尼采：那些杀不死你的，终将使你变得更强大

著名哲学家尼采（Friedrich Nietzsche）有这么一句名言，“What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger.”那些杀不死你的，终将使你更强大。你觉得呢？

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

— Does It, Really?

How do you feel about this statement? Does it resonate with truth for you, or does it sound cliched and trite? Do you find comfort in those words, or do they do nothing for you?

除了表示物理上的“产生共鸣，共振”（to make a sound that is produced as a reaction to another sound），也可以指情感上的“产生/引起共鸣，使产生联想”，英文解释为“if something such as an event or a message resonates, it seems important or good to people, or continues to do this”，如：an idea that resonates with many voters 引起许多投票者共鸣的建议。举个🌰：

Her experiences resonate powerfully with me, living, as I do, in a similar family situation.

她的家庭生活环境和我相似，所以她的经历在我心中引起强烈共鸣。

resonate with还可以表示“充满，弥漫（某种含义/特性/特质）”，英文解释为“to be filled with a particular quality”举个🌰：

The building resonates with historic significance.

这座房子富有历史意义。

形容词，表示“老生常谈的，陈词滥调的”，英文解释为“If you describe something as clichéd, you mean that it has been said, done, or used many times before, and is boring or untrue.”

名词形式：cliché：陈词滥调，老生常谈，老套的话（a saying or remark that is very often made and is therefore not original and not interesting）举个🌰：

My wedding day - and I know it's a cliché - was just the happiest day of my life.

我结婚那天——我知道这是老生常谈——是我一生中最幸福的一天。

trite /traɪt/表示“（如观点、言语或故事）陈腐的”，英文解释为“If you say that something such as an idea, remark, or story is trite, you mean that it is boring because it has been said or told too many times.”举个🌰：

The movie is teeming with obvious and trite ideas.

这部电影充满着明显而陈腐的观点。

类似的：

○banal /bəˈnɑːl, -ˈnæl/：表示“平庸乏味的，平庸的，陈腐的”，英文解释为“If you describe something as banal, you do not like it because you think it is so ordinary that it is not at all effective or interesting.”举个🌰：

He just sat there making banal remarks all evening.

他整晚只是坐在那儿说些老套的话。

○hackneyed /ˈhæknɪd/：表示“老生常谈的；不新奇的；陈腐的，老套的”，英文解释为“If you describe something such as a saying or an image as hackneyed, you think it is no longer likely to interest, amuse, or affect people because it has been used, seen, or heard many times before.”举个🌰：

That's the old hackneyed phrase, but it's true.

这虽是老生常谈，但无半点虚言。

○threadbare /ˈθrɛdˌbɛə/：表示“（活动、想法、论点等）软弱无力的；陈旧乏味的；老一套的”，英文解释为“If you describe an activity, an idea, or an argument as threadbare, you mean that it is very weak, or inadequate, or old and no longer interesting.”如：threadbare excuse/argument/joke 陈旧的托词/论点/笑话。

According to a recent, unscientific and informal poll of my Facebook friends, opinions range from cynical and dismissive to a belief so strong in these words that one person has them tattooed on her shoulder.

表示“不加考虑的，轻蔑的，鄙视的”，英文解释为“refusing to consider someone or something seriously”举个🌰：

Some historians have been dismissive of this argument.

一些历史学家对这个论点不屑一顾。

以下是作者在Facebook上收集到的对这一名言看法，部分网友的评论：

Among other comments:

“Disagree. It often makes you weak and angry.”

“Agree, but sometimes what doesn't kill you still really, really hurts.”

“It's true but still, I hate being pushed through hell to see what I'm made of. Can't we all just take our word for it?”

“Story of my life.”

“I think that phrase, like most definitive statements, represents more what we'd like to be true than what necessarily is.”

“God keeps confusing me with a strong woman.”

The idea that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger is based on the theory that by going through difficult experiences, people build up their strength for the next, possibly more painful event that may occur. This can be a comforting thought, especially during a trauma — that all of the pain one may be suffering will be rewarded with a stronger sense of inner courage and the ability to take on the next painful life event.

trauma /ˈtrɔːmə/表示“（精神上的）创伤；痛苦经历”，英文解释为“Trauma is a very severe shock or very upsetting experience, which may cause psychological damage.”举个🌰：

I'd been through the trauma of losing a house.

我已经历过失去房子的痛苦。

It can be viewed as a badge of honor — a war wound, so to speak — to come out of a really awful time feeling more brave, more powerful and more ready to take on the next battle.

That's not how it's been for me, though. I have found that after especially hard times I am weak, exposed and sad. If I was supposed to get stronger, then most of the time I was doing something wrong.

A psychiatrist explained it to me this way:

“Don't believe that crap about what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  What doesn't kill you hurts and makes you vulnerable and leaves you traumatized.”

psychiatrist /saɪˈkaɪətrɪst/表示“精神病医生”，英文解释为“A psychiatrist is a doctor who treats people suffering from mental illness.”

表示“瞎话；胡扯”，英文解释为“something someone says that you think is completely wrong or untrue”。

Can I just say it was an enormous relief to hear him say that?

You mean, I don't have to be strong all the time? I can feel unhappy about things that happened in my life and not have to always grow from the most awful experiences? Sometimes, things are just bad?

Yes. Sometimes bad things happen and we don't grow stronger. Sometimes we just feel... bad.

...but the bulk of psychological research on the topic shows that, as a rule, if you are stronger after hardship, it is probably despite, not because of the hardship. The school of hard knocks does little more than knock you down, hard. What doesn't kill us in fact makes us weaker. - Noam Shpancer, Ph.D., Psychologytoday.com

表示“逆境，艰苦生活的磨炼”，英文解释为“If you learn something in the school of hard knocks, you learn it as a result of difficult or unpleasant experiences.”

As I learned from my Facebook friends, many people believe that they have grown stronger through experiencing horrendous, life-altering experiences. I admire them for the strength they've found through adversity. And it's true,  some difficult experiences have led me to be a stronger person.

表示“骇人的；（程度大得或严重得）极其令人不快的”，英文解释为“Something that is horrendous is very unpleasant or shocking. Some people use horrendous to describe something that is so big or great that they find it extremely unpleasant.”举个🌰：

He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.

他把那件事形容为他生活中最恐怖的经历。

表示“困境；逆境”，英文解释为“Adversity is a very difficult or unfavourable situation.”举个🌰：

He showed courage in adversity.

他在逆境中显示出了勇气。

区分：diversity：表示“多样性”（The diversity of something is the fact that it contains many very different elements.）

But I have to agree with the doctor in that the really big things, the things that changed my life without my consent, the loss of loved ones, the terrifying experience of having a sick child and not knowing what was wrong, being desperately lonely or panic-stricken with anxiety — there has been nothing empowering about those times. I've felt my heart break and my soul sucked dry, but I haven't felt stronger after the worst days. I've only felt grateful that they were over.

表示“惊慌失措的，恐慌万分的”，英文解释为“If someone is panic-stricken or is behaving in a panic-stricken way, they are so anxious or afraid that they may act without thinking carefully.”举个🌰：

Panic-stricken travellers fled for the borders.

惊慌失措的旅行者们向边界逃跑。

补充：

-stricken表示“受严重侵害的，遭受重创的”（suffering severely from the effects of something unpleasant），还有一些表达如：a leukemia-stricken child. 一个患白血病的孩子，a poverty-stricken area 贫困地区。

Most of the time, strength doesn't come from life's worst moments — it comes from the best. I feel strong because I've been loved — and am loved — by some amazing people, and because I've loved them back. I find strength in the times when I've been most generous and caring. I find strength in my ability to sometimes deal well with the bad days, to look for help when I need it, to disappear when I have to, and to re-emerge when I'm ready.

I'm allowed to be sad and unhappy about the things that have hurt me in my life. I don't feel like I'm strong because of them — but I do feel I can be strong in spite of hem.

原文作者：Sharon Greenthal，Parenting Young Adults Expert, About.com. Writer, Emptyhousefullmind.com (Previously published on Empty House Full Mind)

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