I had become convinced that the only path to freedom was to quit the 9 to 5 rat race.

我堅信，通往自由的唯一道路就是放棄朝九晚五的鼠輩生活。

But after spending so long working for an organization and now also having seen the other side and experienced what it's like to work for yourself, I've now realized that the real issue wasn't my job, it was me.

但是，在為一個組織工作了這麼久之後，現在我也看到了另一面，體驗到了為自己工作的滋味，我現在意識到，真正的問題不在於我的工作，而在於我自己。

And so in this video, I wanted to share some of the hidden secrets that I've learned that can help you break free and fully thrive no matter where you work.

是以，在這段視頻中，我想與大家分享一些我學到的不為人知的祕密，無論你在哪裡工作，這些祕密都能幫助你掙脫束縛，充分茁壯成長。

Number one, realize that you're not dependent on anyone.

首先，要認識到你並不依賴任何人。

When I worked for an organization, I remember there was this one time where I was on a team call and my boss, my direct line manager, had a heated debate with someone else in the organization.

我在一家公司工作時，記得有一次，我正在參加團隊電話會議，我的上司，也就是我的直線經理，與公司裡的其他人進行了一場激烈的辯論。

And that conversation became personal and after the call, he wanted me to send an email to the other person.

那次談話變成了私人談話，通話結束後，他要我給對方發一封郵件。

He drafted it and it was emotional, it was rude, but he didn't want to be the person that it came from.

他起草了這封信，情緒激動，言辭粗魯，但他不想成為這封信的作者。

And so I drafted it and I told him I'm happy to send it, but it is a watered down version and it was more factual.

於是，我起草了這份報告，並告訴他我很樂意寄給他，但這是一個淡化的版本，而且更符合事實。

And he looked at it and he said, I have to use the email that he drafted.

他看後說，我必須使用他起草的電子郵件。

And his words were, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you.

他說，我不是在問你，而是在告訴你。

Those were his exact words.

這是他的原話。

And I remember in that moment, I felt so stressed and pressured.

我記得在那一刻，我感到非常緊張和壓力。

I felt like this person had complete control over me, that if I didn't do as he said, it would impact my pay, my promotion, it would even cost me my job.

我覺得這個人完全控制了我，如果我不按他說的做，就會影響我的工資、晉升，甚至丟掉工作。

But looking back, I realized that the real issue wasn't my job or my boss, it was my own mindset.

但回過頭來看，我意識到真正的問題不在於我的工作或老闆，而在於我自己的心態。

I had created this narrative in my head that I was trapped with no other options and I was so attached to the security of this paycheck that I was willing to compromise my own values instead of realizing all of the other options I actually had.

我在腦海中編造了這樣一個故事：我被困住了，沒有其他選擇，我如此依戀這份薪水的安全感，以至於我願意犧牲自己的價值觀，而不是意識到我實際上還有其他選擇。

And I thank him now because I get to share this story with you and pass on what I've learned from it, which is no matter where you work, never believe that you are dependent on any one thing or person.

我現在要感謝他，因為我可以和你們分享這個故事，並把我從中學到的東西傳授給你們，那就是無論你在哪裡工作，永遠不要相信你依賴於任何一件事或一個人。

But your current situation is not the only option that you have.

但你目前的情況並不是你唯一的選擇。

There are so many other paths and other ways to create the life and career that you want.

要創造自己想要的生活和事業，還有很多其他途徑和方法。

By the way, if you like these kind of videos where I talk about what I've learned through my life experiences and what I'm learning on a daily basis and how that changes the path or the way I navigate life going forward, then you'll enjoy my newsletter.

順便說一下，如果你喜歡這類視頻，我在視頻中講述我從人生經歷中學到的東西，以及我每天都在學習的東西，還有這些東西是如何改變我今後的人生道路或生活方式的，那麼你一定會喜歡我的時事通訊。

I send it out whenever I learn something new, really, every week, every two weeks, and it's completely free.

每當我學到新東西，我就會把它發出去，真的，每週、每兩週都有，而且完全免費。

The link is in the description.

鏈接在說明中。

Number two, find your flow state.

第二，找到你的流動狀態。

There's this beautiful concept from the book Flow, and I love the philosophy behind this.

流》一書中有這樣一個美麗的概念，我喜歡它背後的哲學。

The author explains that we are living in one of two states.

作者解釋說，我們生活在兩種狀態中的一種。

One is when your challenge is greater than your skill.

一是當你的挑戰大於你的技能時。

And when you're in that state, you're depressed, you're frustrated, you're disappointed.

當你處於這種狀態時，你會沮喪、沮喪、失望。

Your challenge is greater than your skill.

你的挑戰大於你的技能。

The other state or the other category is when your skill is greater than your challenge.

另一種狀態或另一個類別是當你的技能大於你的挑戰時。

When you're at this state, you feel lethargic, you procrastinate, you become complacent.

當你處於這種狀態時，你會感到昏昏欲睡，你會拖延時間，你會變得自滿。

And the people who I found, who I speak to, who feel like they have most autonomy, who feel like they're at their happiness, are sitting in this perfect place of flow state.

而我發現，與我交談的那些人，他們感覺自己最有自主權，感覺自己最幸福，他們就坐在這種完美的流動狀態中。

They feel momentum, they're thriving, they're in this state of flow where their skill matches their challenge.

他們感受到了動力，他們欣欣向榮，他們處於這種流動的狀態，他們的技能與挑戰相匹配。

And so often we feel trapped purely because we've been doing what we know how to do for too long.

我們常常感到自己被困住了，純粹是因為我們做我們知道該怎麼做的事情太久了。

So even now, if I only recorded YouTube videos, it wouldn't challenge me anymore.

是以，即使是現在，如果我只錄製 YouTube 視頻，也不會再對我構成挑戰。

I've done it consistently for almost two years.

我已經堅持了近兩年。

But any time I do something bigger, harder, more scaled up, or that challenges me, so I went live on television for the first time last week, and that scared me a bit.

但任何時候我都會做一些更大、更難、更大規模的事情，或者挑戰我的事情，所以上週我第一次在電視上直播，這讓我有點害怕。

And it's those moments that made me feel like I'm growing.

正是這些時刻讓我感到自己在成長。

You need a little bit of discomfort to feel free.

你需要一點點不適感才能感到自由。

So at any given time in your career, ask yourself, do you need to improve your challenge or do you need to improve your skill set?

是以，在你職業生涯的任何時候，問問自己，你是需要提高你的挑戰能力，還是需要提高你的技能組合？

If it's your challenge, are you going to increase the scale of what you're doing, the scope, your level of responsibility?

如果這是你面臨的挑戰，你是否要擴大你所做工作的規模、範圍和責任水準？

It doesn't mean doing something completely new.

這並不意味著要做全新的事情。

It just may mean doing something with more detail or something bigger.

這可能意味著要做更細緻或更大的事情。

The key is to find that sweet spot where your skill matches your challenge.

關鍵是要找到自己的技能與挑戰相匹配的最佳位置。

By the way, sometimes you might find something is really out of your comfort zone or that the skills required are far greater than what you think you can achieve.

順便說一句，有時你可能會發現有些事情確實超出了你的舒適範圍，或者所需的技能遠遠超出了你的想象。

And one thing you can do to close that gap is to see if there are any tools out there to support you.

要縮小這一差距，你可以做的一件事就是看看是否有任何工具可以為你提供支持。

And that is where the sponsor of today's video comes in, and that is Grammarly.

今天視頻的贊助商就是 Grammarly。

I use Grammarly almost every day by default.

我幾乎每天都默認使用 Grammarly。

It's an AI writing partner designed to help you write better and faster.

它是一個人工智能寫作夥伴，旨在幫助您更好更快地寫作。

And unlike any other AI tool I've come across, Grammarly works where you work.

與我接觸過的其他人工智能工具不同，Grammarly 可以在你工作的地方工作。

So you don't need to copy and paste between platforms.

是以，您無需在不同平臺之間進行復制和粘貼。

And that has been a complete game changer.

這徹底改變了遊戲規則。

The free version checks your spelling and grammar.

免費版可檢查拼寫和文法。

It offers you suggestions as you write and it includes AI features.

它能在你寫作時為你提供建議，還包括人工智能功能。

And then the premium version, which is what I now pay for, also predicts what questions a reader would ask when reading your text.

我現在付費購買的高級版本還能預測讀者在閱讀你的文字時會問什麼問題。

And then it helps you tailor your work to fill in those gaps up front.

然後，它可以幫助你調整你的工作，彌補前期的不足。

So whether it's providing more context or offering solutions to a problem, it goes above and beyond what you'd usually think to write.

是以，無論是提供更多的背景資訊，還是提供解決問題的方法，都超出了你通常的寫作思路。

It spots the gaps in your work.

它能發現你工作中的不足。

It also has an app action function which lets you focus on your work without needing to switch between apps.

它還具有應用程序操作功能，讓你無需在不同應用程序之間切換，就能專注於工作。

So for example, grabbing a Google Drive link for this important email without even having to open a new window or tab.

例如，抓取 Google Drive 的鏈接，甚至無需打開新窗口或標籤頁就能獲取這封重要郵件。

If you want to check out the features I've just mentioned, you can check out Grammarly Premium by signing up using the link in the description.

如果你想了解我剛才提到的功能，可以使用說明中的鏈接註冊，查看 Grammarly Premium。

Number three, fill your free time with work.

第三，用工作填滿你的空閒時間。

And this is a really small mindset shift that completely changed the way I now think about work.

這只是一個很小的心態轉變，卻徹底改變了我現在思考工作的方式。

I used to think of work as something that dictates my life.

我曾經認為工作主宰著我的生活。

It took away from my ability to live the way I wanted to.

它剝奪了我按照自己的意願生活的能力。

Because what I used to do is carve out chunks of my time for work and then I'll just leave my evenings and weekends open.

因為我以前的做法是把大塊的時間留給工作，然後把晚上和週末的時間留出來。

And so inevitably, those evenings and weekends would be filled up with more work because I had nothing else planned.

是以，晚上和週末不可避免地會被更多的工作填滿，因為我沒有其他計劃。

And even when I wasn't physically working, I wouldn't be doing anything else to distract me.

即使在我不工作的時候，我也不會做其他事情來分散注意力。

And so in the back of my head, I'll be thinking about working.

是以，在我的腦海裡，我會想著工作。

Then I thought, what if I flipped this the other way around?

然後我想，如果我反過來做呢？

So instead of work being carved out first, I plan my life first, and then work can become the filler, not the focus.

是以，我不會把工作放在第一位，而是先規劃好自己的生活，然後工作就可以成為填充物，而不是重點。

So since the start of this year, I've started to plan my week ahead on Sundays and I'll pre-commit to activities like classes, social events, reading or whatever.

是以，從今年年初開始，我開始在週日提前計劃一週的活動，我會預先承諾一些活動，比如上課、社交活動、閱讀或其他。

And then work would fill the gaps with purpose and productivity.

然後，工作會以目的性和生產力填補空白。

So for instance, this week already, I've got dinner planned on Tuesday with a friend.

比如，這周我已經計劃好週二和朋友共進晚餐。

I've got a Salsa class on Thursday in the evening.

我週四晚上要上薩爾薩舞課。

I'm in a new coffee shop that I've wanted to try out for a while on Thursday afternoon.

週四下午，我去了一家新開的咖啡店，我早就想去試試了。

And I've booked in Reforma Pilates during Friday lunchtime.

我還預訂了週五中午的 Reforma 普拉提課程。

And now all my work will fit around this.

現在，我所有的工作都將圍繞這一點展開。

And I really recommend this, doing it on Sunday before your work week starts.

我非常推薦你在週日工作周開始前做這件事。

Pre-commit to activities for your personal life and the things that really bring you joy.

預先承諾為個人生活和真正能給你帶來快樂的事情開展活動。

This way, work becomes what you do in the slots that aren't already filled with life.

這樣一來，工作就成了你在沒有被生活填滿的空檔裡所做的事情。

Next, we have a diversify your identity.

其次是身份多樣化。

When we think of Google, a lot of us think that it's just the world's biggest search engine.

提起谷歌，很多人都認為它只是世界上最大的搜索引擎。

But when you actually look into what Google's vision is, it's to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

但當你真正瞭解谷歌的願景時，就會發現谷歌的願景是組織世界上的資訊，並使其普遍可用和有用。

It's so much more than a search engine, which lets Google venture into various fields from AI to self-driving cars.

它不僅僅是一個搜索引擎，還讓谷歌涉足從人工智能到自動駕駛汽車等多個領域。

Same thing with Apple.

蘋果公司也是如此。

It started as a computer company, but the vision of Apple is to bring the best user experience to its customers through innovative hardware, software and services.

它最初是一家電腦公司，但蘋果公司的願景是通過創新的硬件、軟件和服務為客戶帶來最佳的用戶體驗。

These huge companies never tie themselves into any one label or tie themselves to the thing that they started off with.

這些大公司從不把自己與任何一個標籤捆綁在一起，也不把自己與起家的東西捆綁在一起。

And it gave them the freedom to explore so many other things.

這給了他們探索許多其他事物的自由。

Often we tie our entire identity to one thing.

我們常常把自己的整個身份與一件事聯繫在一起。

And that is usually dictated around our job.

而這通常是由我們的工作決定的。

We think that our job title defines everything we can be or do.

我們認為職稱決定了我們的一切。

And I've been there.

我也經歷過。

When I worked in banking, I saw myself solely as a corporate professional.

在銀行工作時，我只把自己當作一名企業專業人員。

My entire identity was wrapped up in that role.

我的整個身份都包裹在這個角色中。

And for a long time, I didn't see myself as doing anything else.

在很長一段時間裡，我都不認為自己還能做什麼。

The idea of starting something new felt impossible because I confined myself to this narrow identity of being a corporate girl.

開始新生活的想法讓我覺得不可能，因為我把自己侷限在企業女孩的狹隘身份中。

And if you label yourself too early and you pin yourself to this identity that is based on what you currently do, it's very easy to then trap yourself into thinking a certain way and never giving yourself the freedom to explore other areas that interest you.

如果你過早地給自己貼上標籤，把自己的身份建立在目前的工作基礎上，就很容易讓自己陷入某種思維定式，永遠無法自由地探索自己感興趣的其他領域。

But you can be completely different things.

但你們可以是完全不同的人。

You can be a painter and a data analyst.

你可以是畫家，也可以是數據分析師。

You can be a yoga enthusiast and a gamer.

你可以是瑜伽愛好者，也可以是遊戲玩家。

You can be a writer and a chef.

你可以是作家，也可以是廚師。

You can be an your job title.

您可以是您的職稱。

What passions or interests can you explore to broaden your sense of self in a way that doesn't make you feel trapped to one identity?

你可以通過探索哪些激情或興趣來拓寬自我意識，從而讓你不會覺得自己被困在一種身份中？

And finally, my favourite, number five.

最後是我最喜歡的第五項。

There's so much conditioning that we have to always be nice and to tiptoe around other people's opinions.

我們有太多的條件反射，讓我們必須始終保持友善，對別人的意見小心翼翼。

But sometimes a real way to feel free and to not let work take full control of your life is to not care about what other people think and do what is best for you.

但有時，真正能讓你感到自由、不讓工作完全控制你生活的方法，就是不在意別人的想法，做最適合自己的事。

For example, say someone at your company asks you to do something that's a favour that's outside of your job description.

例如，公司裡有人請你幫個忙，而這個忙超出了你的工作範圍。

It's not exactly something that will help you get promoted or help you pay.

這對你的晉升或薪水並沒有什麼幫助。

And it's coming from someone who never does you any favours or helps you out in return.

而且這個人從來沒有幫過你的忙，也沒有回報你的幫助。

Do you do it?

你會這樣做嗎？

Well, no, you shouldn't.

不，你不應該這樣做。

And I'm speaking from experience.

我說的都是經驗之談。

When I started working at Deutsche Bank and I first moved into front office, I wanted to please everyone and just do a good job.

當我剛開始在德意志銀行工作，進入前臺辦公室時，我想取悅每一個人，只想把工作做好。

And I found it so hard to set boundaries with other people in the team.

我發現很難與團隊中的其他人劃清界限。

There was another junior person who'd been working in the team for longer than I had, who'd always asked me to stay back after she left and do these admin tasks that she didn't want to do.

還有一個比我在團隊裡工作時間更長的初級員工，她總是要求我在她離開後留下來做這些她不想做的行政工作。

These tasks didn't give me any recognition or any glory.

這些任務並沒有給我帶來任何認可和榮耀。

I didn't benefit from them at all.

我完全沒有從中受益。

And the first time she asked, I did it as a favour.

她第一次提出要求時，我只是幫了個忙。

The second time I did it as a favour.

第二次我是為了幫他的忙。

And the third or fourth time, I set my boundaries in place.

第三次或第四次，我就把自己的底線設好了。

Because ultimately, your company will try to get as much out of you as you can.

因為歸根結底，你的公司會想方設法從你身上撈取儘可能多的好處。

And you are the person that needs to set these boundaries.

而你就是需要設定這些界限的人。

And there's a famous quote by Brene Brown, daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.

布雷恩-布朗（Brene Brown）有一句名言：敢於設定界限，就是要有勇氣愛自己，即使我們冒著讓別人失望的風險。

The reason I wanted to make this video is because earlier in this year, I had this amazing sponsor approach me, and they were going to work with me for a huge amount.

我之所以想製作這段視頻，是因為今年早些時候，有一個非常棒的贊助商找到了我，他們要與我合作，而且金額巨大。

But the caveat was that they would literally tell me what I had to say and when I had to say it word for word, it wasn't coming from me.

但要注意的是，他們真的會告訴我該說什麼，而當我不得不一字一句地說的時候，那就不是我說的了。

And it made me feel back to where I was five years ago, where my whole life was being dictated by someone else.

這讓我感覺回到了五年前，我的整個生活都被別人主宰著。

And I felt like I was being dependent on something else.

我覺得我在依賴別的東西。

I didn't have full control over what I did.

我無法完全控制自己的行為。

And I didn't feel free.

我感覺不到自由。

And so if you're not careful, it doesn't matter where you work, it doesn't matter what you do, you can always end up not realizing that you keep building a cage around yourself that stops you from having control over the decisions you make.

是以，如果你不小心，無論你在哪裡工作，無論你做什麼，你最終都可能意識不到，你一直在為自己建造一個牢籠，阻止你控制自己做出的決定。

Quitting a nine to five isn't always an option.

辭去朝九晚五的工作並不總是一種選擇。

But the other things that I've spoken about in this video, setting boundaries, doing things outside of work, changing your mindset when it comes to who owns you.

但我在視頻中提到的其他事情，如設定界限、做工作之外的事情、改變你的心態，當涉及到誰是你的主人時。

These are all things that are fully within your control.

這些都是你完全可以控制的。

So I hope that helps.

希望對你有所幫助。

If you like this video, you'll also enjoy this video right here on millionaire habits that changed my life.

如果你喜歡這段視頻，你還會喜歡這段關於改變我人生的百萬富翁習慣的視頻。

Thank you for watching.

感謝您的收看。

Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already.

如果您還沒有訂閱，別忘了訂閱。

Otherwise, I'll see you there.

否則，我們到時見。