The Road Less Traveled
Chapter 1 Discipline(Excerpt)
This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness. Since most of us have this tendency to a greater or lesser degree, most of us are mentally ill to a greater or lesser degree, lacking complete mental health. Some of us will go to quite extraordinary lengths to avoid our problems and the suffering they cause, proceeding far afield from all that is clearly good and sensible in order to try to find an easy way out, building the most elaborate fantasies in which to live, sometimes to the total exclusion of reality. In the succinctly elegant words of Carl Jung, “Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering.”But the substitute itself ultimately becomes more painful than the legitimate suffering it was designed to avoid. The neurosis itself becomes the biggest problem. True to form, many will then attempt to avoid this pain and this problem in turn, building layer upon layer of neurosis. Fortunately, however, some possess the courage to face their neuroses and begin—usually with the help of psychotherapy—to learn how to experience legitimate suffering.In any case, when we avoid the legitimate suffering that results from dealing with problems, we also avoid the growth that problems demand from us. It is for this reason that in chronic mental illness we stop growing, we become stuck. And without healing, the human spirit begins to shrivel. Therefore let us inculcate in ourselves and in our children the means of achieving mental and spiritual health. By this I mean let us teach ourselves and our children the necessity for suffering and the value thereof, the need to face problems directly and to experience the pain involved.I have stated that discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life’s problems. It will become clear that these tools are techniques of suffering, means by which we experience the pain of problems in such a way as to work them through and solve them successfully, learning and growing in the process. When we teach ourselves and our children discipline, we are teaching them and ourselves how to suffer and also how to grow.What are these tools, these techniques of suffering, these means of experiencing the pain of problems constructively that I call discipline? There are four: delaying of gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing. As will be evident, these are not complex tools whose application demands extensive training. To the contrary, they are simple tools, and almost all children are adept in their use by the age of ten. Yet presidents and kings will often forget to use them, to their own downfall. The problem lies not in the complexity of these tools but in the will to use them. For they are tools with which pain is confronted rather than avoided, and if one seeks to avoid legitimate suffering, then one will avoid the use of these tools. Therefore, after analyzing each of these tools, we shall in the next section examine the will to use them, which is love.少有人走的路
第一章 自律（节选）
回避问题和逃避痛苦的倾向，是人类心理疾病的根源。人人都有逃避问题的倾向，因此绝大多数人的心理都存在缺陷，真正的健康者寥寥无几。有的逃避问题者，宁可躲藏在自己营造的虚幻世界里，与现实生活完全脱节，这无异于作茧自缚。心理学大师荣格一针见血地指出：“神经官能症，就是人生痛苦最常见的替代品。”替代品最终带给人的痛苦，甚至比所逃避的痛苦更为强烈，正因如此，神经官能症才成为最棘手的问题。不少人还没有解决旧的问题和痛苦，却又要逃避新的问题和痛苦，他们不断用神经官能症作蚕丝，把自己一层一层包裹起来，陷入重围，无法自拔。所幸，也有人能坦然面对自己的心理障碍，及时寻求心理医生的帮助，用正确的心态面对人生正常的痛苦。事实上，如果不顾一切地逃避问题和痛苦，不仅错失了解决问题、推动心灵成长的契机，而且还会使我们患上心理疾病。长期的心理疾病会使人的心灵停止成长，不及时治疗，心灵就会萎缩和退化，心智就永远难以成熟。正确的做法是：我们要让我们自己，也要让我们的孩子认识到，人生的问题和痛苦具有非凡的价值。勇于承担责任，敢于面对困难，才能够使心灵变得健康。自律是解决人生问题最主要的工具，也是消除人生痛苦最重要的方法。通过自律，在面对问题时，我们才会变得坚定不移，并能从痛苦中获取智慧。我们要求自己和孩子自律，其实就是在培养双方如何忍受痛苦，获得成长。那么究竟什么是自律呢？如何才能通过自律消除人生的痛苦呢？简单地说，所谓自律，就是主动要求自己以积极的态度去承受痛苦，解决问题。自律有四个原则：推迟满足感、承担责任、忠于事实、保持平衡。这些原则并不复杂，即便是10岁的小孩也能够掌握。不过有时候，即使贵为一国之君，也会因忽略和漠视它们而遭遇失败，甚至自取灭亡。实践这些原则，关键取决于你的态度，你要敢于面对痛苦而非逃避。对于那些时刻都想着逃避痛苦的人，这些原则不会起到任何作用，他们也绝不会从中受益。接下来，我就要对这些原则进行深入的阐述，然后，再探讨它们背后的原动力——爱。