Know When to Hold, Know When to Fold
?佚名 / Anonymous
Success in your career usually means having the abilities of a gymnast—flexibility, strength, focus and skill, heightened by resilience, perseverance, determination and practice. The ability to accommodate change often requires all these things as well.
John Sculley, formerly of Apple computer, said: “The new corporate contract is that we’ll offer you an opportunity to express yourself and grow, if you promise to leash yourself to our dream, at least for a while.”
For those of you who work in the corporate world, mission statements and strategic planning involve all pulling together to realize a corporate vision, don’t they? What we are learning now, is that, important as this is to creating economic viability, it is also important to honor the individual in the company by aligning his or her personal goals and vision, with that of the company, “at least for a while” .
As companies are comprised of people—they would not exist without them, would they?—Enlightened companies are caring companies and they demonstrate their valuing of their employees by giving them skills, input, and the opportunity to realize their goals within the company. Unfortunately, there are still the unenlightened companies who fit the mold described by David Whyte in : “The hard news is that the corporate world wants us around while we are useful, but it offers no security based on how likable or impassioned we are... Individuals are continually forced to reassess their abilities to live with unknown and open-ended situations, to actively create their own life independent of the organization and to like themselves while they are doing it.” Very great advice, no matter how enlightened your company is!
So, with that in mind, how is your gymnastic ability? How is the balance you create between your personal goals and your career goals? Do you actively create your own life independent of the organization? Do you like yourself at work? How far are you willing to stretch before it becomes uncomfortable? Where are your boundaries and limits? Do you know what you value and how important it is to you? How comfortable are you with risk? Do you know your limits of tolerance for change, stress, rigidity, ambiguity and uncertainty? Do you understand the depth of your desire for a life that matches your values? Are you willing to do what ever it takes to achieve this?
Taking the time to reflect on these things has much value. It prepares you to assess situations as they arise and create solutions that honor what is valuable to you. You also will be prepared to respond with more assurance and immediacy to those situations. I’ve heard it said that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. When you know yourself well, you are prepared to know when to hold and to know when to fold, to keep your life well-balanced and in alignment with what you value. Then you will recognize opportunity when it presents itself, too.
事业上的成功往往意味着拥有体操运动员的素质——灵活、力量、精力集中、技能，并通过恢复力、坚韧、果断和实践提升自己的能力。通常，适应改变的能力也需要这些素质。
前苹果公司的约翰·斯卡利说：“公司契约的内容是要为你们提供一个机会，来发表自己的言论与成长，条件是承诺将你们的目标与我们的保持一致，至少暂时一致。”
对于在那些致力于公司环境建设的人来说，全力构建公司环境正是其使命和战略所在，难道不是吗？此刻，我们正在学习的东西很重要，因为它能创造经济生机，并且在使公司员工相互尊重方面也起到重要的作用。这是通过矫正每个人的目标与前景，使之与公司的目标与前景保持一致，“至少暂时一致”。
公司是由许多人组成的，没有这些人在，公司也将不复存在，难道不是吗？有水准的公司是人道的公司，这些公司通过培训员工技术，付给他们薪水，为他们提供意识到自己的目标与公司的目标相一致的机会，来证明自己的价值所在。不幸的是，仍然有一些落后的公司，就像大卫·怀特在《心灵觉醒》一书中提到的模型一样：“我们有用的时候，公司就需要我们在身边，这是多么糟糕的消息啊。可是这种基于职员激情及受欢迎度的用人方式让我们感觉不安全。每个人都被迫去重新估测自己的能力，在这个未知的、不安全的社会环境中去生存，去积极地创造自己独立于公司外的生活，并在创造中享受生活。”不管你所在的公司水准有多高，这都是一个很好的建议。
因此，记住这些之后，你所拥有的收放自如的能力有多高？你是如何平衡个人目标与事业目标的？你积极地创造自己的、独立于组织之外的生活了吗？你喜欢工作中的自己吗？你愿意让自己走多远？你的界限在哪里？你知道自己的价值吗，知道自我价值对于你来说有多重要吗？你冒险时有多么不安？你知道自己对变化、压力、僵化、含糊和无常的忍耐力有多强吗？你了解自己对符合自我价值的渴望有多强烈吗？你愿意为实现自己的希望而付出一切代价吗？
花点时间反省一下这些事情，将会使你受益匪浅。它能让你在问题出现时审时度势，想出有价值的解决方法。你还会有备无患，能够快速地对问题做出反应。我听说运气是准备与机遇相结合的产物。当你透彻地了解自己时，你就知道放手与抓牢的时机，懂得保持生活平衡，把握住自己珍惜的东西。这样，当机遇到来时，你就会迅速抓住了。
1. Success in your_______usually means having the abilities_______a gymnast—flexibility, strength,_______and skill, heightened by resilience, perseverance, determination and_______. The ability to accommodate_______often requires all these things as well.
2. Taking the_______to reflect on these things has much value. It prepares _______to assess situations_______they arise and create solutions that honor_______ is valuable to you. You also will be prepared to respond with_______ assurance and immediacy to those situations.
1. 事业上的成功往往意味着拥有体操运动员的素质——灵活、力量、精力集中、技能，并通过恢复力、坚韧、果断和实践提升自己的能力。
2. 花点时间反省一下这些事情，将会使你受益匪浅。它能让你在问题出现时审时度势，想出有价值的解决方法。
3. 当你透彻地了解自己时，你就知道放手与抓牢的时机，懂得保持生活平衡，把握住自己珍惜的东西。这样，当机遇到来时，你就会迅速抓住了。
1. As companies are comprised of people—they would not exist without them, would they?
be comprised of：由……组成
2. You also will be prepared to respond with more assurance and immediacy to those situations.
respond with：答复；回报