If I were a Boy Again

By Steven Simth

If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was or inconvenient. If we want light, we must conquer darkness. Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “There are only two creatures,” syas a proverb, “who can surmount the pyramids—the eagle and the snail.” If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once. The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begain early enough. I often hear grown up people say “ I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so” , and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth. If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately; but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.

假如我又回到了童年，我做事要更有毅力，決不因為事情艱難或者麻煩而撒手不干，我們要光明，就得征服黑暗。毅力在效果上有時能同天才相比。俗話說：“能登上金字塔的生物，只有兩種——鷹和蝸牛。”假如我又回到了童年，我就要養成專心致志的習慣;有事在手，就決不讓任何東西讓我分心。我要牢記：優秀的滑冰手從不試圖同時滑向兩個不同的方向。如果及早養成這種專心致志的習慣，它將成為我們生命的一部分。我常聽成年人說：“雖然我希望能集中注意聽牧師講道或讀書，但往往做不到。”而原因就是年輕時沒有養成這種習慣。假如我現在能重新開始我的生命，我就要更注意記憶力的培養。我要采取一切可能的辦法，并且在一切可能的場合，增強記憶力。要正確無誤地記住一些東西，在開始階段的確要作出一番小小的努力;但要不了多久，記憶力本身就會起作用，使記憶成為輕而易舉的事，只需及早培養，記憶自會成為一種才能。