"No confusion at forty" comes from "The Analects of Confucius·Wei Zheng". The full sentence is: I am determined to learn when I am fifteen, stand up at thirty, have no confusion at forty, know my destiny at fifty, But if your ears are attuned, you will follow your heart's desires at seventy without going beyond the rules.
This sentence is one of Confucius’ classic sayings. It discusses that people should “live until they are old and learn”. Learning is directly proportional to the improvement of moral cultivation. As people continue to learn, their Moral cultivation will become more and more perfect, and it will get closer and closer to the norms of "sage".
This sentence can also be seen as Confucius’s summary and summary of his life.
The literal meaning of "Forty No Confusion" is: when a person reaches the age of 40, he will live a more transparent life and no longer be confused about everything.
Why not be confused? It's because people have gone through 40 years. With the increase of experience, richness of experience, future of knowledge, maturity of thoughts, and inner indifference, people can see and think clearly about many things. They are no longer young and frivolous and will think about things. All the anger, resentment and arrogance in my heart are withdrawn. I face everything calmly and do everything conscientiously. I don't care too much about the results of things. What I care about is the mentality and state of mind when doing things. Therefore, there are less confusions in my heart. .
If you elaborate on it, "forty-year-old is not confused" has three meanings.
First, I understand the purpose, value and significance of my life, my mentality becomes more open-minded, my introspection becomes stronger, and I am no longer confused about myself.
People often use the term youthful and vigorous to describe young people. People are full of vigor when they are young, have lofty ideals and full fighting spirit. However, after all, young people have a certain understanding of themselves due to their shallow experience. Misunderstandings can easily breed an ambitious mentality.
When a young person does something with 100% enthusiasm, due to lack of experience, the results of the work often do not progress according to his wishes. At that time, the results may not be satisfactory.
At this time, young people will easily become confused and have strong self-doubt, thinking that they are perfect.
Failure is not terrible. What is terrible is being immersed in the confusion of failure and being unable to extricate yourself and becoming depressed.
After experiencing many failed experiences, young people in their forties can break through the limitations of self-perception, acquire self-knowledge, have an accurate understanding and evaluation of themselves, and understand what they are good at in this life. What to do? What are the advantages? What can you do to get results? And then realize self-worth.
When a person understands these problems, his heart will become indifferent and determined, and he will become extremely strong. He will not be shaken by the temptations of the outside world, but will only pursue self-worth and accomplish things in a conventional way. personal purposes. At this time, he has truly entered the "year of no confusion" in terms of self-awareness.
Second, you have an open-minded mind, see clearly the fact that "existence is reasonable", and no longer be confused about others.
It is not enough for a person to recognize himself clearly. After all, people are social animals and have to deal with all kinds of people every day. The great wisdom in life is not to be upset because of confusion when dealing with others.
Everyone in the world is a unique individual. There will be differences in personality, temperament, appearance, way of speaking, way of learning, way of dealing with others, etc. Misunderstandings will occur if differences are not communicated in time, because Misunderstandings can lead to confusion and frustration.
When a person has an inclusive and open mind, correctly treats the differences between people, is no longer consciously narcissistic about himself, and can accept and tolerate the flaws and mistakes of others, he can also If he can appreciate the merits and talents of others with sincerity, he will see clearly the fact that "existence is reasonable" and enter a state where he is no longer confused about others. This is a great state in life.
If people want to better integrate into the crowd and into society while living in the world, understanding and tolerance are the best medicines. People who are skilled in dealing with others are more likely to win and be respected.
Third, with the vision of a philosopher, you can see through the appearance of everything and see the essence, and you will no longer be confused about the world.
It is not enough to recognize oneself and tolerate others. If a person wants to live his true self, he must also see the world clearly and no longer be confused about the world.
To see clearly the various aspects of the world, only by constantly learning, accumulating knowledge in all aspects, and gaining rich experience can one have a pair of discerning eyes. Look at the world with discerning eyes, and what you see is no longer appearances, but the truth.
When a person reaches the age of 40, because he has gone through a lot of experiences and formed a unique outlook on life, values ??and ideas, a relatively complete set of ideas has been established deep in his heart. People will have a more comprehensive way of thinking about things, and their opinions will not be easily shaken by the world, nor will they be easily tempted by the outside world and make wrong things as they were when they were young.
Society and human nature are very complex, and life is very short. How can people who are troubled and confused all day long focus on what they should do? How can we talk about winning and fulfilling our life ambitions?
No one in the world can be sorry to anyone. Only those who take advantage of others and constantly punish themselves with doubts can be sorry for themselves. A tolerant, open-minded, determined and wise heart is the magic weapon to face all confusions.
People who are swayed by confusion are like being imprisoned in a small dark room, and all they see is nothingness. People who get out of confusion seem to be standing in a broad field, surrounded by sunshine, and their body and mind are as full of healthy vitality as the sunshine.