The Things Successful People Do Differently

    Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive(直觉的) answer--that you are born with certain talents and lacking in others--is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

    1）Get specific.

    When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. “Lose 5 pounds” is a better goal than “lose some weight,” because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll “eat less” or “sleep more” is too vague--be clear and precise. “I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights” leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

    2）Seize the moment to act on your goals.

    To seize the moment, decide in advance when and where you will take each action you want to take. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., “If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.”) Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.

    3）Know exactly how far you have left to go.

     Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress--if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently--weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

    It used to be a matter of fact when Peter Pan-a character from James Matthew Harrie's 1911 book-said: “All children, except one, grow up.”

    But this “fact” doesn't seem to apply to today's world anymore.

    According to the NPD Group, a US market research company, sales of toys to adults in the UK increased by more than 20 percent in 2016, three times the pace of the children's toy market itself. These toys varied from puzzles and Lego building sets to vehicle models and action figures. And more than half of the sales came from millennials-people born between the 1980s and 2000s.

    “Adults of the 21st century are channeling their inner child, one toy at a time,” commented website Koreaboo. This is also why these adults are sometimes looked to as “kidults”.

    According to Frederique Tutt, an analyst at NPD, the motivation of these grown-ups is to escape the stress of today's fast-paced world. They are driven toward the more immediate pleasures brought by toys than those brought by, say, getting a promotion, which is far less easy to achieve.

    “It reminds me of the playful side of life,” Rob Willner, a 25-year-old PhD student in the UK, told The Telegraph when talking about his love for Lego, which he said brings him both comfort and pleasure.

    Despite this, some social scientists see the trend as disturbing. To Frank Furendi, a professor at the University of Kent in the UK, the fact that so many adults are seeking “the excitement of youth” is the evidence that “adulthood has got nothing attractive about it anymore”, he told The New York Times. “That's actually quite sad.”

    But scientists are probably just worrying too much. According to Canadian comic book artist Todd McFarlane, collecting toys could simply be a way for people to express their individuality. “It's just pop culture stuff. It's stuff that says, ‘I like a little of this and I like a little of that',” he told ABC News. “It's no big deal.”

    So now that over 100 years have passed since Peter Pan, perhaps it's time to introduce a new “fact”, as stated in the tagline(标语) of the UK fashion brand KIDULT: “Growing old is mandatory (被迫的), but growing up is optional.”

    It was warm for a Sunday afternoon in early January. Kevin loved being outdoors among the wild rosebushes in front of his house with a view of distant mountains.

    It had been a good day for his wife, Sharon, too. They spent the morning in front of the house, talking and drinking tea. Sharon felt strong and tried her best to cook, starting a pot of homemade soup — a task that would have been nothing a few years ago, but is a little hard for her now. Her illness had left her weak, often puzzled.

    Sharon was the take-charge person in the family. She was seldom sick until 1997, when she began suffering from terrible headaches. One day at work, colleagues said she didn't look right and urged(敦促) her to go to the hospital. She rose from her chair and fell over. She could hear voices, but couldn't speak. It looked as if she'd had a stroke(中风).

    Other stroke-like symptoms (症状) followed. She had difficulty walking. She ran a fever all the time. The headaches never stopped. She and Kevin spent all their savings seeing doctors and on medical tests.

    In 2000, physicians said Sharon had brain damage that left her with symptoms resembling dementia (痴呆症). Once, she visited a familiar store and couldn't remember where the exit was. Another time, she was making spaghetti, but didn't know what to do after the water boiled.

    After seeing specialists, Kevin and Sharon came to believe that exposure(接触) to mould(霉菌) had caused Sharon's condition. Her world was certainly getting worse. At times she needed a wheelchair. The woman who never liked asking for help had to stay at home and rely on her husband.

    Lost cities that have been found

    The White City

    In 2015, a team of explorers to Honduras in search of “the Lost City of the Monkey God” led to the discovery of the White City. They found the ruins in the Mosquitia region of the Central American country — which is known for poisonous snakes, vicious jaguars and deadly insects. It is believed that local people hid here when the Spanish conquerors(征服者)occupied their homeland in the 16th century.

    Canopus and Heracleion

    Modern researchers were teased by the ancient writings about the Egyptian cities Canopus and Heracleion — where Queen Cleopatra often visited. But the cities weren't found until 1992, when a search in Alexandria waters found that the two cities had been flooded for centuries. Artifacts(史前器物)showed that the cities once highly developed as a trade network, which helped researchers piece together more about the last queen of Egypt.

Machu Picchu

    A Yale professor discovered “the Lost City in the Clouds” in 1911. A combination palaces, plazas, temples and homes, Machu Picchu displays the Inca Empire at the height of its rule. The city, which was abandoned in the 16th century for unknown reasons, was hidden by the local people from the Spanish conquerors for centuries, keeping it so well preserved.

Troy

    The ancient city of Troy in Homer's The Iliad was considered a fictional setting for his characters to run wild. But in 1871, explorations in northwestern Turkey exposed nine ancient cities layered(层叠)on top of each other, the earliest dating back to about 5,000 years before. It was later determined that the sixth or seventh layer contained the lost city of Troy and that it was actually destroyed by an earthquake, not a wooden horse.

    A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus. The conductor hurried to give her a warm welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her kid. On seeing this, people were surprised and began to talk." You know this conductor used to be very rude. Now suddenly he has changed his bad behavior, "said a middle-aged man.

    "Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company," said a second passenger." That's right," another lady said, "I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this conductor."

    Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said, "Excuse me, but can I know your name, please? Your excellent service must be praised…"

    Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old kid sitting on the young woman's lap interrupted, "I know his name; I call him Dad."

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.

My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I'm so glad I did.

On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big hums (脊背) in the distance.

On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn't believe it—there aren't any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.

The little baby whale—actually as big as our boat—was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools (漩涡) and waves. "She's trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side," my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe—and to give us a trusting (信任的) look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.

In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.