- There are times when we all feel
that nothing is coming easy,
that we're swimming upstream
and that life seems to be working against us.
But maybe it's not life.
Maybe it's us.
(tranquil music)
Wu wei is a Taoist concept
that dates back to the sixth century BC
Chinese philosopher and founder of Taosim, Laozi.
Wu wei literally means not doing,
but as with most Chinese concepts,
there's much more to it than this.
A better translation would be not forcing something
or going with nature instead of against.
In modern words, I would say wu wei means
don't try too hard.
Once upon a time, there was a farmer
who had just seeded the crops.
He went to check the sprouts every morning before dawn
because he wanted to make sure
that his crops grew faster and taller than his neighbors'.
Weeks later, he finally saw little shoots
coming out of the soil.
But the farmer was impatient.
He pulled the shoot of one plant
and found that the plant became taller immediately.
What a brilliant idea, he thought.
He went through the entire field
and started pulling all the shoots to make them taller.
The farmer was proud of himself.
"I'm going to be the first person
"to harvest in the village."
The farmer was exhausted that evening and went home.
He proudly announced his achievement to his family.
The cheering crowd went to the field with him
to admire how clever he was, but when they arrived,
all the crops were withered on the ground, dead.
So what's the takeaway?
Wu wei is not asking you not to do anything at all,
but only do the minimum.
Only focus on the most effective tasks.
To know what is the minimum,
we need to make excellent decisions.
The concept of wu wei can be applied to every aspect,
from running a country, a company,
a community, a family, and yourself.
For example, the best leaders of a country or a company
are not the ones doing the most.
They are the ones doing very little.
They allow citizens or their staff to thrive
by giving them space and freedom.
Effective leaders set the goals,
but not micromanage the detailed process.
On the family level, people with children should refrain
from being helicopter fathers or tiger mothers.
When times are tough?
The economy is dire.
The stock market crashed.
I'm losing my job.
I failed the exams.
My best friend betrayed me.
And the whole world is against me!
Should I do nothing?
Well, as I said, not exactly nothing, but minimum.
The more desperate you are,
the more you should sit back and reflect.
Take your mind away.
Think about 10 years, or even 50 years from now.
What will be still relevant and meaningful?
You can only open another door
when you close the previous ones.
You may realize that most of the things troubling you today
are trivial in the long-term
and fail to consider the broader perspective.
When the whole world is against you,
it might be a great opportunity for you to turn the page.
See unbearable challenges as precious lessons.
Have you ever seen a kung fu movie?
True masters don't jump around yelling,
shouting, waving their swords.
They sit there with their eyes closed most of the time.
Every movement they do has to be effective.
Living in a state of wu wei
is about accepting ourselves for who we are
and not trying to make ourselves something we are not.
It's about the relief and the joy and the grace we feel
when we let go of the idea
that we can control the world around us.
So let go, and go with the flow.