I can never forget the summer in 1996. I went through an extremity of despair due to my failure in the National College Entrance Examination. It seemed that my dream of being a university student would never come true. One evening my father came and told me the story of Steven Callahan, who was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. It was a miracle that he survived and was found 76 days later(the longest anyone has survived a shipwreck on a life raft alone). Later in his narrative he wrote these sentences “I tell myself I can handle it ared to what others have been through I’m fortunate”.
Hearing these sentences I felt something important struck me. I belived my life would mot be that bad and it was proved to be true. Later during my study in the university I always told myself “I can handle it” when my own goals seemed far off or when my problems seemed too overwhelming and every time I said it ,I always came back to my senses.
Now I work as an English teacher in a middle school. Whenever my students complain about their difficulties in study or want to give up, I will tell the same story of Callahan to them. I just want to make them believe they can handle their difficulties because their circumstances are only bad compared to something better. But others have been through much worse. Then they will build up fortitude.
So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of survival, are words that can give us strength. Whatever you’re going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Compared to what others have been through, you’re fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the rough spots with little more fortitude.
我永遠不會忘記1996年的夏天。我在大學聯考中失敗了，我經歷了一個絕望的極點。我夢想成為一名大學學生似乎永遠不會實現。一天晚上，我的父親來給我講史提芬卡拉漢的故事，誰在獨自穿越大西洋時，他的帆船某物相撞而沉沒。這是一個奇蹟，他存活下來，並發現76天之後（最長的人已經生存了一艘救生筏單獨）。後來在他的敘述中，他寫了這些句子“我告訴自己我可以處理它，與別人相比，我是幸運的”。
聽到這些句子我覺得有什麼重要的東西擊中了我。我相信我的生活不會太差，它被證明是真的。後來在大學期間，我總是告訴自己“我可以處理它”當我自自己的目標似乎很遙遠或當我的問題似乎太大，每次我說它，我總是回到我的感覺。
現在我在一所中學當英語老師。每當我的'學生抱怨學習困難或想放棄時，我都會給他們講卡拉漢的故事。我只是想讓他們相信他們可以處理他們的困難，因為他們的情況是壞的東西相比更好。但其他人已經經歷了更壞的。然後他們將建立堅韌。
所以在這裡，我們從生存的極端的邊緣，是可以給我們力量的話。不管你經歷什麼，告訴自己你能處理它。與其他人相比，你是幸運的。把這個告訴你自己，這會幫助你獲得更多的堅韌的粗糙點。