Having a Set of Rules to Live by Is a Great Tool for Success

雪莉·克朗奇/Sherrie Crouch

“人生法则”是一个人一生中所要努力遵循的指导方针。每个人小时候受教育的方式决定着他所要遵循的法则。可是，随着年龄的增长，人们的指导方针开始与父母出现分歧，他们开始拥有自己的法则。刚刚成年的我，似乎感觉到与父母已经有了分歧，并开始慢慢完善自己的人生法则了。我要遵循的法则有几条，然而其中最重要的三条是：善于接受、具有同情心和追求卓越。

我努力遵循的最重要的一条法则就是要善于接受。这条法则就是说不要独断。我想每个人在遭到批评或被评判之前，都应该有一个机会来证明自己是怎样的人。我也相信，多给别人几次机会是很有必要的。谁都会犯错误，我们都应该被允许去弥补这些过错。这个世界所面临的问题就是，人们经常仅听他人的一面之词，就对另一个人下定义。假如我们愿意花一些时间去了解他，就会看到这个人和我们想象的大为不同。

富有同情心是我所遵循的另一条指导方针，它和善于接受密不可分。富有同情心包括对他人要友善，表现出爱和温情，尊敬他人，诚实守信。这一切因素能够建立或破坏所有关系，不管是朋友之间、父母和子女之间、恋人之间，还是夫妻之间。对这些指导方针中的任意一条的忽视，都有可能破坏融洽的关系。心烦意乱，或者说一些伤人的话语都会破坏双方的关系，一旦有了持续不断的道歉，那么这种关系就不会持久了。假如我遵循了“己所不欲，勿施于人”的黄金准则，就不会为同情心这方面的问题而担忧了。

追求卓越是我所遵循的最后一条法则。追求卓越是一项非常艰巨的任务。每一天，我都要拿出勇气去面对这一天将会遇到的各种挑战。“勇气并非是通过那些奋斗后倒下的人表现出来的，而是由那些在战斗中倒下，而后又爬起来的人所定义的。”我相信在通往成功的道路上，对每一项决策和行为都承担责任是极其重要的。有些时候，我会犯错误，做出糟糕的决定，然而第二天我会改正错误，尽力做得更好。有些人应该从自身的错误中得到经验，另外一些人则从他人的过错中吸取教训。在追求卓越的过程中，最重要的一个因素便是坚定不移。“当事情变得糟糕时，让不利的因素消失。”当我的世界变得不尽如人意时，我就会在各方面多付出一点儿努力。“即使没了希望，也绝不让自己灰心丧气。”

在自己的生命历程中，我曾经作过许多决定，有些得益于别人的帮助，有些则完全依靠自己。假如没有我所遵循的这些指导方针的话，我的决定很可能会有所不同。我作决定时，从不介意别人如何看我，而是看这项决定是不是与我的“人生法则”相符。遵循一系列法则是实现成功的重要手段。可是，假如你意识到你所遵循的指导方针总是感觉不好，或是不令人满意，那就要审视一下自己。你会发现，你可能在遵循他人的“人生法则”。毕竟，这是你的生活，你应该遵循自己的生活法则。

The laws of life are a set of guidelines that individuals try to follow throughout their lives. The laws that each person lives by are often determined by the way they were taught as a child. As people grow older， however， they begin to branch away from the guidelines of their parents and start to conceive their own laws. As a young adult， I feel as though I have begun my separation from my parents and have started developing my own beliefs.There are several laws that I live by， but the three most important are receptiveness， compassion， and the pursuit of excellence.

One of the most important rules I try to live by is being receptive. By this I mean not being judgmental. I think every person should have a chance to prove him/herself before being criticized and judged. I also believe in giving people more than one chance. Everybody makes mistakes； we should be allowed to make up for them. A problem this world faces is that people make decisions by listening to what everyone else has to say about someone. If we would actually take time to get to know someone we might find that that person is completely different from what we thought.

Another guideline I live by is being compassionate， which goes hand in hand with being receptive. Being compassionate includes being kind to others， showing love and affection， treating others with respect， and just being honest. All these factors can make or break any relationship， whether it be among friends， parents and children， lovers， or husband and wife. Leaving out just one of these guidelines could wreak havoc on the best of relationships. Getting upset or saying something hurtful will not ruin the relationship， but if a relationship becomes a constant apology session it is destined to fail. If I follow the Golden Rule， "Treat others as you would want them to treat you." I should not have a problem being compassionate.

The final rule I live by is the pursuit of excellence. Pursuing excellence is a difficult task. Each day I have to find the courage to face the many challenges the day will bring. "Courage is not defined by those who fought and fell， but by those who fought， fell， and rose again." I believe in being responsible for every decision and action that I make along the path to success. Sometimes I make mistakes and bad decisions， but I am able to overcome them by striving to do better the next day. Some people have to learn from their own mistakes while others learn from the mistakes of others. The most important factor in the pursuit of excellence is perseverance. "When the going gets tough， the tough get going." When my world is coming unwound， I give everything a little extra effort. "Never let your head or your heart drop for that is when hope is lost."

Throughout my life I have had to make many decisions， some with the help of others and some completely on my own. My decisions probably would not have been the same if I did not have guidelines to live by. When I make a decision I do not base it on what others will think of me. I make my decision based on whether or not it will conform to my laws of life. Having a set of rules to live by is a great tool for success. However if you find yourself following guidelines and consequently feeling miserable and dissatisfied， then take a look inside yourself. You may find you are following someone else's laws of life. After all， it's your life； you should be following your own.