《TED》Finding Comfort Where You Are - Kyrsten Stuckey

Thank you. Good morning. I'm very excited to be here.

My name is Kirsten Stuckey. I'm a senior here at Bowling Green State University, and last year I had one of the most monumental breakdowns in my entire college career. Picture this.

monumental breakdown 極其嚴重的精神或情緒崩潰 通常用來描述某人經歷了非常劇烈的情緒反應，從而導致了嚴重的身體或精神疲憊。在日常對話或媒體報導中，這個詞組通常用於描述非常嚴重的事件或經歷。
After her monumental breakdown, she took a break from work and focused on getting the help she needed to heal and recover.

You're sitting at your desk in your room, working on final exam projects, and you've had a hard year. 18 credit hours, three jobs, several student organizations, and not to mention your academic program, tasked you with one of the most important jobs that there is developing young, impressionable minds with knowledge and information, also known as teaching. Senior year is a big year for any teaching major, and that stress has been looming over your head since you started the program.

task (v.) 指派任務或工作給某人或某個組織 My boss tasked me with completing the report by Friday.

impressionable minds 指有很容易受到影響或塑造的心智，特別是指兒童或年輕人的心智。 當人們提到 "impressionable minds" 時，通常暗示著一種責任感，即需要提供正面的影響和教育，以幫助這些年輕的心智成長為積極正向的成年人。 impressionable (adj.) 易受影響或易受感染的，常用來形容年輕或沒有經驗的人，尤其是容易受到他人言語或行為的影響。

looming over one's head (phr.) 表示某件事情對某人造成心理上的壓力或困擾，常用於形容某個問題或威脅似乎不可避免，一直在某人的頭頂上懸掛著，使得他們感到焦慮、不安或恐懼。
The deadline for the project is looming over my head, and I haven't even started working on it yet.

All of a sudden, you start to feel this nauseating feeling bubbling up inside. All of the stress of everything is getting to you. So you get up and you lay out on the floor and breathe.

That was my junior year, the last week of school. In the spring of 2022, I felt like my entire life was crumbling to pieces. My calendar was jampacked.

nauseating feeling 令人感到噁心、作嘔的感覺
The thought of eating that sushi again gave me a nauseating feeling.

bubble up (phr.) 從內部湧現出來、上升或冒出來，通常用來描述感情、思想、想法等內在的浮現。
Suddenly, an idea bubbled up in my mind and I knew exactly what to do.

crumble to pieces 崩塌；分崩離析
Her dreams of a perfect life crumbled to pieces when she lost her job.

jampacked (adj.) 用來形容某個地方擠滿了人或物品而非常擁擠
The concert was jampacked with thousands of screaming fans.

I had more commitments and requirements than I could keep track of, and not to mention my personal well-being was suffering. In the midst of this chaos, I was struggling to find any semblance of peace or hope because I felt lost and confused. It felt like I had been hit by a train of emotions.

keep track of 留意或注意某事物的發展
It's important to keep track of the news and current events.

personal well-being 個人的幸福感和健康狀態 這個詞通常用於描述個人的整體狀態，包括身體健康、心理健康、情感健康和社交健康等方面。
Taking care of your personal well-being is essential to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

semblance (n.) 表象、外貌或外觀 它意味著某些事物看起來有某種特定的特徵或特點，但實際上可能並不完全如此。
His life is in a state of chaos, but he still tries to maintain some semblance of normalcy.

So I'm laying there on the floor contemplating everything I had ever done in my life. And as I got ready to make one of the biggest changes in my college career, I thought to myself, I'm not going to grow if I can't accept change, even if the change makes me uncomfortable. How can I expect anything different when I'm not open to differences in the first place? Now, if you know me, you know I'm someone who plans my life out to the T.

contemplate (v.) 仔細思考、沉思、深思熟慮 常用於形容思考某些重要或困難的問題，需要花時間仔細思考。
She sat in the park and contemplated the meaning of life.
contemplation (n.) 深思熟慮、冥想

plans one's life out to the T 將某人的人生計畫或計劃安排得非常詳盡、周密，無法容許任何偏差或意外。 "T" 在這裡是指 "to a tee"，表示完全符合、完美地匹配。
I am a meticulous person who plans my life out to the T, including my daily routine, work schedule, and even leisure activities. meticulous (adj.) 一絲不苟的

Rarely do I leave anything to chance, because having control over me looks like having one hand on the steering wheel at all times, meaning I don't really do change because life should go according to plan, my plan. But if there's anything I've learned about life, it's that we are often more out of control than we are in control at that moment. I found peace in my situation.

not leave anything to chance 不把事情交給運氣或機會，而是確保事情有預訂或安排。 通常用來描述一個人或組織，不想冒風險或面臨不可預見的情況，因此會採取行動來規劃或控制事情
I'm a control freak and I can't leave anything to chance, so I always have a backup plan.

I have found a way to be comfortable with all the changes that were happening around me, and I managed to soothe myself in a state of comfort and relaxation. This is because I had to remind myself of three very important things at that moment. The first is that failure doesn't make you a failure.

be comfortable with 對某事物或某人感到舒適，通常用來形容一個人對某種情況或某人的態度或行為。
I am comfortable with public speaking. She is not comfortable with the idea of taking risks.

be comfortable "with" 不等於 be comfortable "around"，後者是指對某人感到自在或放鬆。
I am comfortable with public speaking, but I am not comfortable around large crowds.

in a state of N. 用來描述某人或某物目前的狀態或情況 in a state of shock / confusion / excitement / emergency / flux (不穩定狀態)

You are allowing yourself the courage to try something new. And that's a good thing. Often we associate failure with fear, and that's because we see fear as a bad thing.

So we see failure as a bad thing, and that's not true. Fear is a healthy emotion. Fear helps us understand where the thin line that separates comfort and discomfort.

Fear is important, and so is a failure. What we have to have the courage to do is know what risks are worth taking. Which risks will open up new worlds of possibility versus the ones that will cause significant damage to our health or state of being.

state of being 一個人或事物目前所處的狀態或狀況
happy state of being (快樂的狀態)  tired state of being (疲憊的狀態)

For example, jumping from a twelve-story building with no safety gear. You should be afraid, very afraid. Switching to a new job.

Have some fear, but let your courage outweigh it. We have to understand that the outcomes that lie on the other side of fear and failure are often the best, not the most comfortable, decisions for us. The second thing I learned was that perfection is impossible.

safety gear 防護裝備 通常是指在危險或特殊工作場合，人們為了防止受傷或生病而穿戴的裝備，例如頭盔、安全鞋、防護眼鏡、口罩、手套等。

outweigh 意指某事物比另一件事物更重要或具有更大的影響力
The benefits of exercising regularly far outweigh the temporary discomfort.

I've had this idea of what my perfect life would be like. Since I was young, I've always told people I live my life in a fairy tale, and if I work hard enough, my life will look happily ever after. And yet, no matter how many times life showed me that, that was quite literally not a real aspiration, I chased it anyways.

aspiration 指一個人追求的抱負、目標或渴望 通常用來描述一個人內心深處的願望，例如想成為某種職業、實現某個目標或追求某種理念。
career aspiration 職涯志向 / personal aspiration 個人抱負 / financial aspiration 財務目標

Perfection is a man-made concept that we give to ourselves, and we don't realize the pressure that comes with it. And from what we know about pressure, that can turn into a problem very quickly. Imagine you have a pot on the stove with water, and you turn the heat on high.

You put the lid on and you walk away. As the water starts to boil, it will pop higher and higher until it forces its way out and spills over. That's called pressure.

force its way out 強制或努力地逃出或流出 通常用於形容一些強烈的情感、力量或壓力，逃離某個地方或產生某種反應。
The water pressure was so high that it forced its way out of the pipe. She tried to hold back her tears, but the emotion inside her forced its way out.

spill over 常用於形容某種情況或情感從一個地方流出或擴散到另一個地方，可能是指情感、思想、行為或物質等的傳遞。
The emotions spilled over into tears. The water in the glass spilled over onto the table.

And that's what happened to me. For me, understanding that I couldn't have a perfect life or better yet, a perfect college experience, was a very humbling experience, I'll tell you that much. But perfection should not be the goal.

Happiness should be. Now, do I still strive to have what I think is a perfect life? Of course, old habits die hard. The main difference is that now when things don't turn out the way I expected, I cope a little better.

humbling experience 指讓人感到謙卑或是自覺不足的經驗 這種經驗通常是由於某些事情或事件的發生，讓人感受到自己的局限性和不足之處，從而產生一種謙卑感或是反思自己的處事方式。
My failure in the competition was a humbling experience that taught me the importance of hard work and dedication.

strive to 努力去做某事，用於表達追求目標或達成某種成就的努力。
I strive to be the best version of myself every day. She strives to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Instead of watching the pot fill with pressure and water wanting to boil over, I turn the heat down. The last thing I learned was that success is inevitable for me. While things may fall apart around me and situations may seem hopeless, I am not doomed forever.

fall apart around sb. 指周遭的事物或情況失去控制，產生崩解的狀態，而個人無法控制或干預。
As her career and family life fell apart around her, she felt like the whole world was crumbling at her feet.

doomed 指注定會失敗或毀滅，表示一種悲觀的、無望的情緒或狀況。
The team's lack of preparation and skill made their defeat in the championship game seem doomed from the start.

The trajectory of my life is based on a sign that reads all roads lead to success. Meaning that no matter how many ups and downs I have, despite the twists and turns, eventually, success will come. Kirsten, how do you know? How can you be so sure? For me, there is no point in stressing over things that are out of my control, because eventually, they will happen as they do.

twists and turns 曲折；波折
The path to success is never straight and easy; it is full of twists and turns.

there is no point in 表示做某事是没有意義或没有必要的 常用於表示對某種行為或决策的否定看法。
There is no point in arguing with him, he never listens.

stress over 為某件事過度焦慮、緊張或煩惱。 常用於某人對某件事感到非常擔憂、緊張，無法放鬆。
She always stresses over her exams, even though she studies hard.

All I can control is how I react and what I do with the cards I'm dealt. I remind myself constantly that my best is good enough and my great is unstoppable. I have confidence no matter what space I'm in, I'm determined to get everything I want out of life.

the cards I'm dealt 指一個人所處的環境、遭遇的境況、接受到的限制等，就像是在玩撲克牌遊戲時所發到的牌一樣，是由命運或是外在因素所決定的，本身並無法掌控。這個詞語常常被用來表達人生中接受現實、面對困難，以及不得不接受某些事實的態度。
The cards I'm dealt in life may not always be favorable, but I will make the best of them.

I am driven by my passions, I think, and therefore I am. You have to be your biggest cheerleader because no one else is going to. And with that, you also have to be your biggest paramedic.

be driven by 表示被某種力量、動機、目標或情感所驅使
I am driven by my passion for music to pursue a career as a professional musician.

Because when life hits you and eventually it will hit you, you have to be able to pick yourself back up and put yourself on a road to success. With those things in mind, I found comfort in the chaos that was my life. I picked up the phone, called my mom and I told her I was changing my major.

pick oneself back up 重新振作，從困境或挫折中恢復，並再次開始努力 通常用於鼓勵人們在遭遇挑戰和困難時保持積極樂觀的態度
I know you're going through a tough time, but you need to pick yourself back up and keep going.

I made a plan to spend the summer researching options for my career and I took a deep breath. I let go of my fear of failure, diminished my drive for perfection, and refocused my faith on a path to success. We have to be able to find peace in our situations because we are all we can control.

research options for 指對某個問題或決策進行研究和分析，以了解所有可行的選擇和方案，並做出明智的決策。
I am planning to study abroad, so I need to research my options for universities and scholarships.

one's drive for 表示一個人對於某種目標、成就或追求的動力、動機或渴望
My drive for success keeps me motivated to work hard and pursue my goals.

I can't tell you exactly what the future holds for me, but I can tell you these two things happiness is imperative and change is inevitable. We cannot operate without happiness and we cannot control change. Since both of these things are true, all that's left is to find happiness in those changes and comfort will follow.

imperative 非常重要或必要的，必須遵循或實施的行動或決策
It is imperative that we take action to address climate change before it's too late.

All that's left is to 表示所有事情已经完成，只剩下要做的事情 通常用於表示接近完成某個任務或目標時
All the documents have been submitted, and all that's left is to wait for the result.

Now, let me be clear. If you are going through a traumatic experience, cry. If things aren't going your way, scream at the top of your lungs.

Feel those big emotions. No need to force yourself to be happy. However, when it's all said and done, remember that life is going to happen as it does, and we only control so much of it.

scream at the top of your lungs 盡情大聲吶喊 常用於形容一種非常激烈的情感或體驗，如痛苦、憤怒、興奮等，可以理解為發洩情緒的一種方式。

So sometimes it is better to just focus on making yourself happy and comfortable in the chaos than finding a solution. Finding comfort where you are is about standing still, taking a deep breath, and saying, I am here, I have come far and I am going further, but here is where I stand. It's about being okay with the in-between space that we occupy.

in-between space 指介於兩個事物或狀態之間的空間或狀態，有時也可用來形容在決策或選擇時的猶豫或不確定的狀態。
As I moved to a new city, I found myself in an in-between space - not quite settled in my new home, but not fully disconnected from my old one either.

There is safety and comfort, and we have to find our safety, find our happiness, and find our in-between space before we can find a way to move forward. Since making these changes, I have found so much happiness in the freedom that I possess. I've been able to zero in on the things that give me joy and spend more energy pursuing those.

zero in on sth. 集中精力、注意力或專注於某件事，以便更好地理解、處理或解決它，可以用於描述人們致力於完成某個任務或目標的情況。
I need to zero in on my studies if I want to get good grades this semester.

But if I hadn't been able to accept my failure to understand the weight of pressure and to know that success is coming to me regardless, I could only imagine how miserable I might be. So, in conclusion, when in doubt, just lay on the floor and breathe. Thank you.