The Rivals in Life
生活中的对手

1. The Jaguar is an endangered animal. It is said that currently, there are less than 20 jaguars in the world. One of them is now living in the national zoo of Peru. In order to protect this jaguar, Peruvians singled out a pitch of land in the zoo for it, where there are herds of cattle, sheep and deer for the jaguar to eat. Anyone who has visited the zoo praised it to be a "Heaven for Jaguars". However, strangely enough, no one has ever seen the jaguar prey on the cattle and sheep. What we could see is that it is lying in its' house, eating and sleeping.
美洲豹是一种濒临灭绝的动物，据说，目前世界上仅存不足20只，其中有一只现在就生活在秘鲁的国家动物园里。为了保护这只美洲豹，秘鲁人在动物园里单独为它圈出一块地来，且圈地中有成群的牛、羊、鹿供其食用用。参观过豹园的人都惊叹地称这里是“美洲豹的天堂”。然而，令人感到非常奇怪的是，没有人看见这只美洲豹去捕捉牛羊，唯一能见到的就是它躺在它的房里重复着吃与睡。
2. Some people thought that the jaguar felt too lonely, so they collected money and rented a female jaguar to accompany it. Nonetheless, it did not make too much sense. The jaguar just sometimes went out of its house with its "girlfriend" and stayed in the sun for a while before it came back to its house again.
一些人认为肯定是美洲豹太孤独了，于是就集资从国外租来一只雌豹陪它生活。然而此举并未带来多大改观，那只豹只是偶尔陪伴外来的“女友”走出豹房，到阳光下站一会儿，不久就又回到它的“卧室”。
"It is normal for the jaguar to be lazy in this environment. The jaguar is the king of this piece of land, simply because there are only some small animals around him，that is why the jaguar shows no interest in going out. Why don't match you put two wolves or at least a jackal around him?" A visitor proposed.
“在这种环境下，美洲豹不懒散才怪呢！它本是这片领地之王，你们在它周围放这么一群小动物，它怎么可能有兴趣走出来？为什么你们不放上两只狼呢，即使不放狼，至少也得放一只豺吧？”一位来此参观的人建议道。

3. Others all agreed with that, and put five panthers into the jaguars' territory. Since then, the jaguar did not go back to its house anymore. It either stands on top of the hill roaring, or goes down from the hill strolling, without sleeping all day long. It did not eat the meat provided by the zoo staff and has totally gotten back to its nature.
其他人都觉得他说得很有道理，就把5只黑豹送进了美洲豹的领地。自那以后美洲豹就再没回过豹房。它不是站在山顶长啸，就是从山上下来，在草地上逡巡游荡；它不再整日睡觉，也不再吃动物园管理员送来的肉，它彻底恢复了本性。
4. Actually, this principle does not only apply to animals, but also applies to human beings. Here is another story: There was a rich man who was selecting a husband for his only child amongst a multitude of pursuers. The man led all the pursuers to a river and pointed to the crocodiles in it, saying: "Anyone who can swim across the river safe and sound will marry my daughter." Those pursuers looked at each other and no one dared to take the initiative. At that moment, a man bravely plunged into the river and swam at a staggering speed to the other side. AII the people applauded for his courage with a great sense of admiration. Nevertheless, the man, after landing on the bank, shouted angrily, "Who pushed me into the river just now?"
其实，这个原则不只适用于动物，也适用于人。有这样一则故事：一个富人为其独生女儿选婿，而求婚者众多。于是这个富人将所有的求婚者带到一条河边，指着河里的鳄鱼说道，“如果谁能够安全地游到对岸，我就会把我的女儿嫁给他。”这些追求者们你看看我，我看看你，没有人敢跳进河里。正在这时，突然有一个男子“扑通”一声很勇敢地跳了下去，然后以超乎寻常的速度游到对岸。所有的人对这名勇气十足的男子投以钦佩和羡慕的目光。没想到，这个男子上岸后，生气地大声问道：“刚才是谁把我推下河去的？”
5. Maybe the man, after thinking of the whole process and the good consequence he was going to obtain, felt obliged to the one who pushed him into the river. It is fairly common that disadvantages will turn into advantages and misfortunes into fortunes! But many of us cannot manage to realize the significance our "rivals" have to our success. Generally speaking, many people will see the one who "pushes him into the river" as an opponent. However, if you think about it in a deeper sense, you will realize that it is also a blessing and opportunity to have someone like that! It is the one who "pushes you into the river" who makes you feel a sense of crisis and stimulates your ambition and desire to strive! You will resolve the crisis by eliminating all difficulties, and then progress to another stage of your life!
或许那位男子在回头想想整件事情的经过后，会有很大的收获，也会很感谢那位推他下河的人。把不利变有利，将坏事变好事，这样的例子在现实屡见不鲜。但很少有人能认识到造成这个结果的那个“对手”在此之中所起的重要作用。一般讲来，多数人都会把推他“下河”的人视做敌人，不过你只要往深处想想就会发现，这未尝不是一种福分、一种机遇。有这样一个“推你下河”的人的存在，会促使你产生危机感，从而激发你更加旺盛的精神和斗志! 你会下定决心排除一切艰难险阻，在前行路上跃上一个更高的舞台！
6. In our world, one creature without any rivals is a lifeless creature. If a man lives without rivals, he is bound to be satisfied with the present and will not strive for the better. He would hold back before all difficulties and decline in inaction and laziness. An adverse environment tends to cultivate successful people. Therefore, your rivals are not your opponents or those you grudge. Instead, they are your good friends! In our lives, we need some rivals to "push us into the river", leaving us striving ahead in all difficulties and competitions. In our work, we need some rivals to be picky about us and supervise our work with rigorous requirements and standards. Due to our rivals, we can bring out our potential to the best; Due to our rivals, we will continuously promote our capabilities when competing with them!
在这个优胜劣汰的世界，任何一种生物，假如没有了对手，必将变得死气沉沉。假如一个人没有了对手，他就会变得安于现状，不思进取。以后遇到困难，他会畏缩，最终在怠情和没落中消沉。逆境往往造就成功，因此，对手不是你的敌人，而是你的挚友，你不必嫉恨他。人生中，我们需要一些对手推自己“下河”让自己无论路遇多少艰难竞争，也会奋勇向前。在工作中，我们需要一些对手，对自己百般挑剔，督促你发现不足，高标准，严要求。有了对手，我们就会把自己的潜能发挥到极致；有了对手，我们就会在与对手的比拼中不断提高自身能力，站得更高更远！