人必须不断超越极限

在李小龙(Bruce Lee)短短33年的人生中，他是如何创造出辉煌的成就，集武术大师、武术哲学家、武道改革先驱以及功夫电影先驱的名头为一身，以至于在他逝世多年后的今天，仍有数亿影迷对他无限敬仰，把他当成心目中的英雄和偶像？或许读了下面的故事，你便能找到答案。

Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We''''d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a-half minutes per mile].

So this morning he said to me, "We''''re going to go five." I said, "Bruce, I can''''t go five. I''''m a helluva2) lot older than you are, and I can''''t do five." He said, "When we get to three, we''''ll shift gears3) and it''''s only two more and you''''ll do it."

I said, "Okay, hell, I''''ll go for it." So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I''''m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out4). I''''m tired, my heart''''s pounding5), I can''''t go any more and so I say to him, "Bruce, if I run any more,"—and we''''re still running—"if I run any more, I''''m liable6) to have a heart attack and die."

He said, "Then die." It made me so mad that I went the full five miles.

Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, "Why did you say that?"

He said, "Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it''''ll spread over into the rest of your life. It''''ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus7), but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level."

布鲁斯每天都要叫我一起跑3英里(编注：约4.8公里)，跑得真的很快。我俩用二十一二分钟就能跑完全程，相当于不到八分钟就能跑1英里[注：1968年李小龙自己跑的时候，只用六分半就能跑完1英里]。

这天早上，他对我说：“咱们要开始跑5英里(编注：约8公里)了。”我回答他：“布鲁斯，我不行。我年纪比你大那么多，我可跑不了5英里。”他说：“咱俩跑到3英里处再重新开始计算，这样就只剩下2英里了，你就能跑下来了。”

我只好说：“好吧，该死的，那我就跑吧。”于是，跑完3英里后，我们开始跑第四英里。刚开始三四分钟还行，后来我真觉得自己开始筋疲力尽了。我累得不行，心脏怦怦直跳，实在跑不动了。我便对他说，“布鲁斯，我要是再继续跑下去，”——说这话时我们还在继续向前跑——“要是我再继续跑下去，我很可能就会因心脏病突发而死的。”

他回答道：“那就死吧。”他的话快把我气疯了，我一气之下跑完了这5英里。

后来去冲澡时，我想就今天的事跟他谈谈。我就问他：“你为什么要那样说？”

他说：“因为你的确有可能死掉。说真的，对于力所能及之事，如果你总是给自己设定种种限制，不论是身体上的还是其他方面的，这种限制就会伴随你度过余生。这种设限的习惯会延伸到你的工作、德行以及整个人生中去。人生本无‘限制’之说。虽会经历平原期，但你不能裹足不前，必须超越极限。如果这样做真能将你置于死地，那就随它去吧。人必须不断超越极限。”

1. John Little: 约翰·利特尔，加拿大人，作家，健身专家。他是研究李小龙的权威人物。本文选自他的《李小龙的肢体表达艺术》(Bruce Lee—The Art of Expressing Human Body)。这个故事是书上收录的李小龙的学生斯特林·西利冯特(Stirling Silliphant)讲述的一则李小龙轶事。

2. helluva [?hel?v?] adv. 特别，格外，极为

3. shift gears: 突然改变做法

4. give out: 筋疲力尽

5. pound [pa?nd] vi. (心等)剧跳

6. liable [?la??bl] adj. 有……危险的，可能遭受……的

7. plateau [?pl?t??] n. (活动或进程中的)稳定阶段，停滞时期