When we think about the dreams we have, it is surprising to see how many people failed even if they could have succeeded. So today I'm going to tell you five ways to kill your dreams.

    Believe in overnight success.

    Everyone knows the story of a tech guy who built a mobile app and sold it for a lot of money. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} If you investigate further, you will find that he is well educated and has been working on the project for 20 years. Therefore, your overnight success is always a result of what you've done in your life.

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    Constantly, people around you always have opinions on which path you should take. But whichever way you choose, there are other ways you have to pick as well. And one day you need to solve those problems yourself.

Decide to rest when success is guaranteed.

When your life is going great and everything is set— time to rest. Actually, when you're growing towards a peak, you need to work even harder and find yourself another peak. If you were content with what you've accomplished, it would stop you from a greater success. 

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    Believe the fault is someone else's.

    I constantly see people saying, “I created this great product, but the market is so bad.” If you have dreams, it's your responsibility to make them happen. Yes, the market may be bad. But if no one bought your product, surely there is something there that is your fault.

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    Believe that the only things that matter are the dreams themselves.

    Achieving a dream is a short moment, but your life is not. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And the only way to really achieve all of your dreams is to fully enjoy every step of your journey.

A. When we face difficulties, believe in ourselves.

B. The overnight success inspires so many people.

C. The story may seem real, but I bet it's incomplete.

D. Be responsible for your own dreams.

E. Life is never about the goals themselves.

F. There's no time to settle down.

G. Believe someone else has the answers for you.

    Lots of people find it hard to get up in the morning and put the blame on the alarm clock. In fact, the key to easy morning wake-up lies in resting your body clock{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Here is how to make one.

    ● {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In order to make a change, you need to decide why it's important. Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise, or just be better prepared for your day? Once you are clear about your reason, tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make.

    ● Rethink mornings. Now that you know why you want to wake up, consider re-arranging your morning activities. If you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags.{#blank#}3{#/blank#}That's a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping if you bought a coffee maker with a timer.

    ● Keep your sleep/wake schedule on weekends. If you're tired out by Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday could sound wonderful. But compensating on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week, a recent study found. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    ● Keep a record and evaluate it weekly. Keep track of your efforts and write down how you feel. After you've tried a new method for a week, take a look at your record.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}If not, take another look at other methods you could try.

How to be realistic

    In order to be realistic, you must understand yourself and the world around you. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}You still need to challenge yourself, but if you have tried something several times, then you need to accept that maybe you can't do it. Keep yourself firmly on the ground and read on.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Try new things and do your best at them, but if you find that it is something you can't do after many tries, accept the failures and be realistic.

      Explain to others that you are being realistic in your approach. When you hit the wall, back off. You can't continue to bang your head against the wall. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Some people don't accept them, but they are there.

    Challenge yourself. You need to try before you can be realistic and say, “I can't do that.” No one ever got anywhere without trying. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Sometimes you need to find the one that works for you.

    Follow what you believe. People may tell you that you can do something if you try hard enough, and sometimes they are right. But if you know that you can't do it, follow what you believe.

    See what is there. You don't need to analyze everything. Don't look below the surface. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Always expect what you know to be realistic. Don't look for miracles.

A. Everyone has limitations.

B. Approach life realistically.

C. Just take everything at face value.

D. You can be realistic and just go with the flow.

E. Many things can be achieved in different ways.

F. Understand what you can do and what you can't.

G. You must be able to see exactly what you are capable of.

    Please wear loose clothing, mostly cotton. It is obvious that wearing clothing that is loose rather than tight is welcomed in summer. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. This carries away the warmth that your body produces and allows cooler air to flow back in.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. When it's really hot out, materials that “breathe” — allowing the flow of air through the fabric (衣料) itself — also work to keep you cool. Cotton and linen are among the most breathable fabrics，so look for clothes made of those substances.

    Your body controls its temperature via a small peanut-shaped section of the brain known as the hypothalamus (下丘脑). {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. It turns the temperature up or down based on various factors — such as how cold or hot the skin is.

    Certain parts of the skin have a larger influence than others. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. They get their name because you can feel your pulse there, and the reason you can do that is because vessels are so close to the edge of your skin that one can easily hear or feel the flow of blood.

    When you want to lower your body temperature, cooling those pulse points with cold water or ice sends a signal to the brain that says, “Turn cold.” {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. Focus on pulse points that are easy to reach: the insides of your wrists, the area around your temple, and your neck. Holding an ice pack or even a cold washcloth against the skin on these regions will make your entire body feel cooler.

A. It allows air to flow past the skin

B. Sweating helps to cool off the skin

C. These areas are called pulse points (脉冲点)

D. The type of fabric you wear has an influence, too

E. This fools your brain into turning down its thermostat (恒温器)

F. This region works almost like a thermostat in a home

G. Exercising in extreme heat is usually not recommended

    Building the thinking habit is important because it helps you live with a purpose. How can we build the thinking habit? Here are some tips.

    Be curious

    Curiosity is powerful. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It also helps you recognize the ideas when they come. Curiosity is an important attitude to have in building the thinking habit.

    Read widely

    If you want to come up with good ideas, you need to feed your mind with good ideas. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}This will give you fresh, new ideas. Don't just read from the fields you are familiar with. Read from other fields as well.

    Read actively

    Not only should you read widely, but also you should read actively. Find some ideas and think about how you can use them. My favorite way to do this is by highlighting the book I read. I will then put the actionable ideas in my idea journal (笔记). {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Keep an idea journal

    When you find a good idea, don't just keep it in your mind. Instead, write it down to catch the idea. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Keeping an idea journal makes you more sensitive to new ideas. You will quickly recognize them because you already have the habit of catching ideas.

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    Of course, it doesn't do you much good if you just write down ideas. Take time to read these ideas every now and then. In my case, I mark the ideas that I consider important and review them regularly. This often opens the way to new ideas.

A. Design your own ideas

B. Go over your ideas

C. In this way, others can also benefit from your ideas.

D. One way to do that is to read.

E. Otherwise, the idea might be gone forever.

F. It makes you like finding new ideas.

G. This helps me get the most out of the book.

    Some embarrassing situation pack a double effect: not only do you embarrass yourself, but, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You say to a friend that another friend is such a copycat (无主见的人), and then realize the copycat is standing right behind you. You imitate your teacher's unusual accent just as teacher walks in. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Making a joke now would make the situation even worse, so don't go there. Although you might feel like running away or even crying, {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Instead, apologize, "I'm so sorry. That was really mean of me."

    If you've been disrespectful to a teacher or a parent, accept whatever consequences without complaint. If you've hurt a friend, do your best to make it up to them. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. If someone else bring it up, just say," I feel bad enough about that—can we just let it go, please?"

    The next time you're stuck in an embarrassing moment, remind yourself that you're a strong person and you can get through this. Stay calm and act confident and {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.