In this essay, I pick up where I left off last time, where I talked about what to do with self-criticism. Whenever I think about this topic, a particular song comes to mind in which the lyrics go: Please could you stop the noise / I'm trying to get some rest / From all the unborn chicken voices in my head
さて、前回の続きになりますが、第3回は自己批判との付き合い方についてお話しします。このテーマについて考えると決まって頭に浮かぶのが、とある楽曲の歌詞です：Please could you stop the noise / I'm trying to get some rest / From all the unborn chicken voices in my head
背後からやってくるアレ・・・
This seminal 1997 Radiohead song “Paranoid Android” ( linkbelow ) is an allusion to the fictional android Marvin, a character in Douglas Adam’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series that suffers depression because it is hardly given the chance touse the enormous intellectendowed it. It probably has nothing to do with self-criticism, but “unborn chicken voices in my head” struck a chord with me because it so articulately encapsulates my state at times, and maybe yours too. I’m speaking of the muffled voices of blame and shame that creep up on us unannounced. How do we tame them?
歌詞はレディオヘッド 1 による名曲「パラノイド・アンドロイド」（1997）から取ったもので、ダグラス・アダムス 2 による『銀河ヒッチハイク・ガイド』というSFシリーズに登場するロボットを暗喩（あんゆ）するものです。基となるシリーズは、崇高な知性を授けられながらも、それをろくに使わせてもらえないため鬱（うつ）状態にあるロボットを描きます。 従って この楽曲も自己批判とは何ら関係ないのでしょうが、"unborn chicken voices in my head"のフレーズが私にとってはあまりにも実感の伴うものでした。予告なしに忍び寄る非難の小声をどう飼い慣らしていけば良いのでしょうか？
Interpreting for high- profile individuals can be a dangerous task because often recordings of what you have done will be uploaded onto the internet. Whatever misinterpretation, slip of the tongue , level of ignorance you give away will be out there for all toseein perpetuity . Of course , it's not as if people are always holding up a microscopeto the interpreter in such cases. Yet , a tiny drop of criticism can still be quite lethal to your self- esteem .
No . 1: Don't read the comments!Don't scroll down to read the comments! If you must read them, remember this ? people who make negative comments on the internet reveal more about themselves than the object they are bad-mouthing . They are but tiny fish.
No . 2: Develop a calibrated distance from criticism. If the criticism comes from anonymous people online, first gauge whether it is justified, and then give it a few hours to float around in your head, but no longer than that. Headspace is an awful thing to waste . If the criticism comes from a colleague or client, gauge if it is legitimate and if so , take it to heart . Colleagues are probably doing it out ofsincerity , and criticism from a client is usually meant to beconstructive , for they wouldn’t evenoffer criticism if the plan was to cut you off. So , after you have finished beating yourself over the head about it, change your state and take some time toconsiderremedial measures .
No . 3: You are still growing, and you are bound to grow further . So you mistranslated that word. Or you made a fool out of yourself on stage. It's OK, you are still growing. Have you made progresssince yesterday? Maybe yes, maybe no . Now, pull the lens back a bit further . Have you made progress from a year ago? How about five years ago? Ten years ago? The answer is most probably yes. This means that you are bound to be in a better place five years, ten years hence . Yes, there are ups and downs, but you are stillon your continued path of growth. Does that thought help you relax, if only a little?
I've turned my essay into something of a self- help guide, but we all need some pep talk at times, don't we? In my next column , I will talk about the training I went through to become an interpreter and how it proved useful after turning pro. Stay tuned!
