Gui Guzi’s Ten Ways of Life

Gui Guzi’s Ten Ways of Life. Speaking of Gui Guzi, I believe everyone is familiar with it. This is a famous thinker in Chinese history. He wrote a book The book is named after Guiguzi. This book contains rich philosophical principles of life. Below I will share with you Guiguzi’s ten tips on how to live in the world. Guiguzi's Ten Ways to Live in the World 1

1. When people speak, they move. Those who are silent are also quiet, because they speak and listen to their words.

Translation: When the other party speaks, it is in motion. We remain silent and static. At this time, you can just watch the movements quietly, listen to their words, and discern their meaning.

This is telling us that when negotiating with others, instead of pre-empting and boasting, it is better to be a silent listener first, let the other party talk more, hear the inner meaning of others from their words, and grasp Only by understanding its intentions can we better "strike from behind."

Whether modern people are interacting with others or negotiating with others in the business field, there are always people who like to "talk quickly", but they do not know that "talking too much will lead to mistakes". The so-called "know yourself and the enemy and you will be victorious in any battle". A good strategy is to let others speak first.

If you understand the intention of the other party from his words, you will master the know-how of negotiation, so that the problem can be easily solved and you will be in an invincible position.

2. If you want to go high, you will go down. If you want to take something, you will go down.

Translation: If a person wants to move up, he must first know how to be humble. If you want to get something, you have to give it first.

Modern people often fall into the trap of arrogance when doing things, and feel complacent when they achieve a little bit. Our ancestors have long told us: "If you want to make it die, first make it crazy."

Only those who know how to restrain their sharp edges and be modest and prudent can go a long way. Just like climbing a mountain, the more you shout and dance, the faster your energy wears off, so you often can't climb halfway up the mountain. On the contrary, those who remain silent and bend over climb to the top of the mountain step by step.

Therefore, remember to be open-minded in life. Only by being humble can one make progress.

Similarly, in life and work, people in the world always seek more, but know how to give less. But "giving roses to others" can "leave a lingering fragrance in your hands". The emphasis on giving and receiving is "first come, first served". Only those who give first will gain something.

Therefore, when you know how to give to others as much as you can, without expecting anything in return, the day will come when you receive the goods. Because you give to others, others will give to you in the same way.

Understand humility and learn to give, and success and happiness will come inadvertently.

3. The appearance is not beautiful, nor is it evil, so it is very affectionate.

Translation: No matter what happens, a person who is neither happy nor angry is a person who makes people feel deeply. He is a trustworthy person who can be trusted with confidential matters. .

In work and life, there are always people who complain that they are not valued by their leaders or trusted by their friends. They always feel that others are looking at them through "colored glasses."

But have you ever thought about why this is? Is it because you are not steady enough or steady enough? As the saying goes: "If you have a hairless mouth, you will not be able to do things well." Just think about it, would you be willing to entrust a very important matter to a person who is impetuous and unreliable?

Crying when you want to cry, laughing when you want to laugh, is certainly a true temperament. But in the philosophy of life, he is "too stupid and naive". Because such people are the easiest to see through and the easiest to be controlled by others.

People who are indifferent to emotions and anger are stable and reliable people. Such people are not only worthy of trust, but also not easy to be manipulated by others.

Therefore, when mixing in society, you must know how to control your emotions and not show your joy and anger easily. This is not only a sign of maturity, but also a kind of self-protection.

4. Therefore, one must first know oneself, and then one can know others.

Translation: To understand others, you must start by understanding yourself. Only when you understand yourself can you understand others.

This sentence has a meaning of "know yourself and the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger", but Guiguzi emphasizes that "knowing yourself" is the prerequisite for "knowing the enemy".

"Know oneself and know others" in modern times should be understood as one of the weaknesses of human nature is that it always likes to look at other people's shortcomings with a magnifying glass and its own shortcomings with a microscope. The consequence of doing this is often that you cannot see yourself clearly, do not know what you can and cannot do, let alone why others can do it but you cannot.

So, many times, our failure is because we don’t understand ourselves or others.

As the saying goes, "It is important for people to know themselves." It is important to understand others, but the most important thing in life is to understand yourself first. If a person cannot fully understand himself, he will easily become "a giant in words and a dwarf in action" when doing things.

A person who is self-aware can clearly understand his own shortcomings and strengths, so that he can make up for his weaknesses, give full play to his talents, and ultimately achieve a career.

5. If you have too many desires, your mind will be scattered. If your mind is scattered, your will will be weak. If your will is weak, your thinking will be unsatisfactory.

Translation: If there are too many desires, the mind will be distracted, the will will be depressed, the energy will not be concentrated, and it will be difficult to succeed.

Desire is the biggest source of the ups and downs in life. Desire can be a force that drives you upward, or it can be the source of your downfall.

When people are alive, they will inevitably have desires, but having too many desires will inevitably lead to trouble, because in this world, there are too many things that you want but can’t get, and you still want things that you can’t get. Isn’t this just asking for trouble and suffering?

Come to think of it, many of the troubles, unhappiness and even tragedies in life are the consequences of too much desire. The human heart is not enough for a snake to swallow an elephant. In the vast world, the desires are hard to fill. If desires are not satisfied, there will be a sense of disappointment, and one will act unscrupulously in order to obtain.

If a person desires too much, he will lose his faith and self-esteem, and his principles will be swallowed up by greed.

Therefore, when you are a person, you must be moderate. Only when you are content can you always be happy. Only when you are always happy can you have a broad mind. Only with a broad heart can you live openly and energetically. In this way, you can achieve what you want.

6. A wise man does not use his weaknesses, but uses a fool's strengths; he does not use his weaknesses, but uses a fool's work.

Translation: A truly smart person does not use his own shortcomings, but would rather use the strengths of a stupid person; he does not use his own clumsy aspects, but would rather use what a stupid person is good at.

"No one is perfect." No matter how smart a person is, he or she has shortcomings, and no matter how capable a person is, he or she has shortcomings. Likewise, no matter how clumsy a person is, he or she has strengths, and no matter how incompetent a person is, there are areas where he or she is good at.

Therefore, as a human being, you must first recognize yourself, admit your shortcomings, and know your own shortcomings. Even if you cannot change them immediately, you should avoid them rationally; and then "take the strengths of others and make up for your own shortcomings." "It is wise to be good at taking advantage of other people's strengths.

There is a saying that goes well: "The gap is inevitable, but it is possible to narrow the gap and make up for it." Therefore, many times, we should use our strengths and avoid weaknesses, and take advantage of others to make up for our own shortcomings. , is the simplest and most direct way for a person to win in competition.

7. Wisdom is used for things that no one can understand, and for things that no one can see.

Translation: Wisdom should be used in places that ordinary people don’t know, and power should be used in places that ordinary people can’t do.

As the saying goes, "Good steel should be used on the edge of a knife." A truly smart person will not show off his talents everywhere, but will be a low-key person in daily life, but he can be at the critical moment and in the critical place. Do things with a high profile." Only in this way can your wisdom and talent be highlighted appropriately.

Just like in the workplace, if everyone can do something, you will not feel more outstanding if you can do it. But if everyone can't do it, but you can do it, this is the real ability.

From another perspective, truly capable people will not easily agree with others, nor will they deliberately cater to others. Instead, they can put forward unique insights and give unique and unique ideas at important nodes. Those who have practical suggestions that are truly helpful in solving problems are wise people and are more likely to be entrusted with important tasks.

8. Mutual benefit leads to closeness, and mutual detriment leads to estrangement. This is true in several ways. Therefore, observing the similarities and differences, they are of the same type.

Translation: If they can bring benefits to each other, they should have a close relationship. If they are involved in causing harm to each other, they should alienate the head relationship. These are all certain things, which is why we need to examine the similarities and differences. It's the same thing with anything like this.

When getting along with others, it is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and there is actually nothing wrong with it. From another perspective, this "Guidelines for Making Friends" can also be understood as: when getting along with others, don't always think about taking advantage, but know how to give benefits.

As the saying goes, "Suffering a loss is a blessing." Only by letting others feel that interacting with you is "profitable" can you maintain a long-term cooperative relationship, which will also allow you to gain long-term benefits.

In a relationship, if you feel that you can benefit from each other, you should work hard to maintain the status quo and not harm the overall situation for some small gains; if it really reaches the level of "mutual harm", then you should “Break it when it’s time”, otherwise you will “suffer the consequences”.

It is a kind of open-mindedness to take the initiative to give benefits and be close to each other for mutual benefit; to distance each other when it hurts each other, and to break up when it is necessary to break up is a kind of courage. It is important to be sincere and trustworthy when communicating with others, but it should not become a fetter regardless of distance or distance.

9. Recount the past events, examine the future events, and observe the ordinary events, so that you can take responsibility for them.

Translation: Use past experience as a reference to judge future trends, and refer to what usually happens. After these processes, if no problems are found, you can make a decision.

Smart people never make any decision easily. Instead, they weigh the pros and cons repeatedly, think carefully, and "think twice before making a decision" before making every decision.

In the journey of life, there will not only be one road, but sometimes there will even be several roads. Which road to take and which direction to go are not easy decisions. . The so-called "one mistake can lead to eternal hatred" refers to the importance of choice.

When making a choice, in addition to careful consideration, you must also look at the problem from a developmental perspective. Not only refer to past experience, but also estimate possible results, and continuously revise and improve during the actual operation. Even so, there is no guarantee that the decision will be foolproof.

But after all, being cautious is closer to success than being reckless.

10. The world is impermanent, and everything is impermanent.

Translation: There is no eternal nobility in the world, and there is no fixed pattern in things.

Change is the objective law of the development of things. In this world, the only constant is change. Therefore, we must be flexible, follow the rules, and adapt to the rules. This is the way to win.

As the saying goes, "if you are poor, you will change, if you change, you will be successful, and if you are general, you will be long-term." You cannot be "one-minded" in life. "The path has reached its darkest point" is not decisiveness, but stupidity.

Doing things too rigidly, always sticking to the rules, and being unchangeable is not what modern society advocates. Only by mastering the changing laws of things and knowing how to innovate can a person go a long way.

A person should be like water, good at transforming all things. Only by knowing how to adapt can one be a smart person. Guiguzi's Ten Ways to Live in the World 2

1. Listening is valuable, wisdom is valuable, and speaking is valuable.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi Quan Chapter". The importance of hearing is sensitivity, the importance of wisdom is brilliance, and the importance of speech is originality.

2. The mouth is an organ, so it closes the affection.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi Quan Chapter". The mouth is a mechanism used to publicize or conceal thoughts.

3. Nothing is more difficult than careful planning, nothing more difficult than listening carefully, nothing more difficult than being able to accomplish anything.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi Mo Pian". The hardest thing about planning is to be thorough; the hardest thing about lobbying is getting everyone to agree; the hardest thing about doing things is that success is certain.

4. If you hold firewood toward the fire, the dry ones will burn first; if you pour water on the flat ground, the wet ones will soak first.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi Mo Pian". Throw firewood into the fire, and the dry parts will burn first; pour water on the flat ground, and wet the low-lying areas first.

5. If the wall is damaged in its gaps, and the wood is damaged in its joints, it is like covering its parts.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi·Mou Pian". Walls are damaged due to gaps, and trees are damaged due to knots, probably because they have a tendency to split.

6. A fool is easy to hide, an unkind person is easy to fear, and a greedy person is easy to seduce. They are judged based on the situation.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi·Mou Pian". Fools are easily deceived, unscrupulous people are easily fearful, and greedy people are easily tempted, so different methods should be used according to the situation.

7. Those without eyes cannot express the five colors, and those without ears cannot express the five sounds.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi Quan Chapter". There is no need to show various colors to a person without sight; there is no need to show various sounds to a person without hearing.

8. Those who are close to the outside but distant from the inside, talk about the inside; those who are close to the inside but distant from the outside, talk about the outside.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi·Mou Pian". People who are close to you on the outside but distant on the inside need to be persuaded to change their minds; people who are close on the inside but distant on the outside need to be persuaded to make them appear to be the same.

9. Those who were good at fishing in ancient times were like using a hook to go into the abyss and throwing bait into it, and they would definitely catch fish.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi Mo Pian". In ancient times, people who were good at guessing were like taking a fishing hook to the edge of deep water, loading it with bait and throwing it into the water. They would definitely catch fish.

10. People want to hear what they say, and they want to do things when they do. Therefore, the wise does not use his shortcomings, but uses the fool's strengths; he does not use his weaknesses, but uses the fool's work, so he is not trapped.

Appreciation: From "Guiguzi Quan Chapter". Human nature is to hope that others will listen to what you say and to succeed in doing things. Therefore, smart people do not use their own shortcomings and would rather use the strengths of fools; they do not use their own shortcomings and would rather use what fools are good at. Therefore, smart people Things won't be difficult.