Interpretations of the Analects of Confucius vary. The following is an interpretation idea for reference.
The so-called fear is respect. It is really dangerous to live without fear. A person must find someone to be afraid of in his life and do it sincerely. This is a kind of morality.
Confucius said: "A gentleman has three fears: fear of destiny, fear of great men, and fear of the words of sages. A villain who does not know destiny and is not afraid of the words of a sage will insult the great men and insult the words of sages."
The so-called fear here is respect. Life does not matter, it is actually very dangerous. There are only two kinds of people who can be fearless, one is the first-class wise person, and the other is the stupidest person, so don't be afraid.
Find someone to be afraid of in life. Confucius taught us to look for fear, and we cannot live without fear. The first "fear of destiny" is equivalent to religious belief. In ancient China, there was no form of religion, but religious philosophy. Chinese country people are often great philosophers and know a lot about philosophy because they believe in fate. As for life, what is it? He doesn't know that anyway, good or bad, everything is regarded as fate. This is philosophy. His thoughts have a center. The same is true for destiny. The three words "fear of destiny" include all religious beliefs, including belief in God, Lord, and Buddha. These are all "fear of destiny". Only when a person is afraid can he be successful; when a person has nothing to fear, he will not succeed.
The second point is "fear of adults". This adult does not necessarily mean that the official is big. Only by being afraid of parents, elders, and people with moral knowledge can you achieve success. The third is "fear of the words of the saints". For example, we read the Analects of Confucius, the Four Books and the Five Classics, Christians read the Bible, and Buddhists read the Buddhist scriptures. These are the words of the saints, and we are afraid of violating the words of the saints.
As long as we study successful people in history, they must have something in their psychology. In terms of ordinary philosophy, it is to find a belief, a doctrine, and a purpose as the center. If there is no such center That's it. Confucius said, On the contrary, villains do not know destiny, so they are not afraid. "Sir", playing tricks on others, not trusting anything, not afraid of the words of the saints, and achieving nothing in the end.
There are many reasons for this. History, politics, philosophy, etc. are all related. In the history of ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, anyone who has created something must always find a hat to wear. For a business to be successful, it always needs someone above it to be afraid of. So when a friend goes into business, I advise him to be the chairman of the board of directors, rather than the general manager, and just be the deputy general manager. Cross the street slowly. If you succeed, you will find the Dragon King Temple, where you can enjoy the shade. If you fail, you will have less to worry about.
There is a story. In ancient times, there was a prince whose reputation was already very high, and he still wanted to travel around the world to cultivate his reputation. At this time, an old man from the country suddenly came. He held a broken umbrella under his arm. His words were not overwhelming and his appearance was not impressive. He called himself the king's teacher. He said he could be the emperor's teacher and help bring peace to the world. He asked to see the prince.
After the announcement, the prince met. The old man said, I heard that you are going abroad, but it is not possible to go abroad like this. You must worship me as your teacher and praise me everywhere. When various countries entertain you, your Majesty will You have to let me sit so you can succeed. The prince asked him what this meant? The old man said, I thought you were very smart and could understand it as soon as it was mentioned. But you still don’t understand, which shows that you are stupid. Now let me tell you, you will be a prince when you are born, and you will never sit in the second position. Your international reputation is already so high, and another visit will not increase it much. But this time you went out was different. You brought a bad old man like me with you, and you complimented me everywhere. Everyone had a different view of you and thought you were great.
First, you are polite and humble. Secondly, people don't know how much knowledge this bad old man has, so they are afraid of you. If countries have these two perceptions of you, you will succeed. The prince did as he was told and it succeeded. This is not just a joke, it can help us understand life. Once you understand this trick, you will also get the key to history, and even understand the principles of personal success.