merit: to be worthy of or entitled or liable to
attendant: accompanying or following as a consequence or result
Our behavior is governed by principles. Living in harmony with them brings positive consequences; violating them brings negative consequences. We are free to choose our response in any situation, but in doing so, we choose the attendant consequence.
在任何情況下，我們都可以自由選擇我們的反應，但在這樣做的同時，我們也選擇了相應的後果。
quarterback: (in American football) the player who directs the team’s attacking play and passes the ball to other players at the start of each attack
The proactive approach to a mistake is to acknowledge it instantly, correct, and learn from it. This literally turns a failure into a success. "Success," said IBM founder T. J. Watson, "is on the far side of failure."
literally: accurately
But not to acknowledge a mistake, not to correct it and learn from it, is a mistake of a different order. It usually puts a person on a self-deceiving, self-justifying path, often involving rationalization (rational lies) to self and to others. This second mistake, this cover-up, empowers the first, giving it disproportionate importance, and causes far deeper injury to self.
不承認錯誤、不糾正錯誤、不從錯誤中學習，是另一種錯誤。它通常會讓一個人走上自欺欺人、自我辯解的道路，常常對自己的錯誤辯駁於事無補。這第二個錯誤、這種掩飾會加強第一個錯誤，讓它變得不成比例的重要，並對自己造成更深遠的傷害。
deceive: to make somebody believe something that is not true
disproportionate: too large or too small when compared with something else
Chasing after the poisonous snake that bites us will only drive the poison through our entire system. It is far better to take measures immediately to get the poison out.
commitment: an agreement or pledge to do something in the future
pledge: the state of being held as a security or guaranty
integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles
manifestation: a visible representation of something abstract
endowment: a quality or an ability that you are born with
conscience: the part of your mind that tells you whether your actions are right or wrong
Through our human endowments of self-awareness and conscience, we become conscious of areas of weakness, areas for improvement, areas of talent that could be developed, areas that need to be changed or eliminated from our lives. Then, as we recognize and use our imagination and independent will to act on that awareness --- making promises, setting goals, and being true to them --- we build the strength of character, the being, that makes possible every other positive thing in our lives.
透過人們的自我意識和良知，我們會意識到自己的弱點、需要改進的地方、可發展的才能、需要改變或從生活中剔除的地方。
irate: arising from anger
Don't argue for other people's weakness. Don't argue for your own. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it immediately. Don't get into a blaming, accusing mode. Work on things you have control over. Work on you.
不要為別人的弱點爭論，不要為自己的弱點辯解。當您犯錯時，要立即承認、糾正並從中學習。不要陷入指責別人的模樣。努力去做你可以控制的事情，為自己而努力。
wither: to become dry and sapless
spring up: to appear or develop quickly and/or suddenly
hath: has
disposition: temperament
Samuel Johnson observed, "The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove."
vividly: in a way that produces very clear pictures in your mind
Stephen R. Covey "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"
Online Dictionaries Used:
hk.dictionary.search.yahoo.com
www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com
www.merriam-webster.com
Translated with the help with DeepL and edited
