【英语生活】失败不可怕

F Scott Fitzgerald said: “There are no second acts in American lives.” An awful lot of entrepreneurs, investors and executives must hope he was talking nonsense.

The past 18 months have seen many reputations ravaged,

plenty of high-profile sackings and a lot of business failures. I am afraid that in this digital world, such blemishes are recorded for all time.

Not many of us will emerge entirely unscathed from the battering of this downturn – a great deal of mistakes of different sorts have been exposed. So we should all maintain an optimistic belief that the world is more forgiving than is commonly supposed.

Career comebacks from disaster are both difficult and, oddly, easy. Difficult because your record has been blighted; easy because if you have achieved triumphs before, you know how it's done. While we are suspicious of someone who has suffered a serious setback, we also respect hard-won experience.

Moreover, the doctrine of redemption is a central part of our culture. The idea that someone is an irredeemable loss seems incredibly brutal. Such a judgment feels as if it should be reserved for those who have been criminal, repeatedly negligent, or created damage on a grand scale.

Of course, society exalts management talent too much, so when the pendulum swings we relish having fallen leaders to blame. Those who rise to the top are lavishly rewarded, and vilification for incompetence is part of the bargain. If you cannot stomach the risk, do not strive for high office.

When you dig deep into a CV, most reveal missteps – and some outright cock-ups. These negatives are rarely highlighted by the author, but I always prefer an interviewee who is honest when questioned about past errors, rather than evasive. Straightforward admission and an explanation of the lessons learnt appear to me the best policy. After all, we all know life is an imperfect affair. I am convinced that the world's mental hospitals are full of misguided souls who believed otherwise, and cannot cope with the messiness of reality. As Samuel Smiles said: “He who never made a mistake never made a discovery.”

Success often breeds arrogance; one of the benefits of defeat – and there aren't many – is that it tends to produce a humbler personality. Most of us are more rounded characters for having got things wrong. I read recently that executives should not consider their work done until they have tackled a turnround. Those who have overcome adversity are likely to be better equipped to deal with such challenges than someone who has sailed along without even a hiccup. A pummelling toughens you up, makes you fitter for the next engagement. And as long as you don't cave in to disappointment, recovery is always a possibility.

Big wins early on can be a curse. They may give you the impression that everything else is a downward trajectory. After all, no one wants to be labelled

a has-been.

One of the cures for this disease is the ability to adapt your expectations and reinvent yourself if the door has slammed shut on your first profession. There are many sorts of hero, and most of us have more than one skill. The danger of obsessive specialisation is that

if that field dies, where do you go? I hear of former financiers, fired from their bank and fed

up with the City, who are retraining as schoolteachers. Now that I admire.

Switching disciplines can be a tonic, but complete withdrawal from the fray must be avoided if you are to make progress. Action is the antidote to despair. Equally, self-pity is harmful. Focus instead on building a mutual support network, finding a new mission, and discovering ways to add value all across the waterfront.

Just as bankruptcies never happen just because of bad luck, so a rebound is not simply a matter of chance – it requires industry, motivation and intelligence. So, whatever your misfortunes, you should endeavour to stay busy and bear in mind that everyone gets another opportunity or two if they keep trying.

F•司各特•菲茨杰拉德(F. Scott Fitzgerald)曾经说过：“美国人的生命中没有第二幕。”为数众多的企业家、投资者和高管肯定希望他是在胡说。

在过去的18个月中，许多人身败名裂，涌现了许多轰动一时的解雇事件，大量企业宣告破产。我担心，在这个数字化的世界里，此类污名将被永远记录在案。

我们中间没有多少人能够毫发无损地避开这次经济衰退的打击——各种各样的错误已经被大量曝光。因此我们都应该保持一种乐观的信念：这个世界比人们普遍认为的更为宽容。

失败后东山再起既困难又容易（后面一点有些奇怪）。困难是因为你的履历上有了污点；容易是因为如果你以前成功过，你就知道如何才能成功。尽管我们对遭受严重挫折的人持怀疑态度，但我们也对来之不易的经验表示尊敬。

此外，救赎这个信念是我们文化的核心部分。说某人无可救药似乎相当残忍。这种评价给人的感觉是，它应该仅适用于那些犯下罪行、屡教不改或是造成严重破坏的人。

当然，社会太过追捧管理精英，因此当事态发展到另一个极端时，我们喜欢指责垮台的领导人。那些升迁到最高领导层的人获得了丰厚的回报，而被污蔑为无能则是协议的一部分。如果你不能承受风险，就不要谋求高位。

如果你仔细检查一篇简历，就会发现大多数人都犯过错误——有些完全是一团糟。应聘者很少会突出这些负面信息，但我总是倾向于那些在被问及过去错误时坦诚相待、而不是闪烁其词的应聘者。在我看来，坦率承认错误并解释从中吸取的教训是最好的策略。毕竟我们都知道生活并不完美。我相信，世界各地的精神病院充满了误入歧途的灵魂——他们的看法恰恰相反，因此无法应对现实中的混乱局面。正如塞缪尔•斯迈尔斯(Samuel Smiles)所言：“从不犯错的人永远不会有所发现。”

成功通常会滋生傲慢；失败的好处不多，但其中之一是往往能塑造出一种更为谦卑的个性。我们大多数人的性格因犯过错而发展得更加完善。最近我读到一篇文章说，在成功扭转颓势之前，高管们不应认为完成了自己的工作。与一直平稳航行、连一次短暂颠簸都没有经历过的人相比，那些克服了逆境的人可能更善于应对此类挑战。打击令你坚强，让你更加胜任下一场战斗。而且，只要你不屈服于绝望，东山再起总是有可能的。

过早获得巨大成功也可能是种诅咒。它们可能让你产生这种印象：其它一切变动都是下滑趋势。毕竟，没有人希望被贴上过气者的标签。

治疗这种疾病的方法之一是，如果第一份职业的大门关闭，你要有能力调整期望值，重新定位自己。行行出状元，我们大多数人都不只拥有一种技能。执迷于术业专攻的风险在于，如果那个行业消亡，你该怎么办？我听说那些被银行解雇的金融家们受够了伦敦金融城的生活，目前正为了成为教师而重新接受训练。这种行为令我很是钦佩。

转行可能会让你振作起来，但如果你希望取得成绩，就必须避免完全退出竞争。行动是绝望的解毒剂。自怜同样有害。相反，你应该关注于建立互相支持网络，发现新的任务，找到让自己全面增值的办法。

正如破产永远不会只是因为运气不好一样，东山再起也不仅仅是机遇的问题——它需要勤奋、动力和智慧。因此，无论你多么不幸，都应该努力保持忙碌的状态，并记住，只要不断努力，每个人都能再次得到机会。

译者/君悦