——無論他有多努力”
In my opinion， Marcus got to the heart ofa focused life： do something worthwhile。A surprising amount of depth and power lies behind this simple idea， and the best way I can explain it is through a dialogue。——-Taisho， a wealthy businessman， climbed to the top of Mt Miyazaki where he met with a wise monk。The following conversation ensued。
在我看來，馬可·奧勒留正是抓住了專注生活的核心：做有價值的事情。這一簡單的想法背後卻是驚人的深度和力量，我們最好透過對話的方式來解釋這件事。大正是一個富有的商人，他爬上了宮崎山的山頂，在那裡遇到了一個聰明的和尚，隨後進行了以下對話。
T： I find myself distracted everyday。 I’m the head of a large company whose revenue is declining each quarter。People are depending on me， but I can’t seem to focus on the business。How can I regain my attention？M： Live sincerely。T： What do you mean？M： Do something worth your while。T： How will that lead to ultimate focus？M： When you live sincerely， when you do something worth your while， when you do what you genuinely want to do， your focus is never forced。Watch your mind。
大正：我發現自己每天都心不在焉。我是一家大公司的負責人，公司的收入每季度都在下降，公司員工依靠我，但我似乎無法專注於業務，我怎樣才能重新集中注意力？和尚：真誠地生活。大正：這是什麼意思？和尚：做一些你覺得有意義的事。大正：為什麼這樣就可以做到專注？和尚：當你真誠地生活，做對你來說有意義的事，當你做你真正想做的事，你不需要強迫自己，專注關注你的思想。
Notice： when you’re at work， your attention is being pulled by something you consider more worthwhile。Perhaps your attention is drawn to another business idea， or relationship problems， or recreational activities。Focus naturally falls on what we consider worthwhile。It gravitates towards the things we value。T： But as a CEO， I can’t always do what I want to do。I have duties。M： Then you should not expect ultimate focus。You should expect to be distracted， and you shall be distracted by the very things you genuinely want to do， which is where your attention naturally falls。
注意：當你在工作時，你的注意力會被你認為更有價值的東西所吸引，也許你的注意力被另一個商業想法、某些情感問題或娛樂活動所吸引，注意力自然會落在我們認為有價值的東西上，它傾向於我們所重視的事物。大正：但作為一名CEO，我不能總是隻做我想做的事，我有責任。和尚：那你就不應期待心無旁騖，你的分心是一個可以預見的結果，你會被你真正想做的事分散注意力，你的注意力自然會落在那些事情上。
If you live a life of duty， your attention will always be torn between doing what you“should do” and what you want to do。Your entire life will be a state of distraction。While in a meeting， you will be thinking of something more worthwhile—resolving a fight with your spouse， creating another business，or planning a vacation–and you will not be attentive at work。T： Then your words are useless to me。How can anyone hope to live a life of ultimate focus？Doesn’t everyone have to do things they don’t want to do？M： No。People choose to live insincerely。
如果你過著有責任的生活，那麼你的注意力總是會在做你 “應該做 ”的事和你想做的事之間搖擺不定，你的整個生活都將是一種分心的狀態，在開會的時候你會想一些對你來說更有意義的事情，解決與配偶的爭吵，創辦另一項業務，或計劃休假，你無法專心致志地工作。大正：那麼你說這些話對我來說根本沒用，哪還有人能夠期望過上一種心無旁騖的生活呢？難道不是每個人都要做一些他們不想做的事情嗎？和尚：不是的，那些選擇不真誠生活的人。
They choose to live according to what they“should do” rather than what they want to do because it brings them security。I am not saying that you should or shouldn’t do anything。I am not saying to neglect your duties as the head of a company， but if you live insincerely，if you do things that you don’t feel are worthwhile， you should expect to be distracted。I am simply describing to you the way your own mind works。
他們選擇遵從他們 “應該做的 ”而不是他們想做的，因為這給他們帶來安全感，我並不是說你應該或不應該做什麼，我不是說要你忽視作為公司負責人的職責，但如果你不真誠地生活，如果你做那些你覺得不值得做的事情，那麼分心就是不可避免的，我只是向你描述了你思維的運作方式。
T： What you’re saying makes a bit of sense，but this idea of living sincerely seems unrealistic to me。What if someone wants to commit a crime？Do you advise they follow what they want to do then？M： I am not advising anything。I am saying that when someone does what they view as worthwhile， they naturally achieve ultimate focus。
大正：你說的有些道理，但這種真誠生活的想法對我來說似乎不現實，如果有人想犯罪怎麼辦？你會建議他們遵循他們想做的事嗎？和尚：我沒有建議任何事，我只是說，當一個人做他認為有意義的事情時，他自然可以做到心無旁騖。
Let me ask you a question： have you met a criminal who was not a slave to his passions？A criminal who was not a slave to his anger，or his lust， or his envy， or his greed， or his resentment， or his worldview？T： I can’t say that I have。M： So you asked me if one who goes beyond duty becomes a criminal， yet we both agree that it is the criminal’s duty to his own feelings， passions， and worldview that cause his behaviour。And I have met hundreds of this type， the ones who do what they “should do”， the ones who follow their duty。Endless crimes have been committed in the name of duty： duty to one’s pride， one’s anger， one’s jealousy， one’s family， one’s king， one’s nation， or one’s god。Every criminal believes she knows how the world “should be”， and this “should”is what leads to her crime。
讓我問你一個問題：你有見過哪個罪犯是沒有被其熱情與衝動所驅使的嗎？一個不被自己的憤怒、慾望嫉妒、貪婪、怨恨或世界觀所奴役的罪犯？大正：的確不曾見過，所以你問我，如果一個人違背自己的責任成為了罪犯，但我們都同意，正是因為罪犯選擇對自己的感情、激情和世界觀負責才導致了他的行為，我見過很多這樣的人，做他們 “應該做的 ”的人，遵循他們的責任的人，無數的罪行都是以責任的名義犯下：對自己的自尊心、自己的憤怒、自己的嫉妒，自己對家庭、國王、國家、或是自己的神的責任，每個罪犯都認為她知道這個世界 “應該 ”是怎樣的，而這個 “應該 ”正是導致一個人犯罪的原因。
T： I’m at a loss for words。But if I do what I want to do， won’t I get fat and lazy？M： Maybe。Maybe not。You might become the strongest you have ever been。T： How is that possible？M： When one lives sincerely， without being sheltered from the consequences of their actions，they truly learn。When one truly learns， the things they want change。After months of eating， drinking， and relaxing，you will suffer some consequences。And after these consequences， you may realize that is not how you truly want to spend your life。T： What if I can’t live life the way you suggest？What if I choose to live an insincere life？How can I focus then？M： Then you must get rid of all the things you genuinely want to do from your environment。
大正：我無言以對，但如果我做我想做的事，我會不會變得又胖又懶？和尚：也許會，也許不會，你也許會變得前所未有的強大。大正：這怎麼可能呢？和尚：當一個人真誠地生活並接受其行為帶來的後果時，他們才能真正的學習，當一個人真正學習的時候，他想要的東西就會發生變化，經過幾個月的吃喝玩樂和放鬆，你將承受一些後果而，在這些後果出現之後，你可能會意識到這並不是你真正想要的生活方式。大正：如果我無法按你建議的方式生活怎麼辦？如果我選擇過一種不真誠的生活呢？那我該如何集中？和尚：那麼你必須使你所處的環境中沒有任何你真正想做的事情。
Prisoners in your city often read and exercise when they are sent to prison because they have nothing better to do。You must design your life so that you have nothing better to do than your work。Remove it all， and then you might achieve the focus you desire。But then you will be a prisoner， and even in prison， you might not escape the distraction of your own thoughts。It’s your choice； live as you wish。——-Marcus Aurelius said that the path to ultimate focus was to do something worthwhile， and I explored the meaning behind this idea through a dialogue。
你所在城市的囚犯在被送入監獄後，經常閱讀和鍛鍊，因為他們沒有更好的事情可做，你必須設計規劃你的生活，使你沒有比你的工作更好的事情可做，把你喜歡的事情都移除，這樣你也許就能夠實現你想要的專注，但那樣你將與囚犯無異，並且即使在監獄裡你也可能無法擺脫自己思想的干擾，這是你的選擇；按你的意願生活吧。馬可·奧勒留說，想要做到心無旁騖，就要做你覺得有意義的事情，而我透過一段對話探討了這一想法背後的含義。
It seems that there are two ways to ultimate focus： sincerity or imprisonment。In today’s society， the popular way is the way of imprisonment。Someone who takes this path wishes they had a chamber that could seal them in for a set amount of time with nothing to do but their work。In fact， they’d prefer if they couldn’t physically leave the chamber until their work was actually finished。But that’s just a glorified prison。So if one takes the way of imprisonment， they spend their time downloading app blockers， a-lotting time for themselves to take a break，turning off the internet， removing the TV and game consoles， hiding their phone， isolating themselves in a quiet place， and in general，crafting an environment so there’s nothing better to do than their work。None of these activities are bad in themselves，but they are often just band-aids over the realer， deeper problem。Someone who takes this path spends their life in conflict with themselves。And at the end of the day， these tricks often don’t work。
看起來似乎有兩種方式可以達到心無旁騖的專注：真誠或監禁。在當今社會中更流行的是監禁的方式，選擇這種方式的人希望自己有一個密室，可以在一段時間內將他們封鎖其中，使他們除了工作什麼也做不了。事實上，他們可能更希望在他們的工作完成之前，都無法離開這個房間，但那其實只是一個美化的監獄。因此，如果一個人採取監禁的方式，他們會花很多時間下載應用程式阻止軟體，為自己留出很多時間來休息，斷開網路，移走電視和遊戲機，藏起他們的手機，把自己隔離在一個安靜的地方。透過各種做法，創造一個環境使其身處其中，沒有比工作更好的事可以做，這些行動本身都不是壞事，但它們往往只是一個貼在深層問題上的創可貼，選擇這種方式的人會生活在與自己的衝突之中，並且總有一天，這些技巧不再奏效。
The alternative path is the way of sincerity。When one lives sincerely， they easily and instantly become focused。And as one lives sincerely， without being sheltered from the consequences of their actions，they truly learn。And when one truly learns， they gain wisdom。And wisdom is the path to ultimate focus。If someone thinks I’m saying to follow your passion， or do what you love， or some other cliche instruction， they haven’t understood me。I’m saying when one does what they genuinely want to do， focus is the natural result。
另一條路是真誠之路，當一個人真誠地生活時，他很容易變得專注，當一個人真誠地生活，並接受其行為所帶來的後果時，他就能夠真正地學習，當一個人真正學習時，就會獲得智慧，而智慧就是通往終極專注的道路，如果有人認為我是在說要追隨你的激情或做你喜歡的事，或其他一些老生常談的指示，那麼他們還沒有真正理解我。
When someone does what they feel they should do， distraction is the natural result。When someone does what they genuinely want to do without being sheltered from the consequences，they become wiser。When someone does what they feel they should do， they gain knowledge at best， not wisdom。And wisdom is the path to ultimate focus。But at the end of the day， this is just my opinion and understanding of Marcus’ words and the nature of focus， not advice。Feel free to use this information however you like， and if you have a different take on Marcus’ words， I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments。
我是說，當一個人做他真正想做的事情時，專注是自然的結果，當一個人做他認為應該做的事時，分心是自然的結果。當一個人做他真正想做的事並接受其行為所帶來的後果，他就會變得更有智慧，當一個人做他覺得應該做的事，他最多獲得知識，而不是智慧，而智慧才是通向終極專注的道路，但終究這只是我對奧勒留的話以及專注的本質的看法和理解，並不是建議你可以隨意使用這些資訊，如果你對奧勒留的話有不同的看法，可以在評論中留下你的觀點。