"I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not."
— Joan Didion, "On Keeping a Notebook," Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968)
I've grown a lot this year and learned many valuable lessons.This year I learned I avoid hard conversations until they rot. Three times. I keep promising to speak up sooner. I keep not doing it.对外的「成长总结」是简历语言;私人写作才肯写下「重复犯的同一个错」。
"Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia."
— Kurt Vonnegut, "How to Write with Style" (1980)
中译:写作,只取悦一个人就好。要是你打开窗户,对着整个世界示爱,你的文章只会得肺炎。
原理解读
「读者」是个抽象概念,抽象就会逼出抽象的句子——四平八稳、谁都不得罪、谁也不打动。可一旦你心里有个具体的人(你妈、你最聪明的同事、三年前的自己),你会自动调整深浅、删掉黑话、补上他需要的背景。Stephen King 把这个人叫「理想读者」(Ideal Reader),他写每一句都在想「Tabby 读到这里会笑吗」。傅雷写《傅雷家书》,每封都只写给傅聪一个人,所以那些关于艺术与做人的道理,至今读来仍像在对你一个人低声说。
This guide will help users optimize their onboarding experience.You signed up an hour ago and you're a little lost. Here's the one thing to do next."users" 是没有面孔的群体;"you, an hour ago" 是一个具体的人——句子因此有了对象与分寸。
(脑中的念头)要不要接这个新项目……机会好像不错,但又有点怕……再想想吧。(写进决策日志)接这个项目,我真正怕的是什么?怕做不好、被人看到。不接的代价呢?错过唯一能学 X 的机会。把「怕丢脸」和「少学一门手艺」摆一起,答案其实清楚了。脑中那句「再想想吧」可以空转一个月仍无解;写下来,矛盾被摆上台面,一次就看清。
I feel stuck in my career but I'm not sure why.Stuck = I haven't learned anything new in 18 months. Not the company's fault — I stopped asking for hard projects. The fix isn't a new job; it's a new project."stuck" 是情绪;写下来,它被拆成可诊断、可行动的具体事实。
(private)My co-founder is impossible and I regret everything.(public)A co-founder conflict nearly ended us. Here's what we got wrong about expectations early on — and the conversation that saved the company.私密版宣泄情绪;公开版抽出对他人有用的教训,且不把矛头指向具体的人。