原文作者：steve

　在人生的旅途中，我们总要面对各种各样的选择，比如选择是在熟悉的家乡上大学，还是离开家人到外地求学。又或者当你在某一个领域已经取得一定成绩，你会选择继续留在那个“comfort zone”（舒适区），还是放弃已经拥有的一切，去开辟一片新天地呢？本文作者毅然选择了后者，你对此又有什么看法？不妨和同学讨论一下。
 　　at a recent visit to the beautiful keukenhof flower gardens注 in holland， i learned about the practice of 1）topping. as flowers grow， sometimes the growers cut off the tops of the flowers， which they believe causes the plants to 2）invest more energy into flower growth and less into seed production. the expected result is flower buds that will produce higher quality flowers. [论文网]
 　　this is a nice 3）analogy for personal growth as well. sometimes when we produce our first results in a certain area， it can be helpful to cut them off and get rid of them. this can free up energy for a stronger 4）attempt elsewhere instead of settling into the comfort zone of satisfaction with the old results.
　　after running my computer games business for ten years and creating satisfying results with it， i decided to drop it and leave that field behind. this freed up my energy to focus on my personal development writing and speaking. if i’d kept running the old business， i’d have become more 5）trapped in that field， planting more seeds there， so to speak. this would have meant less energy to invest in my new path and weaker results.
 　　it can be difficult to choose the topping 6）approach because you’re taking something that’s already satisfying and cutting it out of your life， in the hopes that something even better will grow in its place. but if you don’t do this， then you can easily slow your future growth， causing more energy to be invested in planting even more seeds around the old path. when you 7）decline to make cuts， you 8）effectively say： this is as good as it will ever be， so i’m going to settle myself here.
 　　do you want to settle where you are right now？ if so， then topping is unnecessary. but if you’d like to do better and believe you have a good 9）shot at improvement， just like the flower growers at keukenhof， then topping is a 10）sensible practice.
　　when you feel like life is becoming too boring， try mixing things up now and then. in many cases you can 11）apply topping on a temporary basis by dropping old 12）routines and trying something new for a while.
 　　as a way to mix things up， i’ve been traveling 13）continuously since april， first to germany， then holland， and now i’m in the uk. by the time i return to las vegas， i’ll have been in europe for a month. that’s not only my longest trip to europe but also my longest trip ever away from my home base.

　　during this time， i’ve dropped my old routine that i would normally use at home， and i’m trying something different for a while. i arrived with a one-way ticket， with only part of the trip planned 14）in advance. even though my old routine was reasonably satisfying， by choosing to cut it out

for a while， i no longer need to invest any energy in maintaining that routine. that means more energy is freed up for exploration and growth. that’s basically what i’m doing each day—going out， having new experiences， meeting new people， exploring， learning， and growing.
 　　i didn’t break with the old routine because of any problems with it. i broke away because i didn’t want to allow myself to get 15）stuck， even in a seemingly good place.
　　when you stay still for long enough， you put down seeds. as time passes， these seeds develop stronger and stronger roots. your 16）reality becomes 17）solid， and this can make change more difficult. your thoughts and feelings may become 18）repetitive and circular. your 19）physical environment may begin to have more and more control over your daily routine. pretty soon you notice that as the years are passing， little is changing in your life. this is the comfort zone.
 　　if you like the comfort zone and wish to stay there， that’s your choice. i prefer not to get stuck there for too long. as soon as life becomes a little too comfortable， and i feel like i can just relax into the satisfaction of maintaining the 20）status quo， i feel the 21）urge to break free of that reality and go for more growth.
 　　stepping outside of your comfort zone is an uncomfortable experience， but it can 22）yield a lot more growth than staying 23）put. during my euro trip， for instance， each day brings new challenges， like making the mistake of taking the stairs from the bottom of an underground station in london. but with so much to explore and learn each day， it feels like every day includes minor victories that i seldom experience at home.
 　　dropping satisfaction to go for more growth is not an easy path to follow， but i do find it to be the more beautiful path. do you feel the same？
　　前不久我去荷兰游览了美丽的库肯霍夫花园，并学了一点剪枝的技巧。wwW.11665.com在花朵的生长过程中，栽培者有时候会剪掉花的枝尖，因为他们认为剪掉尖部，花朵会开得更加绚烂，避免结出太多种子。人们期望剪枝能够让花蕾开出更高质量的鲜花。
 　　这与个人的成长十分相似。有时当我们在某一领域取得某些成就后，放弃这些业已取得的成就大有益处。这样做能够腾出更多精力在其他领域做更大的尝试，而不是抱着已有成果沉浸于安逸的生活。
 　　在电脑游戏行业打拼十年后，我取得了令人满意的成绩。在这之后，我决定退出并离开这个领域。如此一来我就能将更多精力投入到写作和演讲上去。假如我没有放弃老本行，现在势必俗务缠身，也可以说是在旧领域撒下更多种子。这也意味着我没有多少精力投入到新领域，成果也不会如此丰硕。

　　选择尖部剪枝法不是一件易事，因为你要放弃和截除生活中那些令自己相当满意的事情，以期望一些更完满的事情出现。但如果你不这样做，那你就会放慢走向美好未来的脚步，花费更多精力在旧土地播种。当你拒绝“剪枝”的时候，你实际上是在说：这种生活再好不过了，所以我就这样了。
 　　你安于现状吗？如果确实如此，那么就没有剪枝的必要了。但如果你想要做得更好而且相信自己会有很大提高的话——就像库肯霍夫花园的鲜花栽培者一样，剪枝是个明智之举。
 　　当你发现生活毫无生气的时候，不妨偶尔转变一下生活方式。在很多方面，你可以抛开因循守旧的生活方式，暂时采取剪枝法，短暂地尝试新事物。
　　作为一种转变生活方式的办法，自从4月以来，我一直在旅行，先是到了德国，然后是荷兰，现在我在英国。到我返回拉斯维加斯的时候，我在欧洲已经停留了一个月。那不仅是我最长的欧洲之旅，同时也是我离家最远的一次旅行。
 　　在此期间，我摆脱了之前待在家里因循守旧的生活方式，并且暂时尝试不同的生活方式。我买了一张单程票，而且只有一部分行程是预先计划好的。尽管我觉得原有的生活方式挺让人满意的，但通过选择暂时的割舍，我不再需要投入任何精力去维持那种生活方式。这意味着我有更多精力用于探索和进步。基本上这是我每天做的事情——外出、体验新环境、遇见陌生人、探索、学习并成长。
 　　我没有因为任何困扰而摆脱原先的生活方式。我摆脱它是不想让自己受困而已，即使是受困于一个看似美好的地方。
　　当你在一个地方停留足够长的时间之后，你会在那里撒下种子。日积月累，这些种子会逐渐生根发芽。你越来越安于现状，这使得改变越发艰难。你的思想和感觉会变得机械，周而复始。物质环境可能开始对你的日常生活施加越来越强的控制力。不久你就

会注意到随着时光流逝，你的生活没有多少改变。这就是所谓的舒适区。
 　　如果你喜欢舒适区而且希望长久地驻足，那是你的选择。我宁愿不做过久的停留。当生活变得有点过于安逸，我只会满足于维持现状，这时我感觉到了挣脱现实、争取进步的欲望。
 　　踏出舒适区是一种令人不快的经历，但它却能比止步不前为你带来更多成长体验。在我的欧洲之旅中，每一天我都面临新的挑战，比如有一次因为走错路而要从伦敦某一个地铁站的底部爬楼梯。但每天都有很多东西等着我去探索和学习，就像每天都有小小的成功在等待着我，这是我在家中很少能够体验到的。
 　　割舍自己的满足去追求进步不是一条容易的路，但我确实发现它更加美好。你也这样认为吗？