About ten years ago, I started a job working for a telemarketing agency. In one of my first classes, the trainer told a very motivating story that I would like to share with you.
He began by drawing a diagram on the chalkboard in the room where we were being trained. It was a picture of a person standing in the middle of a circle. To make it more interesting, he drew things like a house, a car, and a few friends inside the circle.
He asked the question, “Can anyone tell me what this is?” In a long silence, one guy decided to throw out, “The world?” The trainer said, “That's close; this is your Comfort Zone. Inside your circle you have all the things that are important to you, your home, your family, your friends, and your job. People feel that inside this circle they are safe from any danger or conflict.”
“Can anyone tell me what happens when you step out of this circle?” A strong silence came over the room. The same eager guy abruptly announced, “You are afraid.” Another guy said, “You make mistakes.” The silence continued and the trainer smiled and said, “When you make mistakes, what can the result be?” the first guy shouts, “You learn something.”
“Exactly, you are learning.” The trainer turned to the board and drew an arrow pointing from the stick man directly to the outside of the circle. He proceeded to say, “When you leave your Comfort Zone you put yourself out there, in front of the world to be in a situation that you are not comfortable with. The end result is that you have learned something that you did not already know. You expand your knowledge to become a better person.” He turned again to the board and drew a bigger circle around the original circle, and added a few new things like more friends, a bigger house, etc.
大约十年前，我进入一家电话营销机构工作。上的头几堂课里，有一堂课培训师给我讲了一个催人奋进的故事，我也想讲给你们听。
开头，他在培训室的黑板上画了一张图，内容是一个人站在一个圈的中间。为了讲得更有趣，他又在圈里画了一匹马、一辆汽车还有几个朋友。
培训师问了这么一个问题：“谁来告诉我这是什么？”大家沉默良久，有个家伙喊了一句：“全世界？”培训师说：“已经接近了；这是你的‘舒适区'。这个圈里就是所有对你来说重要的东西，你的房子、你的家人、你的朋友和你的工作。人们觉得只要站在圈里，自己就是安全的，就能远离危险、免于冲突。”
“谁能告诉我如果踏出这个圈我们会怎样呢？”培训室里鸦雀无声。又是那个踊跃的家伙突然说：“我们会感到害怕。”另一个家伙说：“我们会犯错。”大家继续沉默，培训师微笑着说：“如果我们犯了错，结果又会怎样？”先前那个家伙喊了一句：“我们会长见识。”
“没错，我们就会长见识。”培训师转向黑板，在上面画了一个箭头，这个箭头由火柴人出发直接指向圈外。他接着说：“我们一旦迈出‘舒适区'，我们就会重新直面世界，并且置身在一个让自己感到不太舒适的情形里。最终的结果就是我们学到了以前并不知道的东西，增长了见识，然后成为一个更棒的人。”他再次转向黑板在原来那个圈的基础上画了一个更大的圈，圈里又画上了一些新东西，比如更多的朋友，一间更大的房子之类的。
-motivate [ˈməʊtɪveɪt] v. 激发(积极性)
我们一旦付出勇气挑战自己的心智，强大和优秀就会是回报。