It will keep you from doing anything useful.

因為這樣做會使你無法做到有用的事情。

You'll be too preoccupied with what so-and-so is doing, and why, and what they're saying, and what they're thinking, and what they're up to, and all the other things that throw you off and keep you from focusing on your own mind.”

你會太專注於某某在做什麼、為什麼這麼做，以及他們在說什麼。思考他們在想什麼、做什麼以及打算怎麼做會讓你固步自封，並且讓你不能專注於自己的思考中。」

In my opinion, Marcus touches on the main issue that holds people back in life: being attached to what other people think of them.

在我看來，馬庫斯觸及了阻礙人們生活的主要問題：太過執著於他人對自己的看法。

So I'm gonna explore this idea through a dialogue.

所以我想要通過一場對話來深入探討這個想法。

In Shinjuku, when the clock strikes midnight, a small bar opens up for a few hours.

在新宿，每當午夜的鐘聲響起時，一個小酒吧會在短短的幾個小時內限期開張。

Few people visit it, but the one's who go know what they're looking for.

很少有人會造訪這間酒吧，但拜訪的客人都清楚明白自己為何而來。

Tonight, Himari takes a seat alone, and after a few drinks, she has the following conversation with the bartender.

今晚，日葵小姐獨自找了個位置坐下，幾杯黃湯下肚後，她和酒保有了以下的對話。 　

Bartender: “If you're attached to what other people think of you, you'll never do anything truly useful.”

酒保：「如果你太過執著於別人對你的看法，你將永遠做不出有價值的事情。

Himari: “What do you mean?”

日葵：「你這話是什麼意思？」

“If you're attached to what other people think of you, you'll never be yourself.

「如果你執著於別人對你的看法，你就永遠做不了自己。

And if life has taught me anything, it's that being yourself is the only truly useful thing someone can do.”

如果要說生命教會了我什麼，那就是教會了我：做自己才是一個人真正能做到最有價值的事情。

“I don't get it. How is being myself useful?”

「我不明白。做自己有什麼用？」

“True usefulness comes from being what you are.

「做自己，你才能發揮出真正的價值。

Think about a tree: its fruits and oxygen are a byproduct of it being itself.

想想一棵樹：它的果實和氧氣只是自身的副產品而已。

The same holds true for us.

對我們人類來說也是同樣的道理。

We do useful things by being ourselves.”

我們通過做自己來發揮出價值。」

“But aren't I always myself?”

「但我一直都『是』自己呀？」

“No, you're getting stuck in the language.

「不，你被字面上的意思給迷惑住了。

Let's look at the tree again.

我們再回過頭來看這棵樹吧。

Several things can stop the tree from being itself such as a lack of sunlight, a lack of water, and lots of competition in the environment.

有幾件事情會阻礙到樹木自身的發展，例如缺乏陽光、缺乏水，以及環境中的大量競爭。

There are obstacles stopping the tree from being.

這些障礙阻止了這棵樹的生存。

So being yourself is the same as overcoming your own obstacles.

因此，做自己就等於克服了自己的障礙。

And one of the greatest obstacles to being yourself is being attached to what other people think of you.”

而做自己的最大障礙之一就是執著於別人對你的看法。」

“How does being attached to what other people think of me stop me from being myself?”

「為什麼執著於別人對我的看法，會阻止我做自己？」

“When you are being yourself, you have to be willing to violate people's expectations of you.

「當你在做自己時，你必須願意去違背人們的期望。

You have to be willing to disappoint them.

你必須願意讓他們失望。

You have to be willing for them to react negatively.

你必須願意讓他們做出負面的反應。

But someone who's attached to what other people think of them is not willing to take that risk, so they end up being who others want them to be rather than being themselves.”

但一個執著於別人對自己看法的人，並不會願意去接受這種風險，所以他們最終成為別人希望他們成為的人，而不是做自己。」

“I guess you're right. But what can I do? I depend on what people think of me to survive.”

「我想你是對的。但我能做什麼呢？ 我終究還是要依靠人們對我的看法來生存。」

“So you're attached to what people think of you because you're dependent on their opinion for security.

「你之所以會如此執著於別人對你的看法，是因為你仰賴著從他們的看法中尋求安全感。

But if your relationship depends on satisfying someone's expectations, it's not a real relationship.

但是，如果你的人際關係取決於滿足某人的期望，那就不是真正的羈絆。

You are a prisoner to someone's idea of you.”

你只是某人腦中想法的囚徒。」

“I guess that's true, but there's still security in a prison.”

「我猜你說的是對的，但當個囚徒至少安全有保障呀。」

“Yes, but you're in a prison.

「沒錯，但你人還是在監獄裡。

You've traded the whole of your life for security.

你用你的生命來換取安全。

What is there left to secure?”

但生命都沒了，還有什麼要保護的呢？」

“Hmm I guess that's true.

「嗯，我想你說的是對的。

I never thought about it.

我從未想過這個問題。

But no matter what I do, or where I go, I'll always depend on people's opinions for security!

但無論我做什麼或去哪裡，我都會從別人對我的看法中獲得安全感！

That's how the world is, isn't it.”

世界不就是這樣運作的嗎？」

“If you sell water in a desert, does it matter what people think of you?

「如果你有本事在沙漠中賣水，人們對你的看法又有什麼重要的？

If you can truly produce something of value, their opinions do not matter.”

如果你能真正產生有價值的東西，他們的意見便無足輕重。」

“I guess you're right. But how do I make something of value?”

「我想你是對的。但我要怎麼樣才能做出有價值的東西呢？」

“That's like asking how the tree makes its fruit.

「這就像是在問樹是如何結出果實的一樣。

I'll put it like this: a tree is imprisoned by a lack of water, sunlight, and competition.

我這樣說吧：一棵樹被缺乏水、陽光和競爭所禁錮。

When the tree breaks out of these prisons, when it becomes completely free, the fruit is the natural outcome.

當樹衝出這些牢籠，變得完全自由時，果實就會是自然的結果。

It's not about how you can produce something of value, but how you can become free.

重點不是你要如何生產出有價值的東西，而是你要如何變得自由。

When you break free of all your prisons, your fruit comes of its own accord.”

當你掙脫了所有枷鎖，甜美的果實終將自己到來。」

Marcus Aurelius said that caring about what other people think would prevent you from doing anything useful, and I explored the meaning behind this idea through a dialogue.

馬庫斯‧奧勒留說，在乎別人怎麼想只會讓你無法發揮出自己真正的價值，而我藉由一場對話，來探索了這個想法背後的意涵。

The most useful thing someone can do is be themselves.

一個人能藉由做自己來發揮出最大的價值。

And what we truly are can never be put into words.

而我們實際上是怎麼樣的人，是無法用三言兩語來形容的。

Whether we think we are good, bad, an artist, or a lawyer, what we are can never be boiled down to a single word.

無論我們認為自己是好是壞，是藝術家還是律師，我們的身份永遠無法被歸結到單單一個字。

When we say, “I am a wife,” or “a mother,” or “a musician,” or “a lawyer,” we're taking one tiny sliver of our memory and identifying ourselves with it.

當我們說「我是一個妻子」，或「一個母親」，或「一個音樂家」，或「一個律師」時，我們只不過是從記憶中抽取出一小片概念，並用它來標記自己。

We're more than our memories.

我們的人格比記憶中的碎片更豐富多彩。

Being yourself is the same as overcoming your own problems, and truly overcoming your own problems is what allows you to help others overcome theirs—which is why true value lies in being oneself.

做自己就等於克服了自己的問題，而當你真正克服了遇到的問題時，便可以幫助別人克服他們的問題，而這就是做自己所能發揮出的真正價值。

But as long as we're attached to what other people think of us, we will always be what people want us to be rather than being ourselves.

但是，只要我們執著於其他人對自己的看法，我們就永遠都會是別人想要我們成為的人，而不是做自己。

And if we abandon ourselves, we abandon our ability to be truly useful to the world.

如果我們放棄了自己，我們就放棄了對世界發揮自身真正價值的能力。

And if we abandon our ability to be truly useful to the world, we abandon what is perhaps the only form of true security.

而如果我們放棄了對世界發揮自身真正價值的能力，我們就放棄了真正的安全感。

On the other hand, when we be what other people want us to be, we have the security of a prisoner, which is security in exchange for life — and that's really not any security at all.

另一方面，當我們成為別人希望我們成為的人時，我們雖然有了囚犯的安全感，但這是用生命換來的安全感－這根本稱不上什麼安全感。

But at the end of the day, this is just my opinion on understanding of Marcus' words, not advice.

但這終究是我自己對於馬庫斯所寫下文字的理解和意見，並非建議。

Feel free to use this information however you like, and if you have different take on Marcus' words, I'd love to hear your perspective in the comments.

你想怎麼利用這份資訊都可以，而如果你對馬庫斯的文字有不同的解讀，歡迎留言在下方的留言區讓我知道。