“I am a slow walker, but I never walk backward.”
中文译文：我这个人走得很慢，但是我从不后退。”亚伯拉罕·林肯（Abraham Lincoln）
——林肯本人的多次演讲或书信
——美国第16任总统亚伯拉罕·林肯（Abraham Lincoln，1809-1865） 的经典名言，是其一生坚韧与方向感的真实写照
—A classic quote by Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th President of the United States, which truly reflects his lifelong resilience and sense of direction
林肯在其政治生涯中留下的一句关于“坚持”与“方向”的个人宣言。林肯出身贫寒，一生经历了无数次失败：生意倒闭、竞选失利、未婚妻去世、精神崩溃——但他在每一次跌落之后都重新站了起来，最终在1860年当选美国总统，并在任期内废除了奴隶制。这句话正是他对自己生命节奏的准确描述——他从不在意别人走得有多快，他只在意自己是否在朝着正确的方向移动。
Lincoln left behind a personal declaration on “perseverance” and “direction” during his political career. Born into poverty, Lincoln experienced countless failures throughout his life: business bankruptcies, election defeats, the death of his fiancée, and a nervous breakdown—yet he rose again after every fall, ultimately being elected President of the United States in 1860 and abolishing slavery during his term. This quote is an accurate description of the rhythm of his life—he never cared how fast others were moving; he only cared whether he was moving in the right direction.
在一个崇尚“快”的时代，走得慢往往被等同于落后、迟钝、不够优秀。但林肯说：速度不是关键，方向才是。 走得慢只是节奏问题，而后退则是方向问题。只要你在朝前走，你就比那些“后退的人”更接近目标——即使他们看起来比你先出发、先到达某些中间站。
“从不后退”意味着：他不否认自己走得慢，也承认自己时常跌倒、受挫、被质疑，但他的底线是不允许自己往相反的方向走。在南北战争最艰难的时刻，他被批评、被嘲笑、被内阁成员排挤，但他始终没有在原则问题上让步。从不后退不是从不失败，而是从不放弃已经确认过的方向。
我们总是被“别人走得比你快”的焦虑追赶着——同龄人已经买房、升职、结婚、生子，而我们还在原地徘徊。但林肯说：你不需要和他们比速度，你只需要确认你没有走反方向。 只要还在向前，哪怕步伐很慢，终点也不会离你越来越远。
In an era that values “speed,” moving slowly is often equated with being behind, slow-witted, or inadequate. But Lincoln said: Speed isn’t the key—direction is. Moving slowly is merely a matter of pace, while moving backward is a matter of direction. As long as you’re moving forward, you’re closer to your goal than those who are “moving backward”—even if they appear to have set out before you and reached certain waypoints first.
“Never retreating” means: he does not deny that he moves slowly, nor does he hide the fact that he often stumbles, faces setbacks, and is questioned—but his bottom line is that he will never allow himself to move in the opposite direction. During the most difficult moments of the Civil War, he was criticized, mocked, and ostracized by members of his cabinet, yet he never compromised on matters of principle. Never retreating does not mean never failing; it means never abandoning a course that has already been set.
We are constantly haunted by the anxiety that “others are moving faster than we are”—our peers have already bought homes, gotten promotions, married, and had children, while we are still treading water. But Lincoln said: You don’t need to compete with them on speed; you just need to make sure you aren’t heading in the wrong direction. As long as you keep moving forward—even if your pace is slow—the finish line will not drift further and further away from you.
What do you think?
