Introduction: Human life is a brilliant process. Everyone is a passer-by in the world. It is everyone’s choice to be a passer-by. The following is a classic material about choosing a topic. Get up and study:

Classic material:

The death of Socrates

(Choose death for a meaningful life)

"The unexamined life is not worth living" was said by the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates when he defended himself in court.

This sentence expresses the fundamental mission of philosophy, which is to explore the meaning of life and live a meaningful life. Philosophers are people who regard life as more important than life itself. They spend their lives thinking, seeking and creating this kind of meaning. If they were asked to stop seeking, or if they sought but could not get it, they would not be able to live. In the words of Socrates, "You must pursue a good life far more than life itself." So when the court offered him pardon on the condition that he abandon philosophy, he refused.

He may be the earliest and most famous philosopher in the history of philosophy who was convicted for his ideas and was willing to be executed for his ideas.

The negative effect of too many options

(Too many options interfere with choice)

Two psychologists from Columbia University and Stanford University found that if When consumers are asked to choose between one of six jams or one of 24 jams, people are willing to have more choices. However, when it came time to actually decide to buy, people who chose among 6 jams made 10 times more purchasing decisions than those who chose among 24 jams.

What if it is not a simple consumption like buying jam, but an investment in an event that can make people gain benefits? Studies have found that people don't fare much better in this condition. Too many choices make people conservative and unwilling to take risks for the most likely gains. In this case, people may adopt a simplifying strategy, either choosing any one or choosing nothing at all.

For example, the United States conducted a study on retirement fund selection. In the United States, due to policy support, it is basically profitable to choose to participate in such funds. Failure to participate is equivalent to throwing away the money you have received. Researchers examined the retirement fund choices of 800,000 employees in 647 companies and found that when the company provided only two retirement fund options, 75% of employees chose to participate; when there were 59 options, 75% of employees chose to participate. The proportion is only 60%. There are so many choices. It seems that people are confused about useful things.

It seems that too many choices are not necessarily a good thing.

Lu Xun abandoned medicine to pursue literature

(Choice of life path)

In the dark age when the Chinese were falsely accused of being the "sick man of East Asia", Lu Xun embraced Enthusiastic about saving the country through medicine, he traveled east to study in Japan. When he saw in the movie that Chinese people were beheaded by the Japanese invaders, and they were surrounded by crowds of people who were indifferent and watched the murder of their compatriots, he was deeply shocked. He felt that "all stupid citizens, even if they are strong, cannot You can only be an undisputed publicity material or a spectator, and you don’t have to think of it as unfortunate even if you die from illness.” Therefore, he resolutely abandoned medicine to pursue literature and devoted himself to the revolutionary literary and artistic movement that awakened the sleeping Chinese people.

Ren Xiaoping’s experience

(No choice)

Ms. Ren Xiaoping, currently the vice president of Beijing Foreign Affairs University, said that in her career, every Every step is arranged by the organization, and I have no autonomy. But in every position, she also has her own choice, which is to do better than others.

After graduating from college, she was assigned to work as an operator at the British Embassy. Being a small operator is a job that many people think is worthless, but Ren Xiaoping has made a name for herself in this ordinary job. She knew the names, phone numbers, work scopes, and even the names of their family members by heart. Some calls came in and he didn't know who to call if he had something to ask. She would ask more questions and try her best to help him find the person accurately.

Gradually, when the embassy staff had something to go out, they did not tell their translator, but called her to tell her who would call and what to tell her. She was also entrusted with notifications of many official and private matters, and Ren Xiaoping became the overall responsible person. Message point, big secretary.

Not long after, due to her excellent work, she was assigned to work as a translator for the reporter office of a major British newspaper. The paper's chief reporter is an old woman with a bad temper who drove away her previous translator. At first, he didn't want Ren Xiaoping because he looked down on her qualifications, but later he reluctantly agreed to let her give it a try. A year later, the old lady often said to others: "My translation is ten times better than yours." Soon, Ren Xiaoping, who had done an outstanding job, was transferred to the U.S. Liaison Office in China as an exception. She did equally well and was awarded the diplomatic title. Ministry Award...

When a person cannot choose his job, at least he always has one choice, whether to work hard or to get by. In the same kind of job, some people are diligent and dedicated, pay a lot and gain a lot, while some people want to adjust their work all day long instead of doing the things in front of them. In fact, such a choice determines the future choice.

The choice of the Curies

(The choice must be conducive to the interests of mankind)

In 1902, the Curies of Poland spent a year and a half of hard struggle. , finally refined radium and invented a specialized technology for manufacturing radium. The uses of radium, especially its medical effectiveness, have led many countries to plan to establish radium manufacturing industries. However, people do not understand the secret of radium manufacturing. One Sunday morning in 1903, the Curies living in Paris received a letter from Bufalo, New York, USA. In the letter, American technicians asked them for advice on how to make radium. Facing the needs of society, should they immediately apply for a patent license for radium manufacturing technology, monopolize the invention rights, and become the owner of money in one fell swoop; or should they publish their research results to the world at no cost and be willing to be a poor scientist. To this end, the Curies held a five-minute conversation. After reading the letter, Pierre Curie said calmly: "We have to choose one of two decisions. One is to describe our research results without reservation." Madame Curie said: "Yes, of course. " Or we could claim to be the owners and 'inventors' of radium... first obtain a patent license for this technology and establish our rights to manufacture radium anywhere in the world. " Marie Curie thought for a few seconds and said firmly: "We can't do this. This is against the spirit of science." Marie Curie further reiterated: "Physicists always publish all their research. Our findings are nothing more than Occasionally there is a commercial use, and we cannot make profits from it..."

So, with the personality of true scientists, the Curies made an eternal choice between poverty and wealth.

The Good History of Ancient Times

(Choice of Responsibility and Life)

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Zhuang of Qi had an affair with the wife of Minister Cui Zhu. When Cui Zhu found out, he planned to kill Duke Zhuang and make Duke Zhuang's half-brother Chujiu the king, namely Duke Jin. Cui Zhu also proclaimed himself Prime Minister, and he was domineering and arbitrary in government affairs.

However, he was very afraid of the crime of regicide, especially worried that it would be recorded in the history books by historians and leave him with eternal infamy. So he ordered the Taishi, who was responsible for recording historical events, to be summoned and said: "The emperor is dead, so you should write that he died of illness. If you write according to what I said, I will treat you favorably. If not, you can't." Don't blame me for being rude!" After saying that, Cui Zhu drew his sword with murderous intent. Qi Taishi looked up at Cui Zhu, picked up the bamboo slips calmly, and started writing. After finishing the book, he handed the bamboo slip to Cui Zhu. Cui Zhu took the bamboo slip and looked at it, and it was clearly written on it: "Cui Zhu killed his king on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year." Cui Zhu was furious and killed Taishi with his sword.

According to the practice at that time, historians were hereditary. So Cui Zhu summoned Taishi's second brother and said: "Your brother disobeyed my orders. I have executed him. From now on, you will take over the post of Taishi. Just write that Duke Zhuang died of illness. Otherwise, then This is your fate." He pointed at Taishi's body and said viciously. He fully thought that Taishi's second brother would be frightened by his coercion and obey his orders. But the second brother of Taishi calmly spread out the bamboo slips and wrote "On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, Cui Zhu killed his king." Cui Zhu was so angry that he drew his sword and killed Taishi's second brother.

Then he summoned the third brother of Taishi and said fiercely: "Your two brothers are dead, don't you cherish your own life? If you change the way of writing, there can be another But Taishi's third brother calmly replied: "It is the historian's bounden duty to write straightly according to the facts. It is better to die than to neglect one's duties." In the end, he still wrote straightly on the bamboo slips. Cui Zhu was so angry that he was furious, but in the end he was afraid of arousing public anger and had to let Taishi's third brother go.

Another historian of Qi, Nanshi, heard that all the Taishi brothers had been killed. He hurried over with bamboo slips in his arms, asking them to succeed the Taishi brothers and record Cui Zhu's crimes in the annals of history. Seeing that the third Taishi brother had already Only after recording the facts did he return. So the history books left this sentence: "In the twenty-fourth year of King Ling of Zhou, the sixth year of Qi Zhuang Gong, in the spring of March Yihai, Cui Zhu killed Qi Zhuang Gongguang in his mansion..." Cui Zhu's evil deeds were finally revealed. It was recorded down, leaving conclusive and credible historical data for future generations. However, the brothers Taishi of Qi were not afraid of gun violence, and their righteous deeds of upholding straight and straight writing will always be recorded in the annals of history and have been passed down through the ages.

The true meaning of life

(There is only one choice in life)

Several students asked Socrates for advice on the true meaning of life.

Socrates took them to the edge of the orchard. The fruit trees were full of fruits.

"You each walk along a row of fruit trees from one end of the forest to the other. Each of you picks a fruit that you think is the biggest and best. You are not allowed to go back and make a second choice." Socrates ordered.

The students set off. Throughout the entire process of walking through the orchard, they made their choices very carefully. When they arrived at the other end of the orchard, the teacher was already waiting for them.

"Have you all chosen the fruit that you are satisfied with?" The students looked at me and I looked at you, but they all refused to answer.

"What's the matter? Children, are you satisfied with your choice?" Socrates asked again.

"Teacher, let me choose again." A student asked, "When I first walked into the fruit forest, I found a big fruit. However, I also want to find a bigger and more fruity one." Okay. When I walked to the end of the forest, I realized that the fruit I saw for the first time was the biggest and the best." Another student then said, "My senior brother and I were just the opposite. I picked one that I thought was the biggest and best. However, later I found that there were many bigger and better fruits than the one I picked. Teacher, please let us choose again!" /p>

Socrates shook his head firmly, "Children, there is no second choice. Life is like this."

Galileo abandoned medicine to engage in mathematics

(Let Children learn to make independent choices)

When Galileo was a child, his father discovered that he was a versatile child, especially in mathematics. However, his father strongly opposed his study of mathematics. He believed that mathematics could not sustain the most basic life, and only by studying medicine could he be successful. Therefore, he hoped that Galileo could become a doctor. However, the 17-year-old Galileo did not stop his interest in studying mathematics when he was studying medicine. On the contrary, this interest became more and more intense. From the age of 19, Galileo officially engaged in mathematics research. Later, Galileo proposed the "Law of Free Fall". At the same time, he also discovered the inertia of objects, the isochronism of swings, and the laws of parabolic motion. He created great achievements in the fields of physics and astronomy, and is therefore known as the "Father of Modern Natural Sciences."

Choose classic quotes:

The greatest sadness is the lack of opportunities to choose in life. The reason why people are late in old age is that they are no longer able to choose. ——Zhou Guoping

The more active the choice, the more difficult it is for the chooser, because he has to bear full responsibility for the consequences of the choice. ——Wang Xiaoming

People often think that rejection is a forced defense, but they don’t know that it is an active choice. ——Bi Shumin

Any study of human affairs must be selective. ——Toynbee

A calm judgment is worth a thousand hasty discussions. ——Wu Wilson

It is not shameful to choose happiness, but it is shameful to only pursue your own happiness.

—— Camus

If there is a choice between right and wrong appearances, reason has no choice. ——Montaigne

Although the road of life is long, there are often only a few critical steps, especially when you are young. ——Liu Qing

The most powerful principle of development and growth lies in people’s choices. —— Eliot

Not making any choice in the face of choice is itself a choice. ——Proverb

Life often only gives us a choice among bad things, not a choice among good things. ——Anonymous

The more choices society gives everyone, the more difficult it is for people to make choices. Because any autonomous choice is also self-limiting—one choice automatically excludes all others. ——Anonymous

You are the sum of the choices you make today, not the product of the choices you made in the past. ——Anonymous

We tend to regret more for the things we give up than to feel lucky for the things we choose.

——Anonymous

Choosing means losing. Because any choice must be based on giving up and promoting something, otherwise it is not a real choice. ——Anonymous