我的頭髮就是一個故事。很久很久以前，有一個小女孩。她不知道自己是誰。她追隨別人對她的期望，追隨社會的指引。

社會說，嘿，黑人女孩，拉直你的頭髮吧。用這種柔順劑。你的自然髮色不夠漂亮。像白人一樣保持順滑飄逸。畢竟，這才是美麗的模樣。

這個女孩一直拉直頭髮直到成年。同時，她總是羨慕別人的捲髮。她會帶著欽佩和羨慕的目光看著那些有著螺旋捲髮的女孩，說：「我要是能有那樣的頭髮就好了。」有一天，這個小女孩決定不再用柔順劑。她決定讓頭髮自然生長，不再強迫自己拉直。

Once her hair grew out enough, she was shocked to learn that her natural hair had perfect spiral curls. Oh my God. The hair she always wanted was always right there. This woman began to appreciate the beauty that was within, the beauty that was always in her. Then that woman created this podcast.

Welcome to Mindshift Power podcast, a show for teenagers and the adults who work with them, where we have raw and honest conversations. I'm your host, Fatima Bey, the mind shifter. And welcome to another episode. As you can tell, today's episode is gonna be a little bit different because today's special guest is me, as you can see on the front cover. Now for those listening who don't understand, I understand that my listeners are from everywhere and all kinds of backgrounds.

So if you don't know what a relaxer is, a relaxer is a chemical that black people put in their hair to make our hair permanently straight. So most of my life, since I was an adolescent, at least early teens, I've been putting a relaxer in my hair as with most black people in this country until recently. And it was the norm growing up. That was the norm. That's what we did started a long time ago.

But it does permanently straighten your hair. And a funny thing about that is even with the relaxer in my hair, I could still wear my hair curly. The curls still showed through. They didn't show through the way they do now, but they still they still came through. So all my life have been straightened in my hair.

就像我在故事裡說的，我一直很欣賞那些擁有完美捲髮的人，我指的是不同種族的人，無論他們是半黑半白，是白人還是拉丁裔，無論他們是什麼種族。我一直很喜歡他們那美麗的捲髮。我曾經希望自己也能擁有。嗯，正如你在故事裡聽到的，後來我發現我一直都有這樣的捲髮。只是我一直在壓抑它。

I kept putting the fake on top of the reel, and it wasn't until I decided to take the fake off relaxer that I could finally see the reel and realize my hair is beautiful. I am beautiful. What God put in me is beautiful. The way he created me is beautiful. I now recognize that.

但你看，這之所以是一個故事，是因為它是人生的比喻。所以今天的這一集是寫給某個人的。我不知道是誰，但很可能就是你。生活中你常看到，我們不斷地試圖壓抑自己內心的本能，試圖壓抑我們與周遭人的想法不同的事實，因為我們格格不入。所以我們壓抑它。

我們塗上柔軟精，保留自然捲髮。我們抑制天賦，因為它們格格不入。事實是，如果你做你自己，做真實的自己，你就不會融入其中，因為一般人根本不知道自己究竟是什麼樣的人。我再說一次。一般人根本不知道自己生來應該是什麼樣子。

Some of you listening to me right now, you've been suppressing who you really are and you're seeking the approval of others. So you're trying to fit in. You're trying to fit in and be what everybody else says you should be. Society tells you you have to be this. You have to be that.

And that's not true. You're tall and you're black. You have to play basketball instead of maybe you need to be the next rocket scientist. But, no, we fall in line with the lies that our society tells us. Although my audience is American and Canadian, this is true for people around the world, no matter what culture you're from, because all of our cultures lie to us and tell us who we should be, who we should and shouldn't be.

Every single one. But I want you to know, just like my curly hair, your beauty can come out once you take off the fakeness. Once you start holding back your fakeness. So what I mean is stop holding back who you are. You know, I see it all the time.

大家都知道，我常常和青少年打交道，這個播客就是為青少年準備的。我會去高中，也會開一些工作坊。我經常看到人們試圖融入他們的圈子。為了做到這一點，他們必須虛偽，必須不真誠。

And sometimes they don't realize that that's what they're doing. So I'm not saying that everybody's trying to be fake, but you really are because you're afraid that the real you won't be accepted. But the truth is the real you is a gift that we all need. I'm a say it again. The real you is a gift that we all need.

我的頭髮本身就是一個故事，它關乎認識自我，並對你內在的美麗獲得自信。那麼，現在在座的各位，有多少人知道自己現在不快樂？我能告訴你們嗎？人們不快樂的原因有很多，但我認為最大的原因在於，你總是試著適應自己不適應的地方。你就像一個方枘，試圖塞進一個圓孔裡。

你試著融入你不適合的境界。這就是你不快樂的原因。除非你完成了你命中註定要做的事，否則你永遠不會快樂。而你命中註定要做的事早已存在於你心中。就像我的頭髮上早已捲曲一樣，它們也早已存在於你心中。

你人生的使命、該做的事、你的幸福所在，都在於實現那個目標。如果你不知道那是什麼，也許是時候去發現它了。但你內在的美早已存在。你渴望的美早已存在。瞧，你們很多人都在努力追求BBL、最好的假髮、最好的東西、最好的鞋子、最潮的車。

你拼命想給別人留下好印象，卻忽略了那隻是表面功夫。那都是些浮在表面的垃圾，跟你的內心毫無關係。除非你決定展現真實的自我，否則你永遠不會快樂。想想看，有多少有錢人？

我們認識多少有錢有名的人？他們擁有一切。哦，看起來是這樣。然而他們最終卻自殺了。他們最後進了戒毒所。

他們最終會像我們一樣，遇到一些真正嚴重的問題。你知道為什麼嗎？金錢和名聲並不能解決他們的問題。金錢和名望並不能從內部解決問題。所以你會得到一大堆東西。

You can have the nicest house. You can have the nicest position and the biggest title. It will not satisfy you because it's not it's not you letting it's not the real you coming out. And it's not that you can have those things. You can and in fact you should.

我希望每個人都能如此。實際上，我真心希望看到你們大多數人都能成為百萬富翁。不管你們是否出名，我都希望看到這一點。但這無關緊要。這真的和你們是否公開自己的身分無關。

你看，每當我們退縮的時候，我們就會不斷告訴自己：不。我不能這麼說，因為不會被接受。也許你需要說出來，因為也許我們需要聽聽你的意見，因為你擁有獨特的視角，除非你持有這種視角，否則我們其他人無法理解。我們需要聽到它。也許你找到了治癒癌症的方法，但你還沒找到，因為你知道你的想法、你的理論會被科學界拒絕。

所以，無論如何，繼續前進，去做吧。想想看，我們迄今為止最偉大的發現都來自於那些打破常規的人。打破常規就是打破常規。打破社會給你設定的框框，打破你思維的框框。而這真的不是你該做的。

你看，我的頭髮之所以能成為故事的另一個原因是，我從小就非常非常缺乏自信。我完全不相信自己。我竟然在如此缺乏自信的情況下做了一些事情，真是令人驚訝。如果大多數人真的了解我的想法，都會對我所做的一些事情感到震驚。你知道，我經營過兩家公司。

我的企業在國內外都贏得了多個獎項。我有登上過雜誌封面，也上過電視。我能想到的榮譽很多，你知道的，數得出來。但說實話，在我擁有自信之前，這些都毫無意義。

And through all of that, I had very little confidence through most of that, I would say. It's only in recent years that I've been able to build up my confidence more. And to me, my hair as a story is so significant because it's significant of me and many of you. Like I said, this is for somebody. I don't know who, but it's probably you.

我從小就沒有自信。一點自信都沒有，一點都沒有。所以我一直在壓抑很多東西。我的許多想法，現在人們確實會向我尋求建議，我過去常常壓抑它們，因為它們與其他人格格不入。它們與我周遭人的思想和理論格格不入。

所以我開始壓抑它。瞧，我壓抑的正是那股魔力。人們總是問我的想法、我的建議，以及我是誰？但現在我意識到，我壓抑的正是那份美麗，我意識到我壓抑的正是那份美麗。我意識到，我壓抑的正是別人所需要的。

我的思考方式對其他人很有幫助。這並不是說我完美無缺，或是我總是對的，而是我有自己的視角。我有一種表達觀點或引導人們看到其他觀點的方法，而我發現很多人沒有這種能力。你知道為什麼嗎？這是一種天賦。

I recognize that it's a gift and I don't say that arrogantly. I say it confidently because once upon a time I couldn't say that. And for so many of you listening right now, I am not that special. I am not more gifted than you likely. I do have a lot of gifts.

我現在明白了，但我知道我不是唯一一個。你們很多人現在正在聽我說話，你們的天賦因為格格不入而隱藏起來。拜託，拜託，拜託，別再試著融入了。別再試圖去迎合別人的標準了。人們除了觀點之外什麼都沒有，而且可能會犯錯。

Human beings didn't create you. So why are you looking for our approval? We didn't give you purpose. You don't need my approval. My opinion doesn't matter in your life.

沒有人對你的人生負責，只有你自己。你需要活出自己的人生。你需要發現你內心深處那份美好的天賦，不再壓抑它，不再強迫它成為它原本的樣子。我希望你聽聽我今天說的話，並牢記在心。我的頭髮就是你的故事。

如果你接受這訊息並將其運用到你的生活中，開始尋找並直面自己，承認那些你一直壓抑的東西，你就會發現，你所追尋的美一直都在。你只需要釋放它，讓它自然發展。你看，當我決定不再拉直頭髮時，我並沒有立即按下「不改變」的按鈕。現在我擁有了一頭美麗的秀髮。

不。我得留一年半的頭髮才能讓你看到封面上的樣子。我得留差不多一年半的頭髮才能達到你現在看到的長度。現在所有直髮都剪掉了，這才一年半的生長量。就像我的頭髮一樣，當你決定不再壓抑內心深處的東西時，它可能需要一段時間才能展現出來，因為你已經壓抑太久了。

I'm a say that again. It might take a while for you to develop what is already naturally there because you have been suppressing it for so long. But when you let it out, it will become beautiful and we'll actually be able to see the beauty that's within you. You just got to get past everybody else's opinions. And especially because this this podcast is for teenagers, especially teenagers.

青少年時期，我們承受著巨大的同儕壓力。順便說一句，這不僅僅是青少年才會有的。成年人也會承受巨大的同儕壓力，或是屈服於同儕壓力。只是我們的情況不一樣。我們買不起房，買不起車，去做不必要的手術。

That's our version of peer pressure. We just have more money to do things we shouldn't. So when you feel like you're under peer pressure and that's normal and you think people look around you looking at you like you're stupid telling you stupid because you're talking different than them. The fact that you're thinking different than than them is probably where your gift lies. That's probably where your beauty is.

去追求它吧。你沒有義務去打動任何人。你沒有義務去打動所有人，因為所有你試圖打動的人，最後都會被打動，他們的意見其實不重要。他們不是在過著你的生活，而是你自己。

當你選擇職業時，要選擇真正能讓你感到滿足的，而不是那些能給別人留下深刻印象的，因為那種滿足感比任何金錢都更能讓你感到滿足。現在，希望你能從那些讓你感到滿足的職業中賺錢，因為我就是這麼教大家的。但不要讓別人的意見、觀點變成束縛你的枷鎖，阻礙你成為你應該成為的人。我真心希望你今天能把這句話牢記在心。再說一次，我今天是在跟別人說話。

我不知道是誰，但很可能就是你。感謝您收聽「思維轉變力量」播客。請按讚並訂閱我的YouTube頻道「思維轉變者」。如果您有任何評論、主題建議，或想做客本節目，請造訪fatimabay.com/podcast。記住，轉變思維的力量是無窮的。

請關注下週節目。