目标是人生的方向

1. On the early morning of July 4th， 1952， on the island of Santa Catalina， 21 miles west of the coast of California， 34-year-old Florence Chadwick jumped into the Pacific Ocean and swam towards the coast. If she succeeded， she would be the first woman to swim across the channel.

1952年7月4日清晨，加利福尼亚海岸以西21英里的圣卡塔利娜岛上，34岁的费罗伦丝・查德威克跳进太平洋，开始向加州海岸游去。要是成功了，她就是第一个游过这个海峡的女性。

2. That morning， the thick fog made her see nothing， even the boat that escorted1 her. Many hours passed and thousands of people watched her on TV. The sharks got close to her a few times， but were frightened away by the shots. She continued. In the past， the big problem for her was not tiredness but freezing sea water.

那天早晨，雾很大，她连护送她的船都几乎看不到。时间一个钟头一个钟头过去，千千万万人在电视上注视着她。有几次，鲨鱼靠近了她，被人开枪吓跑了。她继续游着。以往，她的最大问题不是疲劳，而是刺骨的海水。

3. Fifteen hours later， she was numb2 with cold. Her mother and the coach told her not to give up. She looked towards the California Coast， but saw nothing but the thick fog. She knew she could not go on， so she asked people to pull her onto the boat.

15个钟头之后，她被冻得浑身发麻。她的母亲和教练叫她不要放弃。但她朝加州海岸望去，除了迷雾什么也看不到。她知道自己不能再游了，就叫人拉她上船。

4. In the boat， she felt warmer. She said to the reporter without thinking， “To tell you the truth， if I had seen the land， I would have gone on.” The place she was pulled onto the boat was only half a mile from the coast of California.

上船后，她渐渐觉得暖和多了。她不假思索地对记者说：“说实在的，如果当时我看见陆地，也许我能坚持下来。”人们拉她上船的地点，离加州海岸只有半英里！

5. When she talked about this， she said the real thing made her give up was not tiredness or coldness but that she could not see the aim in the thick fog.

当她向人们谈起这次经历时，她说，真正令她半途而废的不是疲劳，也不是寒冷，而是因为在迷雾中看不到目标。

6. Two months later， she swam across the same channel successfully. She was not only the first woman to swim across the Channel of Santa Catalina but also about 2 hours faster than men’s record. She was a good swimmer， but she still needed the aim to finish her task with courage.

2个月之后，她成功地游过了同一个海峡。她不但是第一位游过圣卡塔利娜海峡的女性，而且比男子的纪录还快了大约两个钟头。查德威克虽然是个游泳健将，但也要看见目标，才能鼓足干劲完成任务。

感悟：当你规划自己的成功时，千万别低估了制定可行性目标的重要性。许多人埋头苦干，却不知所为何来，到头来发现成功的阶梯搭错了方向，为时已晚。所以，我们必须掌握真正的方向，拟定可行性目标，澄明思想，凝聚继续向前的力量。