两金一银收官！谷爱凌亲撰文书剖析“爱人”：恋爱10年才磨炼出我的“大心脏”。

恭喜谷爱凌在北京冬奥拿到两金一银！

仿佛任何困难，任何巨大的压力在她面前都风轻云淡，在面临大赛失利的压力， 在做出那些空中高难度动作的时候，她的内心是怎样的，是真的那么轻松吗，还是和普通人一样也会心跳加速、犹豫纠结呢？

大家都知道谷爱凌不仅是一名顶尖的滑雪运动员，还是一名已经被斯坦福录取的大学霸。文书写作是美国大学最看重的一项能力。那么，谷爱凌的文书水平是怎样的？她在文章中都写了一些什么呢？

在这篇文章中，她巧妙地将“恐惧”比喻成善变的爱人。坦诚自己虽然是极限运动的专业运动员，但是做有危险性的动作时也会出于本能地害怕，自己也无法做到无视“恐惧”，但却学着用不断积累的经验评估风险，和出于人类本能的恐惧建立起独特的联系。

在文章中，谷爱凌还谈到了压力和自信心，谈到自己如何面对周围环境带给自己的高压环境，自己是怎样和恐惧相处，通过不断磨炼增加自信心，抵消这些高压环境带来的不安。

在这篇文章中，谷爱凌剖析了自己的内心世界，她不再是外界看到的天才，也不是天生拥有“大心脏”的幸运儿，而是一个也会在恐惧面前手心流汗，紧张到呼吸困难 ，胸口憋闷的普通人。但同时，她也是一个充满斗志，有强烈“证明自己”的欲望的年轻女孩。她把“恐惧”当成自己的情人，努力学着和它相处，维持微妙的平衡的关系；她把不断艰苦训练变成自信的来源，靠强大的自信纾解高强度的压力……

下面我们就一起来看看18岁学霸谷爱凌的文书，看看她讲述自己与“恐惧”共舞，磨炼“大心脏”的过程！由于中英文写作习惯和表达方式的不同，中文部分采取了“意译”，建议大家阅读英文原文，更好体会一下谷爱凌在空中翻滚的惊心动魄的瞬间！

作者：谷爱凌

FOR THE LAST 10 OF MY 18 YEARS, I’ve pursued a tumultuous love affair with fear. I’m a professional freeskier, and twin-tipped skis, 22-foot halfpipes and double-cork rotations are my main sources of adrenaline, the truly addictive core of extreme sports.

译文：在我人生的18年中，后10年我都在和恐惧谈一场喧嚣又动荡不定的恋爱。我是一名职业自由式滑雪运动员，双头滑雪板、22英尺高的U型池还有转体两周的动作，这些就是我肾上腺素的主要来源——也是极限运动真正令人上瘾的核心所在。

Like all bewitching lovers (at least the ones in the novels I read, for lack of real-world experience), this significant other can be … mercurial. “Fear” is really an umbrella term for three distinct sensations: excitement, uncertainty, and pressure. I’ve learned that the nuanced indicators of each of these feelings can be instrumental to success when recognized and positively leveraged, and harbingers of injury when ignored.

译文：就像所有让人迷恋的情人一样（至少是我在小说里读到的那种，因为我本人缺少相关经验），这位重要的另一半可能是……善变的。“恐惧”实际上概括了三种不同的感官体验：兴奋、不确定性还有压力。我已经从中学会：如果你能意识到并积极利用这每一种感官中的微妙指示，那么就会对成功有帮助；但如果你忽视它们，往往就是受伤的先兆。

Though it’s easy to label extreme sport athletes as fearless or capricious, the countless hours I’ve spent visualizing tricks and practicing them in foam pits (foam. particles. everywhere) and on airbags (think giant Slip ’N Slide) suggest otherwise. It’s biologically counterintuitive for us to place ourselves in positions of risk, and while we make every effort to physically prepare, no amount of metaphorically safety-netted practice can equate to the unforgiving snow slope that rushes up to meet us after a steep kicker launches us into the air. Instead of ignoring fear, we build unique relationships with it by developing a profound sense of self-awareness and making deliberate risk assessments.

译文：虽然极限运动员很容易被贴上无所畏惧或不走寻常路的标签，但其实，我曾花无数个小时在海绵池（填满了泡沫和颗粒）和气垫上（想象一种巨型的Slip ’N Slide滑水道）想象做那些技巧动作的画面，并不断进行练习。从生物学的角度上来讲，把自己置于危险境是违背天性的，虽然我们尽一切努力做好了身体的准备，但当我们腾空而起的时候，即使自己平时做过很多安全训练，需要真切面对的依然是冰冷无情的大雪坡。我们不是无视恐惧，而是通过培养深刻的自我意识和深思熟虑的风险评估，与恐惧建立独特的关系。

The work begins with visualization. Before I attempt a new trick, I feel a tightening high in my chest, between the base of my throat and the top of my diaphragm. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. As I ascend the gargantuan takeoff ramp, I imagine extending my legs to maximize lift. Then I picture twisting my upper body in the opposite direction I intend to spin, generating torque before I allow it to snap back the other way.

译文：这个建立过程先从想象那个画面开始。在尝试一个新技巧之前，我感到自己的胸口在喉咙底部和膈肌顶部之间收紧。我深吸一口气，闭上眼睛。我想象着自己在巨型起跳坡道上起飞，伸展双腿最大化地提高腾空升力。然后，我幻想着自己的上半身开始向我想要的旋转的相反方向扭转，在向另一个方向弹回之前产生扭矩。

Now, in my mind, I’m airborne. I see the backside of the takeoff immediately, then my flip draws my vision to the cloudless sky above me. My ears register the wind as a kind of song, every 360-degree rotation providing the beat to the music of my motion. As my feet come under me halfway through, I spot the landing for the briefest of moments before I pull my body into the second flip. I imagine my legs swinging under me as I return to a forward-facing position and meet the ground with my weight in the front of my boots. 1440 degrees. I smile. Then I open my eyes.

译文：现在，在我的想象里，自己已经飞了起来。很快我看到起跳点的背面，然后翻转动作将我的视线投向头顶万里无云的天空。在我的耳畔，风也是一种乐曲，每次360度转体都为我的动作打起了乐拍。当双脚在中途落下，我将身体转入第二个空翻前的一瞬间，我看到了落地点。我想象着双腿不断摆动，身体回到面向前方的姿势，将重心放回靴子前头落地着陆。转体1440度。我微笑，然后睁开眼睛。

In the split second following my visualization, the knot in my chest flutters and spreads — those famous butterflies reaching their final stage of metamorphosis. Excitement, the child of adrenaline, my true love and addiction. That tantalizingly precarious balance between confidence in my ability to execute the trick safely and excitement for the unpredictable experience to come. I’ve heard this state called “the zone,” which is indeed where I was when I became the first female skier in history to land the double cork 1440 last fall.

译文：在我想象结束的那一瞬间，一直压在我胸口的大石终于舒展开了——就像那些著名的化茧成蝶的最终蜕变阶段。兴奋是肾上腺素的产物，这种兴奋是我所爱的也是我为之痴迷的。对自己能安全完成动作的信心，对即将到来未知体验的兴奋，这两者之间不稳定的平衡关系令我着迷。我听说这种状态叫做“入境”(the zone)，在去年秋天，当我成为历史上第一个完成前空翻两周加转体1440的女滑雪运动员后，我确实进入了这个境界。

It doesn’t take much, unfortunately, for uncertainty to override confidence. Imperfect preparation moistens my palms, pushes that tight spot down into my stomach and makes each breath shallower than the last. The feeling isn’t panic, but something like dread. Danger! cries every evolutionary instinct. If I should choose to look past this safety mechanism, my body may act autonomously in the air, twisting out of the rotation and forcing me to brace for impact out of fear that full commitment to the trick may end in disaster. Every freeskier’s goal is to recognize the minute differences between excitement and uncertainty in order to maximize performance while minimizing the risk of injury.

译文：但不幸的是，不确定性很容易压倒自信心。准确得不够充分的时候 ，我的手心会出汗，把紧张的大石吞到肚子里，呼吸变得越来越局促。这种感觉并不是恐惧，而是一种类似畏惧的感觉。危险！我身上每一个进化的本能都在呼喊。如果我选择忽视这个安全机制，那我的身体可能会在空中失去控制、动作变形。如果完全投入到这个动作中可能会发生灾难性后果，这时候恐惧会迫使我因此为落地冲击做好准备。每一个自由滑雪运动员的终极目标，就是要识别兴奋和不确定性之间的细微差别，以最大限度地提升自己的表现，并最大限度地降低自己受伤的风险。

Finally, there’s pressure, an energy source that can be wielded in many ways. One’s experience of pressure — by far the most subjective facet of “fear” — is affected by personal experiences and perspectives. Expectations of family and friends, a competitive streak, or even sponsorship opportunities can provide the scaffolding for a high-pressure environment. Pressure can be a positive force for competitors who leverage it to rise to the occasion, but it can also single-handedly dictate competitive failure.

译文：最后，还有压力这一有着多种释放形式的动力源泉。一个人对压力体验——显然这是“恐惧”最主观的一面——会受个人经历和观念的影响。家人和朋友们的期望、竞争的冲动、甚至是提供赞助的机会，这些都可能造成高压环境。对于可以克服压力迎难而上的人来说，压力可能是一种积极的力量，但也可能成为失利的重要因素。

But whether athletes alleviate or compound their innate desire to “prove themselves” depends largely on confidence. As I enter my early adulthood, I’m proud of the work I’ve done to cope with pressure by bolstering my self-esteem and minimizing my need for external validation. I focus on gratitude, perspective, and on the joy this sport brings me, regardless of whether I’m alone or in front of a worldwide TV audience. Though my views of myself and the world are constantly evolving, one thing is for certain: no matter how much time passes, I’ll always be a hopeless romantic when it comes to fear.

译文：然而，运动员是否能抑制或是增强“证明自己”的天生欲望，很大程度上取决于自信心。当我刚刚步入成年，我为自己能够依靠提升自尊减少对外界认可的需求来应对压力，感到十分自豪。无论是一个人独处，还是面对全世界的观众，我都专注于感恩、观察、以及这项运动带给我的快乐。虽然我对自己和世界的看法在不断变化，但有一点是肯定的：无论时间如何流逝，面对恐惧，我总是一个无可救药的浪漫主义者。

注：以上原文来自于《纽约时报》