Matt Cutts: Try something new for 30 days

A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut,

幾年前，我發覺自己陷入了生活的一成不變中，

so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days.

於是我決定追隨偉大的美國哲學家摩根·斯普爾洛克的腳步，嘗試連續 30 天做些新鮮事。

The idea is actually pretty simple.

這個想法其實非常簡單。

Think about something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days.

想想看你一直想在生活中加入的新事物，並在接下來的 30 天裡嘗試它。

It turns out, 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit -- like watching the news -- from your life.

事實證明，30 天剛好足夠養成一個新習慣，或是戒除生活中的某個壞習慣——比如看電視新聞。

There's a few things that I learned while doing these 30-day challenges.

在進行這幾次 30 天挑戰的過程中，我學到了幾件事。

The first was, instead of the months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more memorable.

第一點是，日子不再飛快流逝而被遺忘，時間變得更加令人難忘。

This was part of a challenge I did to take a picture every day for a month.

這是我挑戰連續一個月每天拍一張照片的其中一張成果。

And I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing that day.

我清楚記得那天我人在哪裡、正在做些什麼。

I also noticed that as I started to do more and harder 30-day challenges, my self-confidence grew.

我還發現，當我開始進行更多、更具挑戰性的 30 天挑戰時，我的自信心也隨之增長。

I went from desk-dwelling computer nerd to the kind of guy who bikes to work for fun.

我從一個整天窩在辦公桌前的電腦宅男，變成把騎腳踏車上班當樂趣的人。

Even last year, I ended up hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

甚至在去年，我還登上了非洲最高峰吉力馬札羅山。

I would never have been that adventurous before I started my 30-day challenges.

在開始進行 30 天挑戰之前，我絕不可能有這麼大膽的冒險精神。

I also figured out that if you really want something badly enough, you can do anything for 30 days.

我也領悟到，只要你真心渴望某件事，任何事你都能堅持做 30 天。

Have you ever wanted to write a novel?

你曾想過要寫一本小說嗎？

Every November, tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50,000-word novel from scratch in 30 days.

每年 11 月，都有數萬人嘗試在 30 天內從零開始寫出一本 5 萬字的小說。

It turns out, all you have to do is write 1,667 words a day for a month.

算下來，你只要連續一個月每天寫 1,667 個字就行了。

So I did.

所以我照做了。

By the way, the secret is not to go to sleep until you've written your words for the day.

順帶一提，秘訣就是沒寫完當天的字數絕不上床睡覺。

You might be sleep-deprived, but you'll finish your novel.

你可能會睡眠不足，但你一定能完成你的小說。

Now, is my book the next great American novel?

那麼，我這本書算得上下一部偉大的美國小說嗎？

No! I wrote it in a month. It's awful!

當然不是！我花一個月寫出來的，寫得爛透了！

But for the rest of my life, if I meet John Hodgman at a TED party, I don't have to say, "I'm a computer scientist."

但在我往後的人生裡，如果我在 TED 派對上遇到約翰·霍吉曼，我就不用說「我是個電腦工程師」。

No, no. If I want to, I can say, "I'm a novelist."

不，只要我願意，我可以說「我是個小說家」。

So here's one last thing I'd like to mention.

最後，我想提一件很重要的事。

I learned that when I made small, sustainable changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick.

我體會到，當我做出微小且能持續的改變、那些能長久維持的事情時，這些習慣反而更容易保留下來。

There's nothing wrong with big, crazy challenges. In fact, they're a ton of fun. But they're less likely to stick.

設定巨大又瘋狂的挑戰並沒有錯，事實上它們非常有趣，但往往很難持久。

When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this.

當我挑戰戒糖 30 天後，第 31 天就變成了這副模樣。

So here's my question to you: What are you waiting for?

所以我想問大家：你還在等什麼？

I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not,

我向你保證，不管你願不願意，接下來的 30 天終究會過去，

so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days?

那何不想一件你一直想嘗試的事情，並在接下來的 30 天裡放手一試呢？

Thanks.

謝謝大家。