皇帝的日记

我最近开始写日记，每天晚上写一点，但是不给别人看，只写给自己看。

I've recently started keeping a diary. I write a little every night, but I don't show it to anyone. I only write it for myself to see.

写日记？你是想记录自己每天做了什么吗？

A diary? Are you trying to keep a record of what you do every day?

差不多，但是我更想反省自己，看看今天做得好不好，态度是不是有问题。

Something like that, but what I really want is to reflect on myself, like whether I did well today, whether my attitude was off.

这么认真？你怎么会想到用日记来反省自己？

That serious? What made you think of using a diary to reflect on yourself?

我看到一个故事。很久以前，罗马有一位皇帝，他每天都用笔记本记录自己的想法，可是那些笔记本不是给别人看的，只是他自己一个人写给自己看。

I read a story. A long time ago, there was an emperor in Rome. He used a notebook every day to record his thoughts, but those notebooks weren't meant for anyone else. They were just for him to write to himself.

皇帝也要反省自己？他是一个国家最大的人，还有什么可以反省的？

An emperor needed to reflect on himself too? He was the most powerful person in the whole country. What did he have to reflect on?

当然有。他常常在笔记本里告诉自己，每天早上准备好去遇到态度不好的人，遇到不感谢他的人，但是他还是要跟这些人一起把事情做完。

Of course he did. He often told himself in the notebook to be ready each morning to meet people with bad attitudes, to meet people who wouldn't thank him, but he still had to get things done together with these people.

这个态度真不错，先准备好，别人对他不好，他也不会太难过。

That's a good attitude. Get ready first, so that if people aren't nice to him, he won't be too upset about it.

对，我觉得这个方法很好。你有没有写过日记？

Right, I think it's a good method. Have you ever kept a diary?

我没有，但是我知道一个中国人也做过差不多的事。孔子有一个学生，叫曾子，他说自己一天要问自己三个问题。

I haven't, but I know a Chinese person who did something similar. Confucius had a student called Zengzi, who said he asked himself three questions every day.

三个问题？是哪三个？

Three questions? What were they?

第一个是，我今天帮别人做事，是不是认真？第二个是，我跟朋友说话，是不是诚实？第三个是，老师教我的东西，我练习了没有？

The first is, when I did things for others today, was I conscientious about it? The second is, when I talked with friends, was I honest? The third is, the things my teacher taught me, did I practice them?

曾子没有像那位皇帝一样写笔记本，但是他用这三个问题记录自己每天做得好不好。这跟那个罗马皇帝很像啊！他们两个人不认识，也没有关系，但是都想到了用问题反省自己。

Zengzi didn't keep a notebook like that emperor, but he used these three questions to keep track of how he did every day. That's a lot like the Roman emperor! The two of them never knew each other and had no connection at all, but they both thought of the same thing, using questions to reflect on themselves.

对啊，一个在中国，一个在罗马，两个地方那么远，他们竟然想到一样的方法，真的很有意思。

Right, one in China, one in Rome, the two places so far apart, and they came up with the same method. That really is interesting.

那我们也想三个问题吧，不要用曾子的，也不要用皇帝的，用我们自己的。

Then let's come up with our own three questions too. Not Zengzi's, not the emperor's, our own.

好啊。我先说：我今天是不是认真工作了？我是不是对同事有耐心？我今天学的东西，我还记得吗？

Okay. I'll go first. Did I work hard today? Was I patient with my colleagues? The things I learned today, do I still remember them?

我的三个问题是：我今天有没有帮助别人？我说的话是不是诚实？我今天有没有学到新的东西？

My three questions are: did I help anyone today? Was what I said honest? Did I learn anything new today?

这些问题都不容易回答，但是每天问一次，应该会让我们更了解自己。

None of these questions are easy to answer, but asking them once a day should help us understand ourselves better.

好，那我们从今天晚上就开始写吧，你写你的，我写我的。

Okay, then let's start tonight. You write yours, I'll write mine.