Japanese wisdom that helps you achieve the impossible

Japanese wisdom that helps you achieve the impossible

Published 19.02.2024 | By Йосиф

Japanese wisdom that helps you achieve the impossible

Japanese sages encrypted one extremely important secret that helps to achieve success in any business and direction. This secret is veiledly repeated in some modern books, but only partially. For some reason it is not fully voiced, although it does not work without the “lost” part. In this article we will talk about the full version.

First, let’s look at the modern version of this wisdom. Artist Scott Adams makes an interesting observation in his book The Theory of Luck – different tasks require different states of mind. Some require an explosion of creativity, some require painstaking analysis, and some require persistent execution of routine work. So Adams advises that before you do anything, you need to “align your state of mind with the task at hand.”

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his bestseller “Flow” writes about how to live in flow, that is, in a state of complete merging with your work, when you don’t feel time and yourself, when instead of fatigue you feel a constant surge of energy. Flow is a state of being completely absorbed in what you are doing, when you don’t keep track of time and don’t feel tired. When Konstantin Levin, the hero of Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina, enviously watches the work of his peasants, he sees them in a state of flow: so rhythmically and harmoniously they mow. The same feeling is experienced by musicians playing their favorite instrument, and athletes during training, when the cherished result is getting closer.

Indeed, this is a very important point, which in Japanese culture sounds like “Follow the rhythm of the path.” The outstanding Japanese strategist Miyamoto Musashi in his main work “The Book of Five Rings” writes that “Everywhere there is a rhythm. The rhythm of each path contains its own differences. There is a rhythm of service and a rhythm of failure, a rhythm of fulfilling and not fulfilling duties. We should not forget about the rhythm of all arts and crafts. There is also a rhythm in the invisible (emptiness). There is a rhythm of enrichment and a rhythm of ruin. One should well understand and distinguish between the rhythm of flourishing and the rhythm of decay.”

Thus, we see: in order to succeed in something, you need to catch its rhythm and follow it – this is the first part of the wisdom that we want to tell you about. And here the advice of Scott Adams from the book “The Theory of Luck” and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi from the book “Flow” can help. They are talking about how to tune yourself to catch the right rhythm – to achieve the right state of mind. But is this enough? Japanese sages believe not.

Miyamoto Musashi believes that “finding the appropriate rhythm and following it” is only half the battle. It is also extremely important to “isolate the rhythm that runs counter to it.” “If you do not abandon the contradictory rhythm, you will never become perfect on the path,” writes the Japanese sage in his “Book of Five Rings.” Musashi is categorical: he is sure: even if you have entered the right rhythm, without the second rule your business will not go well. A contradictory rhythm is like a “fly in the ointment”: it will not allow you to progress on your journey.

And indeed, as often happens, we seem to have found our groove, felt the rhythm of our business, entered the flow, but something is always slowing us down, something like an annoying fly does not allow us to move forward the way we want. Look for a contradictory rhythm, advises a Japanese sage. Look for those things that “kill” your time, “eat up” your energy, and deprive you of your internal resource. For creators, or as they also say “product creators,” such matters most often include issues related to marketing, sales, legal subtleties, accounting, etc. These are those things that require a different rhythm – a different state of mind, often running counter to the main priority rhythm. Take this seriously, says Japanese wisdom, otherwise “you will not become perfect along the way.” This does not mean that all this should be left to chance – all of the issues listed are also extremely important. But it is equally important to distribute and delegate them correctly so that they do not “kill” the energy of your main rhythm – do not take you away from the state of flow, do not deprive you of a resource.

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