[On Success] Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable关于成功：在尴尬的时候让自己变得舒服

Last week I talked about the rather embarrassing speech I made during middle school and how it illustrates the importance of spirit.  This week, I’m going to make another point on that speech with another one of my mottos: Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
As I described to all of you last week, to cure myself of the disease of “fear of public speaking,” I joined Model UN during my freshman year of high school.
To be honest, I absolutely abhorred Model UN.  I hated standing up and speaking to the audience.  I hated the feeling of stumbling over your words, of saying “umm” too many times, of being repetitious.  But for some reason I stuck with it.  Somehow I knew it was good for me, like swallowing medicine no matter how bitter it is.  By the time I graduated from high school, I wasn’t a good public speaker, but I didn’t hate it anymore.  At graduation, when I stared at all those thousands of buzzing bee faces again, I actually enjoyed it and looked forward to the opportunity to speak to my classmates, my friends, and my family.
The point of all that, of sharing that story that is still rather sensitive in my heart, is to share with all of you one of my #1 pieces of advice.  Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
If something makes you uncomfortable, whether it’s public speaking, raising your hand in class, or sitting with a complete stranger in the dining hall, it probably means you’re learning, you’re improving, you’re growing.  By the time you’re comfortable with doing something like public speaking, you can say you’ve learned something.  My challenge to all of you over the next school year then, is this: every time you feel yourself sucking your neck into your turtle shell — you know that feeling — “gah this makes me uncomfortable I’m just not going to do it” — just challenge yourself to do it.  Recognize the feeling of being uncomfortable, and just do it — and reward yourself for making the effort.  You’ll probably hate it for a while, but someday, you’ll become comfortable with it and forget you ever hated it.  Then you’ll have learned something and improved something about yourself.

上个星期我讲了一个我上中学的时候做的尴尬演讲，以及通过这个演讲说明了意志的重要性。这个星期，我将要引用我的另外一个座右铭“学会在逆境中适应”来说明我地那个演讲所能说明的另一个观点。

就像我上个星期跟你们大家描述的一样，为了克服我在公众场合说话的恐惧感，我在我高中的第一年就加入了模拟联合国。

老实说，我很厌恶模拟联合国。我讨厌那种站起来然后对着观众说话的感觉。我讨厌说话时不时地停顿，经常性的说“嗯”，以及重复地说话。但是我还是因为一些原因坚持下来了。在某种程度上我知道这对我是一件好事儿，就像是良药苦口一样。在我高中毕业之前，我并不擅长在公众场合发表演说，但是我再也没有讨厌公开演说。在毕业时，当我再次面对着成千上万的嗡嗡作响的面孔时，我实际上乐在其中，并且很期望着能有和我的同学，朋友和家人演讲的机会。

说了这么多，与大家共勉这个至今触动我内心的故事是为了分享一个我的建议。学会在逆境中适应”。如果某样东西或者做某件事让你感觉不舒服，不论是在公共场合演讲，在课堂上举手发言，还是与陌生人一起共进晚餐，都可能是意味着你正在学习，正在进步，正在成长。当有一天你可以自如地做某件事，如在公共场合演讲，你就能说你学到了某样东西。在下个学年中我给你们的挑战是：当每一次你想把头缩进龟壳里的时候——你知道这样的感觉——“这令我很难受，我不想去做这件事儿”——就尽管挑战你自己的极限，去做这件事儿。要意识到这种让你不舒服的感觉，并且还要去尽力做这件事儿，同时给自己的努力一些鼓励。你可能会在某一段时间很讨厌做这件事儿，但是有一天，你会很自然地去做它，并且忘记你曾经讨厌它。之后，你就会学到一些东西，并且从中提高了你自己。