最高期待值

Great Expectations

Pete Rose, the famous baseball player, whom I have never met, taught me something so valuable that changed my life. Pete was being interviewed in spring training the year he was about to break Cobb’s all-time hits record. One of the reporters said, “Pete, you only need 78 hits to break the record. How many at-bats do you think you’ll need to get the 78 hits?” Pete quickly answered, “78.” The reporter yelled back, “Ah, come on Pete, you don’t expect to get 78 hits in 78 at-bats, do you?”

Mr. Rose calmly shared his attitude with the reporters. “Every time I step up to the field, I expect to get a hit! If I don’t expect to get a hit, I have no right to step in this position in the first place! It is positive expectation that has gotten me all of the hits in the first place.”

When I thought about Pete Rose’s words and how they applied to everyday life, I felt a little uncomfortable. As a businessperson, I was hoping to make lots of money. As a father, I was hoping to be a good dad. As a married man, I was hoping to be a good husband. The truth was that I was an adequate salesperson, I was not so bad of a father, and I was an okay husband. I immediately decided that being okay was not enough! I wanted to be a great salesperson, a great father and a great husband. I changed my attitude so that I would have more positive expectations, and the results were amazing. I was fortunate enough to win a few sales trips, I won Coach of the Year in my son’s baseball league, and I share a loving relationship with my wife! Thanks, Mr. Rose!

【助讀詞匯】

◇hit n. 擊打，擊球

◇at-bat 擊球的次數

◇adequate adj. 尚可的，差強人意的

【參考譯文】

最高期待值

雖然我從沒遇見過著名棒球運動員皮特·羅斯，但是他卻給我上了寶貴的一課，改變了我的人生。皮特即將打破寇布總擊球記錄的那一年，在春季集訓的時候他接受了采訪。有一個記者問：“皮特，你只要再擊中78次就可以打破記錄了。你覺得你要擊球多少次才能擊中78個？”皮特不假思索回答道：“78次。”記者叫道：“啊，不會吧，皮特，你不會覺得自己揮棒78次，每次都中吧？”

羅斯先生泰然自若地向記者們說出了自己的觀點：“每次上壘，我都指望自己可以擊中；如果我不指望自己可以擊中，我就不會第一個上擊球位。就是這種積極的期盼使我能夠在這么多的第一擊中就擊中球。”

當我琢磨皮特羅斯的話和如何把它應用到日常生活中去時，我心里有點慚愧。作為一個生意人，我希望掙很多錢。作為一個父親，我希望成為一個好爸爸。作為一個已婚的男人，我希望做個好丈夫。但是實際上我只是個馬馬虎虎的生意人，不錯的父親，還過得去的老公。我馬上就覺得“不錯”還不夠。我要成為優秀生意人，偉大的父親，完美的丈夫。我改變了心態，期望變得更積極，效果很神奇。我幸運地贏得了幾趟銷售旅行，被兒子的棒球聯盟評為年度最佳教練，而且和妻子恩愛有加！謝謝你，羅斯先生！

【人生啟迪】

如果你夢想得到太陽，你有可能得到月亮，如果你夢想得到月亮，你有可能得到星星，如果你夢想得到星星，你就有可能什么都得不到。一個人如果只想把事情做到最低的標準，那么他也許永遠不會把一件事情做好；相反，如果事事都指望達到最好的標準，即使不是所有的事都能達到預期的效果，也會得到一個較好的結果。