Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling | Emilie Wapnick | TED

翻译人员: Hong Li 校对人员: Gabriella Hu

Raise your hand if you've ever been asked the question

如果你们曾被问过这个问题，请举手

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

“你长大之后想干什么？”

Now if you had to guess,

现在大家回想一下，

how old would you say you were when you were first asked this question?

你们第一次被问这个问题是多大？

You can just hold up fingers.

你们可以举手指头来示意一下。

Three. Five. Three. Five. Five. OK.

三岁，五岁，三岁，五岁，五岁，好的。

Now, raise your hand if the question

接下来，如果刚刚说的这个问题，

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

“你长大之后想干什么？”

has ever caused you any anxiety.

曾经让你感到焦虑，请举手。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Any anxiety at all.

哪怕一点点焦虑。

I'm someone who's never been able to answer the question

我永远无法回答这个问题，

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

“你长大之后想干什么？”

See, the problem wasn't that I didn't have any interests --

并不是说我没有兴趣爱好，

it's that I had too many.

而是我的兴趣爱好太多。

In high school, I liked English and math and art and I built websites

高中的时候，我喜欢英语、 数学和艺术，建过网站

and I played guitar in a punk band called Frustrated Telephone Operator.

在一个叫“失意电话话务员” 的朋克乐队当吉他手。

Maybe you've heard of us.

也许你们还听说过我们乐队呢。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This continued after high school,

高中毕业后我也依旧兴趣广泛，

and at a certain point, I began to notice this pattern in myself

某一天，我发现自己有一个行为模式，

where I would become interested in an area

我会对某一个领域感兴趣，

and I would dive in, become all-consumed,

然后一头扎进去，认真钻研，

and I'd get to be pretty good at whatever it was,

变得越来越擅长，

and then I would hit this point where I'd start to get bored.

但到了某一个阶段， 我就会开始觉得无聊。

And usually I would try and persist anyway,

通常我会继续坚持下去，

because I had already devoted so much time and energy

因为我已经投入了很多时间和精力，

and sometimes money into this field.

有时候还有金钱。

But eventually this sense of boredom,

但是最终这种无聊的感觉，

this feeling of, like, yeah, I got this, this isn't challenging anymore --

就像在说，哦，这事我已经会了， 已经没有任何挑战了，

it would get to be too much.

再继续也不会有多大成就了。

And I would have to let it go.

我必须要放手。

But then I would become interested in something else,

但之后我可能又会对另一些事感兴趣，

something totally unrelated, and I would dive into that,

跟之前完全不同的领域， 我又会一头扎进去，

and become all-consumed, and I'd be like, "Yes! I found my thing,"

认真钻研，然后说， “太棒了！这就是我的菜！”

and then I would hit this point again where I'd start to get bored.

之后我又会达到那个阶段， 开始觉得无聊。

And eventually, I would let it go.

最后，我又会放弃。

But then I would discover something new and totally different,

之后我又会发现新的兴趣，不同的领域

and I would dive into that.

然后一头扎进去。

This pattern caused me a lot of anxiety,

这种模式让我非常焦虑，

for two reasons.

原因有两点。

The first was that I wasn't sure

一是我不确定

how I was going to turn any of this into a career.

如何才能将这些兴趣变成我的职业。

I thought that I would eventually have to pick one thing,

我觉得自己最终会从 （这些兴趣）里面挑一个，

deny all of my other passions,

而对其他爱好忍痛割爱，

and just resign myself to being bored.

做好将来一定会无聊的心理准备。

The other reason it caused me so much anxiety

让我非常焦虑的第二个原因，

was a little bit more personal.

跟我自身有关。

I worried that there was something wrong with this,

我担心自己的这种行为模式是错的，

and something wrong with me for being unable to stick with anything.

自己这么朝三暮四，是不是错了。

I worried that I was afraid of commitment,

我是不是害怕做出承诺，

or that I was scattered, or that I was self-sabotaging,

或者自由散漫，破罐子破摔，

afraid of my own success.

惧怕成功。

If you can relate to my story and to these feelings,

如果你能理解我的故事和我的感受，

I'd like you to ask yourself a question

请你们问自己一个问题，

that I wish I had asked myself back then.

这个问题我早就该问自己的。

Ask yourself where you learned to assign the meaning of wrong or abnormal

就是，你是从哪里学到该如何判断 我们的所作所为

to doing many things.

是错误的或者不正常的。

I'll tell you where you learned it:

我来告诉你答案：

you learned it from the culture.

是从我们的文化中学到的。

We are first asked the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

我们第一次被问到“你长大之后想干什么？”

when we're about five years old.

是在差不多五岁的时候。

And the truth is that no one really cares what you say when you're that age.

其实像你那么大的时候 没有人会真的关心你说了什么。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's considered an innocuous question,

这仅仅是一个无伤大雅的问题，

posed to little kids to elicit cute replies,

为的是让小朋友做出可爱的回应，

like, "I want to be an astronaut," or "I want to be a ballerina,"

比如，“我想当宇航员”， 或者“我想当芭蕾舞演员”，

or "I want to be a pirate."

或者“我想当海盗”。

Insert Halloween costume here.

此处应加万圣节服装的特效。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But this question gets asked of us again and again as we get older

然而这个问题，在我们 成长的过程中会不断被问到

in various forms -- for instance, high school students might get asked

形式多种多样，比如，高中生会被问到，

what major they're going to pick in college.

你们在大学准备选什么专业。

And at some point,

突然有一天，

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

“你长大之后想干什么？”

从原本一种秀可爱的方式

goes from being the cute exercise it once was

to the thing that keeps us up at night.

变成了让我们寝食难安的难题。

Why?

为什么会这样？

See, while this question inspires kids to dream about what they could be,

尽管这个问题鼓励小朋友 想象自己将来要做什么，

it does not inspire them to dream about all that they could be.

但它并未给小朋友充分想象的自由。

In fact, it does just the opposite,

恰恰相反，它限制了小朋友想象的自由，

because when someone asks you what you want to be,

因为有人问你长大后想做什么，

you can't reply with 20 different things,

你不可能回答20种不同的职业，

though well-meaning adults will likely chuckle and be like,

尽管有些善良的大人会笑呵呵地说，

"Oh, how cute, but you can't be a violin maker and a psychologist.

“哦，你太可爱了，但是你不能 同时成为小提琴制作家和心理学家啊。

You have to choose."

你必须选一个。”

This is Dr. Bob Childs --

这位是鲍勃·柴尔兹博士，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and he's a luthier and psychotherapist.

他是一名弦乐器工匠和心理医生。

And this is Amy Ng, a magazine editor turned illustrator, entrepreneur,

这位是艾米·恩，之前是杂志编辑， 后来成为插画作家，企业家

teacher and creative director.

教师和创意总监。

But most kids don't hear about people like this.

但大部分孩子都没听说过他们。

All they hear

他们听到的

is that they're going to have to choose.

只是要他们进行选择和取舍。

But it's more than that.

事情远不止这么简单。

The notion of the narrowly focused life

一生都心无旁骛的这一观念，

is highly romanticized in our culture.

在我们的文化中被过分浪漫化了。

It's this idea of destiny or the one true calling,

这种命运论或者说 “命中注定的职业”的概念，

the idea that we each have one great thing

意思是我们每个人都有一份

we are meant to do during our time on this earth,

命中注定的伟大事业，

and you need to figure out what that thing is

我们需要找到它，

and devote your life to it.

并为之奋斗一生。

But what if you're someone who isn't wired this way?

但如果你不是这样的人呢？

What if there are a lot of different subjects that you're curious about,

如果你对很多事都有好奇心，

and many different things you want to do?

想去尝试各种各样的职业呢？

Well, there is no room for someone like you in this framework.

那么在现有体系中，你很难有容身之处。

And so you might feel alone.

你也许会感到孤独。

You might feel like you don't have a purpose.

你也许会觉得自己没有目标。

And you might feel like there's something wrong with you.

你也许会觉得自己是不是有问题。

There's nothing wrong with you.

你没有问题。

What you are is a multipotentialite.

你是一名“多重潜力者”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

A multipotentialite is someone with many interests and creative pursuits.

“多重潜力者”拥有多种兴趣并且追求创新。

It's a mouthful to say.

听起来很费解吧。

It might help if you break it up into three parts:

如果把它拆成三部分可能比较好理解：

multi, potential, and ite.

多重的，有潜力的，人。

You can also use one of the other terms that connote the same idea,

你也可以用其他词来表述类似的意思，

such as polymath, the Renaissance person.

比如“博学者”，或者“文艺复兴者”。

Actually, during the Renaissance period,

实际上，在文艺复兴时代，

it was considered the ideal to be well-versed in multiple disciplines.

精通多个学科是非常被推崇的。

Barbara Sher refers to us as "scanners."

芭芭拉·谢尔称我们为“扫描仪”。

Use whichever term you like, or invent your own.

你可以选择一个自己喜欢的词， 或者创造一个新的。

I have to say I find it sort of fitting that as a community,

我感觉自己找到了组织，

we cannot agree on a single identity.

因为我们无法接受只有一种身份。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's easy to see your multipotentiality

人们很容易把多重潜力

as a limitation or an affliction that you need to overcome.

视为一种局限或者痛苦，需要克服。

But what I've learned through speaking with people

但我通过与人们交流，

and writing about these ideas on my website,

以及把这些观点发到我的网站上，

is that there are some tremendous strengths to being this way.

我发现多重潜力者有很多优点。

Here are three

多重潜力者

multipotentialite super powers.

拥有三种“超能力”。

One: idea synthesis.

第一是产生创意。

That is, combining two or more fields

就是说，结合两个或两个以上领域

and creating something new at the intersection.

从结合处寻求创新。

Sha Hwang and Rachel Binx drew from their shared interests

黄沙和瑞秋·宾克斯 找到了共同的兴趣爱好，

in cartography, data visualization, travel, mathematics and design,

像制图，数据可视化，旅行，数学和设计，

when they founded Meshu.

之后他们创办了Meshu。

Meshu is a company that creates custom geographically-inspired jewelry.

Meshu是一家定制珠宝公司， 专门制作具有地域特色的珠宝。

Sha and Rachel came up with this unique idea

黄沙和瑞秋之所以能产生这个独特的创意，

not despite, but because of their eclectic mix of skills and experiences.

正是因为他俩博学多才，经历丰富。

Innovation happens at the intersections.

创新来源于交叉处。

That's where the new ideas come from.

新创意（大都）来源于此。

And multipotentialites, with all of their backgrounds,

而多重潜力者，拥有丰富的（知识）背景，

are able to access a lot of these points of intersection.

能够在各领域交叉处找到突破点。

The second multipotentialite superpower

多重潜力者的第二种超能力

is rapid learning.

是快速学习。

When multipotentialites become interested in something,

当多重潜力者对某件事产生兴趣时，

we go hard.

我们会全身心投入。

We observe everything we can get our hands on.

我们仔细观察，勤于实践。

We're also used to being beginners,

我们已经习惯于当初学者，

because we've been beginners so many times in the past,

因为我们过去曾当过无数次初学者，

and this means that we're less afraid of trying new things

我们不怕尝试新事物，

and stepping out of our comfort zones.

勇于走出舒适区。

What's more, many skills are transferable across disciplines,

除此以外，很多能力在各个学科都是通用的，

and we bring everything we've learned to every new area we pursue,

我们将之前所学用于新领域，

so we're rarely starting from scratch.

而不用从零开始。

Nora Dunn is a full-time traveler and freelance writer.

诺拉·邓恩是一位全职旅行家和自由作家。

As a child concert pianist, she honed an incredible ability

作为一名儿童钢琴演奏家， 她磨练出了非凡的能力

to develop muscle memory.

来发展肌肉记忆。

Now, she's the fastest typist she knows.

因此，她是她所有认识的人中打字最快的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Before becoming a writer, Nora was a financial planner.

在当作家之前，诺拉是一名理财师。

She had to learn the finer mechanics of sales

在初入这行的时候，

when she was starting her practice,

她不得不学习一些高明的销售技巧，

and this skill now helps her write compelling pitches to editors.

如今这项技能被她用来 给编辑写精彩的推荐语。

It is rarely a waste of time to pursue something you're drawn to,

追求你感兴趣的东西并不是浪费时间，

even if you end up quitting.

即使最后你并没有坚持到底。

You might apply that knowledge in a different field entirely,

也许将来你会把这些知识 用在一个完全不同的领域，

in a way that you couldn't have anticipated.

用一种你完全预料不到的方式。

The third multipotentialite superpower

第三种“超能力”

is adaptability;

是适应性。

that is, the ability to morph into whatever you need to be

也就是说，如果有需要， 你能变成任何角色，

in a given situation.

以适应不同的情况。

Abe Cajudo is sometimes a video director, sometimes a web designer,

艾比·卡胡多有时候是视频导演， 有时候是网站设计师，

sometimes a Kickstarter consultant, sometimes a teacher,

有时候是众筹顾问， 有时候是老师，

and sometimes, apparently, James Bond.

有时候，很明显，是詹姆斯·邦德。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

He's valuable because he does good work.

他拥有出色的工作能力。

He's even more valuable because he can take on various roles,

更重要的是他可以随时切换自己的角色，

depending on his clients' needs.

来满足客户的需要。

Fast Company magazine identified adaptability

《快公司》杂志认为，

as the single most important skill to develop in order to thrive

要想在21世纪取得成功，适应性是

in the 21st century.

最重要的一项技能。

The economic world is changing so quickly and unpredictably

经济界的变化如此迅速且无法预测，

that it is the individuals and organizations that can pivot

那些能够根据市场需要进行调整

in order to meet the needs of the market that are really going to thrive.

的个人和公司才有可能取得成功。

Idea synthesis, rapid learning and adaptability:

产生创意，快速学习和适应性

three skills that multipotentialites are very adept at,

是多重潜力者非常擅长的三种能力，

and three skills that they might lose if pressured to narrow their focus.

如果强迫他们缩小自己的关注范围， 这三种能力也许就会丧失。

As a society, we have a vested interest in encouraging multipotentialites

作为一个社会，鼓励多重潜力者保持本色

to be themselves.

对我们有利。

We have a lot of complex, multidimensional problems in the world right now,

我们如今面临许多复杂问题，涉及许多方面，

and we need creative, out-of-the-box thinkers to tackle them.

我们需要有创意的、能破除思维定式的 思想者来解决这些问题。

Now, let's say that you are, in your heart, a specialist.

我们假设，内心深处，你是一名专家。

You came out of the womb knowing you wanted to be a pediatric neurosurgeon.

你从打娘胎里出来就知道 你想当一名儿童神经外科医生。

Don't worry -- there's nothing wrong with you, either.

别担心，即使这样你也挺正常的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In fact, some of the best teams are comprised of a specialist

事实上，一些顶尖团队就是由专家

and multipotentialite paired together.

和多重潜力者搭配组成。

The specialist can dive in deep and implement ideas,

专家可以深入研究，实践想法，

while the multipotentialite brings a breadth of knowledge to the project.

而多重潜力者可以为项目 带来更广泛的知识支持。

It's a beautiful partnership.

这是一种美妙的合作。

But we should all be designing lives and careers

但是我们都应该根据自己的天赋

that are aligned with how we're wired.

来规划与之相适应的人生和职业。

And sadly, multipotentialites are largely being encouraged

不幸的是，多重潜力者往往被要求

simply to be more like their specialist peers.

成为（刚刚提到的）团队中的那个专家。

So with that said,

所以，

if there is one thing you take away from this talk,

如果你从今天的演讲中学到了一件事的话，

I hope that it is this:

我希望会是：

embrace your inner wiring, whatever that may be.

接受你内心的真实想法。

If you're a specialist at heart,

如果你是专家型的人，

then by all means, specialize.

那就用尽一切办法，成为专家。

That is where you'll do your best work.

你会干得非常不错。

But to the multipotentialites in the room,

但对于在座的多重潜力者们，

including those of you who may have just realized

包括那些在过去的12分钟里

in the last 12 minutes that you are one --

刚刚意识到自己是多重潜力者的人，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

to you I say:

我要对你们说：

embrace your many passions.

接受你的众多爱好。

Follow your curiosity down those rabbit holes.

保持你的好奇心。

Explore your intersections.

探索（不同领域的）交叉地带。

Embracing our inner wiring leads to a happier, more authentic life.

让真实的自我引领我们 去过更快乐、更真实的人生。

And perhaps more importantly --

也许更重要的是，

multipotentialites, the world needs us.

（我们是）多重潜力者， 这个世界需要我们。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）