清楚知道“你是谁”，才知道往哪走

有一次，和一位原BBC广播记者、现在拥有自己的公关公司的前辈聊，他说，年轻人应对迷茫，必须问自己最根本的问题：“你是谁？”

I once spoke with a former BBC radio journalist who now runs his own PR firm. He said something that stuck with me: “When young people feel lost, they need to ask themselves the most fundamental question—‘Who are you?’”

这个问题看似简单，却蕴含了深刻的自我认知，这不仅仅是在问你的名字、身份或职业，而是在探寻你的核心价值观、信念和追求。如果不搞清楚这个问题，一切建议和规划都是徒劳。

At first glance, it seems like a simple inquiry, but it carries profound implications about self-awareness. It’s not just about your name, identity, or job title. It’s about uncovering your core values, beliefs, and ambitions. Without clarity on this, every piece of advice or plan becomes futile.

这番话让我联想到今年的诺贝尔物理学奖得主Geoffrey Hinton的故事。七八十年代，他在爱丁堡大学攻读博士期间，导师认为神经网络没有前途，建议他放弃，转向更主流的人工智能研究，但是Hinton却坚信神经网络是未来，哪怕与导师争论五年也不愿妥协。最终，他坚持完成了自己的研究，并在之后的岁月中推动了深度学习的发展，奠定了人工智能革命的基础。从始至终，他清楚地知道他自己是什么样的人、想要什么。

This conversation reminded me of Geoffrey Hinton’s journey, the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics. Back in the 1970s and 80s, while pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh, Hinton’s advisor advised him to abandon neural networks, which were seen as a dead end then. Instead, the advisor encouraged him to focus on more mainstream areas of AI. But Hinton held firm in his belief that neural networks were the future, and despite five years of debate with his mentor, he refused to pivot. He completed his research and went on to pioneer deep learning, laying the foundation for the AI revolution. From the start, Hinton knew exactly who he was and what he wanted.

人生选择如同树木，市面上的攻略总是让我们专注于修剪枝叶——也就是具体分析眼前的问题，用看似客观的数据来制定下一步的方向，却很少引导我们去理解这棵树的根基是什么。

Life choices are like the branches of a tree. Many self-help strategies encourage us to focus on trimming those branches—analyzing specific, immediate problems and using seemingly objective data to plan the next step. However, they rarely guide us to understand the roots—the foundation that sustains and defines the entire tree.

要不要考一堆证？要不要融入所在的群体？选择哪个职业赛道？是否接受眼前的工作机会？去哪个城市工作生活？怎样花钱理财？面对这些问题时，我们通常的逻辑是直接分析每个选项的利弊。例如，这些证书有哪些好处？融入这个群体有何益处和代价？某个城市的资源优势是什么？看到某个选项变得热门时，我们也会开始纠结自己是否也应该跟随。这种思路就像是在模仿他人修剪枝叶，而忽略了自己的树根，有时候这些选项压根儿和你的“根”不匹配。

Should you earn more certifications? Should you fit in with a particular group? Which career path should you pursue? Should you accept the current job offer? Which city should you live and work in? How should you manage your finances? When facing these questions, we often jump straight into weighing the pros and cons of each option. For instance, what are the benefits of getting these certificates? What are the trade-offs of integrating into a specific group? What are the advantages of relocating to a particular city? And when we see certain choices becoming popular, we tend to wonder if we should follow the trend. This mindset is like trimming your tree’s branches by copying others without understanding whether these approaches are even compatible with your roots.

在搞清楚自己的核心价值观之前，表面的分析和选择是徒劳的。

Such surface-level analysis and decision-making are meaningless without first identifying your core values.

就像你走进任何一家公司时，总会看到墙上写着它的愿景、使命和价值观，这是创始人的初衷和企业的核心DNA，所有业务都是围绕这些核心价值展开的，没有这些根基，企业就会东倒西歪、人心涣散、方向混乱。

Just as every company has its mission, vision, and values displayed on the wall—reflecting the founder’s original purpose and serving as the organization’s core DNA—all of its operations are designed around these values. Without such a foundation, a business can become scattered, disorganized, and lose its sense of direction.

人生也是如此。如果我们不清楚自己这棵“树”最底下的根是什么，我们的选择就会随风摇摆，无论有多少修剪的方法论，都无法指向内心真正想要的方向。

Life is no different. If we don’t understand the roots beneath our personal “tree,” our decisions will sway with every breeze. No amount of advice or strategies for fine-tuning will ever lead us toward what we truly desire.

所以，每次做决定时，不妨先停下来问自己：“我是谁？” “我真正重视的是什么？” “什么样的生活能让我觉得活得有意义？”

So, whenever you’re faced with a decision, it’s worth pausing to ask yourself: Who am I?What do I truly value? What kind of life will make me feel that I am living meaningfully?

因此，与其纠结于表面的选择，不如先花时间去探索内心深处的价值观。只有弄清楚自己是谁，我们才能在面对各种分岔路时，不是被他人的路径所左右，做出符合内心的选择。

Rather than obsessing over surface-level choices, it’s far more important to spend time exploring your deepest values. Only when you have clarity about who you are can you navigate life’s crossroads without being swayed by others’ paths. With that self-awareness, you’ll make decisions that align with your true self.