翻译完成后，我总结三句话：

一、坚持未必得胜利。锲而不舍会成功，那是因为方向正确、道路正确。否则，坚持不懈就是在慢性自杀，而坚持者浑然不知。

二、要在需要放弃的时候放弃。但何时是必要之时呢？因人而异，别人的情况只能是参考。但当你失去了兴趣、没有能力再坚持下去、投入大于产出，得不偿失的时候，就是你应该放弃的时候。

三、在放弃之前应该确立新的目标，俗称骑驴找马。“舍得”不是“舍”之后才得，而是“舍”之前就要得。否则，“舍”之后往往茫然不知所终。

这就是《掌握放弃的艺术》之中心思想。

 

近日，看到一段话，很符合《放弃的艺术》主题，分享之：

很多人有一种错觉，认为事情做不好是时间花得不够，却忽略了很可能是因为认知盲点、能力瓶颈、路径依赖、资源错配、决策失误或时运不济，于是把解决方案定为无限度延长工作时间……换句话说，我们总是通过时间上的“勤奋”来掩盖心智上的“懒惰”。

 

 Mastering the Art of Quitting

Why it Matters in Life, Love, and Work

  

 

放弃的艺术

为什么它在生活、爱情和工作中如此重要

作者 

佩格•斯特里普（Peg Streep）

艾伦•伯恩斯坦（Alan Bernstein）

 

 

For Alexandra Israel, best daughter, and Craig Weatherly, best Beagle

—P. S.

献给最棒的女儿亚历山德拉•伊斯雷尔（Alexandra Israel）

和克雷格•韦瑟利（Craig Weatherly）

　　－佩格•斯特里普

 

 

 Find out why the happiest, most successful people have the ability both to persist and to quit.

In a culture that perceives quitting as a last resort and urges us to hang in, Mastering the Art of Quitting tackles our tendencies to overanalyze, ruminate, and put a positive spin on goals that have outlived their usefulness.

找到最快乐和最成功的人既能坚持又能放弃的原因

虽然诞生在把放弃当作最后的无奈之举并极力主张坚持不懈的文化中，但《放弃的艺术》却要求人们改变钻牛角尖和左思右想的毛病，并对不再有效的目标做出积极的改变。

 

Bestselling author Peg Streep and psychotherapist Alan Bernstein demonstrate that persistence alone isn't always the answer. We also need to be able to quit to get the most out of life. They reveal simple truths that apply to goal setting and achievement in all areas of life, including love, relationships, and work:

畅销书作家佩格•斯特里普和心理治疗师艾伦•伯恩斯坦向世人表明：一味地坚持并不总能解决问题。为了将人生发挥得淋漓尽致，我们也需要能够做到放弃。他们揭示了几条简单的真理，可以应用于各种生活目标的设定和达成，涉及到爱、人际关系和工作等方面：

 

•Quitting promotes growth and learning, as well as the ability to frame new goals.

•Without the ability to give up, most people will end up in a discouraging loop.

•The most satisfied people know when it's time to stop persisting and start quitting.

•Quitting is a healthy, adaptive response when a goal can't be reached.

•放弃促进了成长和学习，并提升了构建新目标的能力。

•缺乏放弃的能力，大多数人最后会陷在一个令人沮丧的循环当中不能自拔。

•最能令人满意的人知道何时不再坚持和何时应该放弃。

•当目标无法达成时，放弃就是一种健康的、适应性的反应。

 

Featuring compelling stories of people who successfully quit, along with helpful questionnaires and goal maps to guide you on the right path, Mastering the Art of Quitting allows you to evaluate whether your goals are working for or against you, and whether you need to rechart certain aspects of your life.

《放弃的艺术》讲述了很多成功放弃之人的令人信服的故事，列出了有帮助的调查问卷，阐明了可以指导你步入正确人生道路的目标规划，可以让你评估自己所定目标是得偿所愿，还是难偿所愿，以及你是否需要重新规划生活的某些方面。

 

 

When is it time to stop persisting and start quitting?

Take a moment and answer the following questions. Just thinking about the answers will give you insight into your ability to quit artfully and restart your life.

•Do you believe that "winners never quit and quitters never win"?

•How realistic are you when it comes to setting goals?

•What matters more: staying the course or exploring new possibilities in life?

•How much of your sense of self relies on other people's judgments?

•Do you tend to hang in longer than you should, even when you're unhappy?

•When you try something new, do you focus on the effort you have to put in or the possibility of failure?

•Are you a procrastinator or a delayer when it comes to getting things done?

•How much do you worry about making a mistake? Do you second-guess yourself?

•How hard is it for you to get over a setback?

何时应该不再坚持，而是开始放弃呢？

请花几分钟，回答下述问题。仅仅思考一下答案就会让你深入了解自己是否具备巧妙放弃并开始新生活的能力。

•你相信“赢者永远不放弃，而放弃者永远不会赢”吗？

•当你着手设定目标时，你有多现实？

•何者更重要：坚持不懈还是探索生活中的新可能性？

•你在多大程度上会依赖他人的判断呢？

•即使不高兴，你也会坚持，并且超过你应当坚持的时间吗？

•尝试新事物时，你关心的是你必须付出努力，还是看到其失败的可能性？

•做事的时候，你是一个拖拖拉拉的人吗？

•你有多么担心出错？你会三思而后行吗？

•克服拖拉的毛病对你来说有多难？

  

 

About the Author

Peg Streep was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, and is the author or coauthor of ten books, including Mean Mothers and the bestselling Necessary Journeys, with Dr. Nancy L. Snyderman. She is a blogger at PsychologyToday.com. She lives in New York.

Alan B. Bernstein, LCSW, has written about careers and transitions (The Princeton Review's Guide to Your Career and Your Retirement, Your Way) and served on the faculty at New York Medical College and New York University's doctoral program in psychology. He lives in New York.

作者简介

佩格•斯特里普就读于美国宾夕法尼亚大学和哥伦比亚大学，自著或与他人合著了10本书，包括《缺乏爱心的妈妈》（Mean Mothers）以及和南希•斯奈德曼（Nancy L. Snyderman）博士合著的畅销书《必要之旅》（Necessary Journeys）。她是“今日心理学”网站（PsychologyToday.com）的一位博主。现居纽约。

艾伦•伯恩斯坦是一位执业临床社工（LCSW），撰写职业生涯及其转变方面的著作，比如普林斯顿评论出版社（The Princeton Review）出版的《您的职业规划指导》（Guide to Your Career）和《退休有法》（Your Retirement, Your Way），在纽约医学院和纽约大学的心理学博士点任教。现居纽约。