在修辭學(xué)家眼中，箴言（Maxim）被當(dāng)作一種“辭格”，也就是說(shuō)話表達(dá)的格調(diào)或者風(fēng)格，但是亞里士多德并不是這么看待箴言的，他認(rèn)為箴言是一種公共說(shuō)理手段，在《修辭學(xué)》第二部分第二十一章里有針對(duì)箴言的專門討論。對(duì)于任何一個(gè)合格的公民來(lái)說(shuō)，公共說(shuō)理是一種必備的能力，因此箴言作為一種說(shuō)理的手段也應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)玫轿覀兠總€(gè)人的重視。

On MIND LIKE WATER

There is on thing we can do, and the happiest people are those who can do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all here. We can give…our attention to the opportunity before us. (Mark Van Doren)

Life is denied by a lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece. (Nadia Boulanger)

Trying too hard sabotage boat speed. Trying becomes striving and striving undoes itself. Social climbers strive to be aristocrats but their efforts prove them no such thing. Aristocrats do not strive; they have already arrived. Swing is a state of arrival. (Craig Lambert)

Your ability to generate power is directly proportional to your ability to relax.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open for everything. (Snhunryu Suzuki)

Clearing the mind to being open and appropriately response is the key. Imagine throwing a pebble into a still pond. Water is what it is, and does what it does. It can overwhelm, but it’s not overwhelmed. It can be still, but it is not impatient. It can be forced to change course, but it is not frustrated.

Anything that cause you to overreact or underreact can control you, and often does. Most people give either more or less attention to things than they deserve.

On CAPTURE & REMINDER

You must use your mind to get things off your mind.

Rule your mind or it will rule you.

There is usually an inverse relationship between how much something is on your mind and how much it’s getting done.

There is no reason to ever have the same thought twice, unless you like that thought.

Everything you’ve told yourself you ought to do, it thinks you should be doing right now. Frankly, as soon as you have two things to do stored only in your mind, you’ve generated personal failure, because you can’t do them both at the same time.

On CLARIFY & ORGANIZE (Outcome/Next Action)

Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.(Henry Bergson)

The ancestor of every action is a thought. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

People think a lot but most of that thinking is of a problem, project , or situation——not about it. Thinking toward outcome and action does not happen without a consciously focused effort. Reacting is automatic, but thinking is not.

In knowledge work , the task is not given; it has to be determined. ‘What are the expected results from this work？’ is the key question in making knowledge workers productive. And it is a question that demand risky decisions. There is no right answer; there are choice instead. (Peter Drucker)

We need to transform all the** “stuff”** we’ve attracted and accumulated into a clear inventory of meaningful actions, projects, and usable information.

Thought is useful when it motivates action and a hindrance when it substitutes for action.