The unity of knowledge and action is the foundation of great things

The enemy of success is to understand the truth of doing things and not to do it. There is a fable in ancient China that says that a young man went to the beach to watch fishing, and saw that the old man had fish to the Internet from time to time, and he was envious for a while. The old man told the young man that if he continued to look at it like this, it would be better to go home and weave a net, and a fish would be baited. This is the allusion of "Linyuan envy fish, it is better to retreat and close the net".

The well-known Zeng Guofan has a famous saying that advocates dedication: "It is always useless to shout and discuss things outside the world, and you must bow down to enter the game, stand up and be responsible, and have the hope of success." If you are afraid that the will of heaven will be difficult to rely on, and make God's wish; If you are afraid that people will not hide, and try to do everything in every way, they are all done by those who do not know. This is an emphasis on the unity of knowledge and action.

The basic Confucian classic "The Mean" says: "Erudition, interrogation, prudence, discernment, and practice." "It means that a gentleman should study extensively, ask and think carefully, and finally practice it in a down-to-earth manner." "Scholarly Speculation and Practice" and the "Three Programs and Eight Articles" of the "University" are both important items for the self-cultivation of scholars and gentlemen.

Wang Yangming of the Ming Dynasty said that the reason why the ancients said both a knowledge and a practitioner was only because there was a kind of person in the world who did it arbitrarily and ignorantly, and he was just a foolish act, so he must say that he knew before he could do it; There is another kind of person who hangs in the air to think, and refuses to do it in a real way, and it is just a speculation, so he must say a line before he knows the truth. This is the ancients had to make up for the shortcomings, if you see this meaning, it is enough in a word. Nowadays, I am going to lecture and discuss the work of doing knowledge, and when I know it is true, I will do it, so I will not do it for the rest of my life, and I will not know it for the rest of my life. This is not a minor illness, it has not been a one-day problem. I say today that the unity of knowledge and action is the medicine for disease. And it's not that I made it up out of thin air, it's the nature of knowing and doing.

Zeng Guofan is the most persistent in bowing and practicing, and the "bowing into the game" he proposed is not to be a bystander, not to be a spectator! Instead, we should start from ourselves, and if we do it with an open mind, we will be close to success.

For this reason, he advocated "not speaking rashly". He said: "Long arrogance" and "too much" are two disadvantages, after looking at the rise and fall of the previous Shiqing doctor, and the recent official places to cause disasters and blessings, he does not regard these two as cardinals, so he is willing to share the warning with his brothers. If the younger brother can punish these two, but if he can't be diligent in trying to stand on his own, he still can't build a family and a career. Therefore, I care about revitalizing the spirit, and strive to be persistent, so as to change my old rut and revitalize the foundation of the family. Therefore, the image of Zeng Guofan that people see is "no one else, the eyes are triangular, often like sleep, and there is no light, the figure is only a middle-aged person, the walking is extremely heavy, and the speech is slow". When we look at his diary, we find that he advocates "walking heavily and speaking late". It turned out that this was what he had always advocated. It seems that he is really a person who advocates less talk and more action. He even thought: "Once the words are spoken, there will be no aftertaste in the chest, and there is no experience and there is a glimpse of the talk?" ”

Zeng Guofan wanted to "keep the law and peach and plum silent", advocated "doing it with an open mind", and advocated bowing, so he naturally opposed talking about qualifications and pretending. He also said: What my generation can encourage, but seek to do my best, and do not have to hope for those who have been difficult to climb through the ages. Every time the younger brother takes the people who are difficult to climb in the words, and the ones who are slightly inferior to the meritorious ones are all wiped out, it is Mencius's "hook gold and feathers, and eat heavy and light gifts", which is also unbelievable! For people who are not in good health, should we cherish ourselves and not "do what I can"? Zeng Guofan thought that this should not be the case, he said: "The more the spirit is used, the more it will come out, and it should not be too protective because of the weakness of the body; The more bitter wisdom is, the clearer it becomes, and it should not be discouraged by circumstances. "If the heart is often used, it will live, and if it is not used, it will be suffocated; If it is commonly used, it will be thin, and if it is not used, it will be thick. ”

On the one hand, he was self-indulgent with the moral beliefs of a physicist, and he said that he would "do his best to the ancients, and he would not dare to delay his comfort", and conscientiously made the last effort to maintain the rule of the Qing Dynasty; On the one hand, we should be strict and self-exertive according to the standard of a scholar, "self-hatred for not working hard, and regret and fear in old age", so we must overcome all difficulties and diseases, study diligently and write books, and make the final struggle to complete our studies.

Zeng Guofan said: "All big things are done by manpower and half by heaven. Our generation should do what human power can do, and heaven will listen to it. That is to say, it is up to man to plan things, and it is up to heaven to make things happen.

When it comes to "acquiring a successful personality", the most popular explanation is: from low to high, from small to large, from weak to strong. To achieve these three elements, we must be able to seize the fate - the opportunities encountered, and do not always have a "waiting for the rabbit" mentality. Those who wait for the gift of others can only look at the faces of others. The key to Tsang's successful character is to take his destiny into his own hands and not rely on others to reward anything.

One day, one day

Pay more attention to the rules, and you will be very smooth in getting things done. Zeng Guofan held an important position in the imperial court, managing every day and doing a lot of official business, but in many complicated internal and external affairs, he summed up effective ways to do things, and he was able to handle political affairs that were even difficult to handle in the eyes of others.

Zeng Guofan has been in politics for many years and has accumulated a lot of experience in handling political affairs. He has a lot of things to deal with every day, and if he doesn't deal with them in time, it will cause a backlog and shelving. He made a list of the things that should be done that day every morning and finished them on the same day, just as a farmer gets up early to distribute the day's work. If the day's work is done, then maybe there will be less backlog. This is only a specific style of doing things, Zeng Guofan also has some abstract ways of doing things. He boils it down to four points:

(1) Analysis

People who are engaged in politics often have this experience: they are idle to death, and they are busy to death; When you are free, you can be calm, but when you are busy, you will be anxious. When many things emerge together, it is necessary to stay on the spot, concentrate all kinds of affairs, distinguish priorities, distinguish between priorities, distinguish between difficulties, and distinguish between urgency and urgency. Even if you do a thing, you should use this method to grasp the main, important, difficult, and urgent ones, and other problems will be easily solved, not only full of confidence, but also with ease.

(2) Pay attention to the interrelationship

Everything in the world is connected, many people do not see this, and when they get things done, they often just do one thing in isolation, and as a result, they affect the whole body, because one thing is not handled properly, leading to several other things into a passive situation. Therefore, when doing a thing, we should think about its cause and effect, the left and right fetters, and the upper and lower influences. If one thing is not done well, other things will not be done well. Zeng Guofan said: "Whenever you do something, there are often twists and turns in it, and if one place is not connected, then everywhere will be contained." ”

(3) Think in detail

Zeng Guofan was very cautious, which was mainly manifested in thoughtfulness. If you don't think carefully about what you do, not only will you not be able to do what you do, but you will often fall short. The annihilation of Li Xubin and Zeng Guohua's entire army in Sanhe Town was caused by unforeseen considerations. Zeng Guofan was afraid that the civil officials would not be brave and that the military attachés would be too rude, so he always repeatedly admonished him. He also tried to examine and prepare for his own affairs. For example, how to do a good job in salt affairs, Zeng Guofan has two sentences: in a peaceful world, the source is protected from leakage, and the sales office is protected from encroachment; In the chaotic world, the secret dealers are scattered, and the open dealers collect the total tax. This makes different periods, different places, different methods, and different strategies clearly investigated and explained in an orderly manner.

(4) Abide by the principles

We must stress principles in handling affairs, and without principles, we will lose the standard of handling affairs and the standard of inspection. and mud and stepping on watermelon peels will not help, but will make things worse and worse. For example, it is a principle that it is advisable to eat early in the army, and it cannot be tolerated just because Li Hongzhang is his student. If we have principles, we must abide by them, and we must not distinguish between inside and outside, between monarchs and ministers.

Cut off the root of impetuousness

There is always a process in the development of career and career, and it is by no means an overnight thing. It requires a lot of menial effort from people. In the process, you have to rely on the accumulation of methods, and eventually, these trivial efforts will converge like a trickle into an unstoppable turbulent wave, and sometimes, success will come sooner than you expected. Therefore, everyone should guard against the breeding of impetuous character in the face of their career. It will be of great benefit to you to know this.

Some people are faced with danger, scratching their ears and cheeks, and their personalities are manic and angry. Some people are calm and calm in the face of danger, and deal with the crisis rationally. The former is the loser, the latter is the winner.

Impatient personality can often ruin people, and in normal circumstances, most people can control their personality and make good decisions. However, when the situation is urgent, they are confused and unable to control themselves.

Keep a cool head and burst your potential. Both of these points help us to overcome and prevent the weakness of the impatient personality from wrapping around us, and they also help to "cool" the impatience and become calm. When a person has a calm character, he can do things without panic. This is the truth, but there are many people who can't do it!

Zeng Guofan realized that impetuousness had become a major cause of his illness. Although he forced himself to be quiet and sit down, he found nothing by reading the Book of Changes, and he could not even recite the words. He analyzed why he was so traveling, nothing more than a "good name", "I hope others say that he is good". He also said that the root of this disease is already very deep, and the only way to do this is to reduce contacts and "gradually change the habit of chasing them".

In the first few years of Zeng Guofan's arrival in Beijing, because he was only a petty official under the review of the Hanlin Academy, he did not take on heavy responsibilities, so he was extremely relaxed. We can see from his "Diary" in the past few years that Zeng Guofan is also an ordinary man, and there is nothing special about it. He socializes a lot every day, which is not because he has become a big official, and socializing is essential, on the contrary, he "has nothing to do" and kills time.

In April of the twentieth year of Daoguang (1840), he was retained in Hanlin Academy with the nineteenth place in the second class. According to the usual practice, only a few people of the first class stayed in the Hanlin Academy, and the rest either served in the central ministry or went to the local area to start from Qipinzhi County. This year, there were 17 first-class students, 26 second-class students, and 3 third-class students. Zeng Guofan ranked 36th out of a total of 46 in the three classes, which is relatively low. But this year, only two people served in the ministry, three went to the local magistrate county, and the rest stayed in the Hanlin Academy, so Zeng Guofan's "Diary" said: "It can be described as a once-in-a-lifetime encounter." ”

Although the central government's salary is not higher than that of the localities, one can make friends with the ministers of the DPRK and the central government, and the so-called "there are people in the DPRK and the central government who are good officials". What's more, being an official in the central government, especially an official of the Hanlin Academy, belongs to the "close ministers of the Son of Heaven", if a person's level is okay, he will soon stand out, and there will naturally be many more opportunities for promotion. This is not the case with magistrates. According to the past system, there was a distinction between impulsiveness, busyness, fatigue, and difficulty, and "tired" means to put it bluntly, a poor place, and it is difficult to make achievements in this place. Yu Chengchan, a famous Qing official of the Qing Dynasty, was the county magistrate in Luocheng, Guangxi, and he didn't even have a place to work, so he had to "work" in a broken temple. Coupled with the fact that the water and soil were not adapted, the people who accompanied him died, and those who fled, Yu Jackie Chan soon became a loner. Of course, Yu Chengchan's real fame was not in Guangxi, but he later became the governor of Zhili. Hu Linyi, who served as a jinshi before and after Zeng Guofan, is even more revealing, he worked in Guizhou for 9 years, and then Hu vowed to rather go out as a staff member to start a career than continue to work in Guizhou. Hu was just a Taoist when he left Guizhou, and Zeng Guofan was already a waiter in the second grade of the official residence.

After Zeng Guofan stayed in the Hanlin Academy, "he had to work hard", but "he played and rested every day, and he didn't realize that more than 40 days had passed". For a period of time after that, in addition to writing a letter to his family to discuss the family's coming to Beijing, "the rest were neglected, and the days were not recorded." In the first year or two, he was sent to usher every day, eating, drinking, reading, and chatting. Therefore, his early "Diary" was "reviewed" every day, but the old trick was repeated every day. Obviously, if you can't self-examine and change yourself, this kind of life will not be beneficial to your goals and will not be able to achieve great things.

According to the official standards of the Hanlin Academy, it is understandable that studying and cultivating hope and learning and interacting with each other is "their own job", but passing the time like this every day will not be able to cultivate a strategy for the world after all. One day in October of the twenty-second year (1842), Zeng Guofan read the "I Ching: Loss Hexagram", and then went out to pay a visit to the guests and had lunch at Dulanxi's house; Then he went to He Zijing to congratulate his birthday, and listened to Kunqu Opera in He Mansion in the evening, and only dragged his tired body back home at the "first shift". The diary of that day was full of self-reproach, saying, "I know that (He Zijing's birthday) can not go, but as soon as my heart is scattered, there is the meaning of worldly circles, and there is also the meaning of going with the flow." Always determined not to be strong, can't cut off the kudzu, and is completely righteous, so he will let go as soon as he is introduced." The word "precept" is still not forgotten in the "Diary".

But the determination was repeated, and the action remained the same. On the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth days of the month, a strong wind blew in the capital, and Zeng Guofan "went out without anything, such a strong wind, he couldn't sit still, how impetuous he was!" "If you write this book and don't change it day by day, then this book will be a tool for stealing your name." If you don't change your old habits, why write this book? ”

In addition to eating and inviting back and forth, Zeng Guofan also had a problem of "joy". In his early "Diary", he often checked the "disrespect of Fang Min" and regarded it as one of the "three major precepts". Originally, a young talent, full of ambition, did not pay attention to the details of daily life, this is human nature. But in addition to family life, Zeng Guofan has the meaning of "joy", which is not a difference for a person who aspires to become a physicist.

The following events are recorded in the Diary:

One day in December of the 22nd year of Daoguang (1842), a friend of Zeng Guofan, Xinna, a concubine, was 14 years old, and she was known as a peach blossom; Zeng Guofan talked about poetry with a group of literati friends, and inevitably often talked about the so-called "nonsense" such as the beautiful daughter-in-law of the east and the mother-in-law of the west family. This may be an adjustment to the life of the literati, who are not stressful. After Zeng Guofan learned that his friend Naji was very beautiful, he was envious in his heart, and once went to a friend's house on the excuse of an excuse, Zeng Guofan first chatted about some knowledge, and then praised this friend's "Yanfu" is not shallow. That's not all, Zeng Guofan still had to see the beauty, and his friend was unwilling, but Zeng Guofan's "strong opinion" had no choice but to call out the new concubine. Zeng Guofan also said some provocative things to his face, which was embarrassing. The diary of that day wrote: "It is disrespectful. In Daiyun, the words are too funny. There is a wandering in the car. "狎 means to be too close and have a frivolous attitude, and obscenity means to be contemptuous and obscene. Judging from Zeng Guofan's record of "great disrespect", he must have acted out of line. Dai Yun is another friend of his, because Zeng Guofan did not forget his "obscene" behavior, so what he said was "funny" words, and even on the way home, he still thought about it.

A few days later, Zeng Guofan heard that he had beheaded a military minister at the entrance of the vegetable market, and others invited him to watch the excitement together, Zeng Guofan was "happy to obey", and he was even willing to see such a thing as murder, Zeng Guofan felt that he could not become a physicist, and "his benevolence was lost"; I regretted walking on the road, but it was not good to go back in front of many friends, so I "lingered for a long time and returned". He said that he was "so ridiculous that he still has to be human"?

Although Zeng Guofan didn't watch the killing of the martial ministers, he couldn't calm down after he went back. He came to Yusan's house with nothing to do, Yusan was very busy at that time, but Zeng Guofan was talking about "Huns". "Diary": "Talking about it, smelling and envious, it's really a beast." "It was very late when he came out of the three places of the rain, Zeng Guofan still didn't want to go home, and went to Zizhen's house again, and returned after the third watch. "Diary" said that he "walks at night with nothing to do, his heart is greedy and frolicking, and he still talks and learns"! Frolicking and obscenity are often terms for improper behavior in and out of the brothel of the Song House, and there are several such records in Zeng Guofan's diary. Judging from the letters his father wrote to him, instructing him to "abstain from sexual desire, labor, and diet", it is very likely that Zeng Guofan in his early years had misconduct in this regard. Zeng Guofan's wife lived in the capital at the time, and he did not have a concubine, although his "diary" often had words such as "Fang Min is disrespectful" and "Yan Qi", that is, his life is uncontrolled, but if it belongs to the normal sex life of husband and wife, why bother the old father thousands of miles away, Yin Yin advised? Moreover, abstinence, labor, and diet just show that Zeng Guofan's frequent expeditions and banquets have become a major habit.

Zeng Guofan's wife, Ouyang, was not in good health and often fell ill. Once Zeng Guofan participated in the group worship of Jinshi classmates, because the house he worshipped, Zhong Ming Ding food, and the concubines were like clouds, which made Zeng Guofan "eye-opening", and his "joyful" heart spontaneously appeared, looking around, quite unelegant. "Diary" said: "It's the day, the eyes are evil, it's really not a person, the shame is lost, let alone ask about others? When he returned home, he felt unwell. In addition, his wife was sick, so "I was not in a good mood at night, and I was tired of hearing **". The contrast between the beautiful scenery during the day and the ** voice on the sickbed was so great that Zeng Guofan couldn't bear it, so he went out to chat with a friend, "returning for the first time". The next day, his wife's illness worsened, Zeng Guofan invited Wu Zhuru to come for a consultation, because of the selfish desires of the body, Zeng Guofan's science skills were greatly reduced, and when he heard others talk about science, he felt estranged. And to pass the time with banquets and wine, he was very proud.

Tang Peng is his friend and the author of the book "Fuqiuzi", which was well received by Zeng Guofan. One day in February of the twenty-third year of Daoguang (1843), Zeng Guofan went to Tang Peng's house to go to the wedding banquet, and saw the two Ji people of Tang during the banquet. Similar accounts in Tsang's early Diary are not limited to the above few examples. This shows that the blood is strong, and Zeng Guofan, who has just passed the year of establishment, also has seven emotions and six desires, and he is also a normal person, which truly reflects Zeng Guofan's emotional world. He was able to succeed later because he changed his past behavior, "cut off the roots, and vowed to fight a bloody war".

△Decryption of Zeng's Character of Seeking Stability (1)

Sloppiness can only make oneself suffer Zeng Guofan's pursuit of stability is one of his character traits, this is because he realized that things must not be done by temperament, but according to reason, so that he can win steadily, otherwise he can only make himself suffer if he is hasty. But some people don't understand that as soon as they encounter something, they want to get out of the way immediately, and a needle will bleed out. In fact, not only will this not work, but it will also make a mess. The so-called "if you want to hurry, you can't reach it", this is the truth. A smart person must be good at observing, skillful in arranging formations, and good at finding out the bottom of things, and then when the time is ripe, he will adopt the technique of pulling the net to pull up the fish he wants to catch.

A person with a hasty personality can only make himself suffer enough—headless, chaotic, and full of holes. Those who have achieved great things should refrain from this character and take stability as the first.

"Find out what you're going to do and then do it." It's a good motto for people who tend to act rashly, especially in the first half. If determination and action are part of the necessary conditions for maturity, it means that the actions we take must be based on good analysis and judgment.

"Look before you go" or "study before you invest" does not mean that we are hesitant and indecisive. The meaning of these words is to warn us that we must not act recklessly or hastily, but must recognize the truth of the facts before taking corresponding actions.

If the physician does not clarify the condition of the patient in advance, it is very likely to bring misfortune to the patient. Yes, in many cases, immediate action is necessary, but the proportion of the success depends on how well it diagnoses the problem.

Let's take a more obvious example.

Mrs. Ted Coss, who lives in Abguaqu, New Mexico, struggled with financial problems several years ago. She has a sick mother who lives in Brooklyn and is cared for by two women. Mrs. Cowes later found it difficult to make ends meet, and an uncle, who was often a financial supporter of her, called her to ask if she could reduce her expenses. For example, reducing the salaries of the two caregivers, or reducing the cost of repairing the house, etc.

Mrs. Coss did not know what to do with her decision, so she asked her to think about it and call him back when she had made a decision. Mrs. Coss was very grateful to the uncle for his long-term help, and felt that she should find a way to ease his burden.

"I took some paper and started analyzing." Mrs. Coss described, "I first listed my mother's income, such as securities, the allowances that my uncle gave her, and so on, and then I made a list of all her expenses. It didn't take long for me to realize that my mother spent very little money on food and clothing, but that the eleven-room house had to be maintained at a great expense—twenty or thirty dollars a month for gas alone. Add to that all kinds of miscellaneous expenses and taxes, as well as insurance premiums, etc., which is very substantial. When I saw the evidence in black and white, I knew what to do – the house had to be settled.

"On the other hand, my mother's health is getting worse and worse, and I worry that it may not be appropriate to move her at this time. She had always wanted to spend the rest of her life in that house, and I wanted to do my best to fulfill her wish. So, I went to visit a physician friend and asked him to give me some advice. The physician knew a woman who ran a private nursing home just three minutes from where we were staying.

"This woman was not only good-hearted, but also capable, and the fees she received were very reasonable, so I decided to send my mother to her house and let her take care of her."

The outcome of this is ideal for everyone. Mrs. Coss's mother was so well cared for that she thought she was still living at home. Mrs. Coth was now able to visit her every day, instead of once a week. Her uncle's burden was lightened and their financial problems were resolved. This experience has taught Mrs. Coss that if you write down the problem, you can see all the facts completely and clearly, and the problem is often solved.

Mrs. Coss's example clearly shows that whether an action will become a big thing often depends on the analysis in advance. If Mrs. Coth had not done a good job of researching the problem and organizing the steps to be taken, and had acted hastily, it would have not only failed to solve the financial problems, but would have had a serious impact on her mother's health.

This way of putting facts on paper and letting them reveal the problem or solution on their own is especially useful when dealing with money issues. And today, who doesn't have trouble with money or otherwise?

A young couple living in Omni, Illinois, Mr. and Mrs. Germer, had this experience. Like many newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Golmer had financial problems shortly after their honeymoon. It was during World War II, and Mr. Golmer had to serve in the Navy, but many of their bills had not been paid.

Later, Mr. and Mrs. Germo realized that it was useless to just worry, so they sat down and tried to come up with a solution. Here's the thing: they owe money to almost every store in town. Although each family owes little, there is no way to pay it all off before entering the camp. In order to maintain a good record, they finally decided to do this – paying each store a little bit every month.

In fact, the hardest part is probably confronting the shop owners and explaining to them that they can't pay off their debts before they enter the camp. But to Mr. Golmer's surprise, when he explained his difficulties to the owner of the first shop, but offered to pay the money gradually every month, the boss reacted with such sincerity that he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, and the following shops were also going very well. As a result, these debts were later paid off, and one shop owner even came to him after he returned home from the army to thank him for keeping his promise.

All in all, it would have been difficult for them to make an appropriate decision and put it into practice if Mr. Golmo had not sat down and carefully analyzed the situation beforehand. As it turned out, they were the right one.

Many of us often do not sit down and study the problems that plague us like Mr. Golmer, but we often toss and turn over the problems and keep putting off making decisions. Or, without careful analysis, we make hasty decisions in a short period of time, which not only do not solve the problem, but worsen it. In order for the problem to be solved, we should face the facts as much as possible, gather more information about the problem, and then, if possible, study the information further to understand the situation we are in.

Dale Carnegie visited the late Dean of Columbia University, Mr. Herb Hawk. During the visit, Carnegie made a point of mentioning how neat and tidy Dean Hawke's desk was—because for a busy man like him, it was usually piled up with a lot of materials or documents.

"To deal with so many students, you have to make a lot of decisions at any given time." "But you look very calm and calm, and you don't look anxious at all." Excuse me, how do you do that? ”

Dean Hauck replied, "My approach is this—if I have to make a decision on a given day, I usually gather all the relevant information beforehand and consider myself to be a 'fact-finding person.'" I don't waste time thinking about how to make a decision, I just try to study all the information that is relevant to the issue as much as I can. When I finished my research, the decision came naturally, because it was all based on facts. Sounds simple, doesn't it? ”

Yes, the approach is very simple, but it is often overlooked. Our actions are often influenced by emotions, prejudices, impatience or other non-analytical practices, which are signs of immaturity. It's like a child who likes to "do everything right away", or when crossing the street without paying attention to the oncoming cars on both sides, or running to the beach to play in the sun, only to get heat stroke, etc., all of which are childish behaviors that do not take into account the objective situation and act in a foolish manner based on impulse.

One woman complained to the expert that her husband appeared to have behaved unfaithfully. She didn't know whether she should attack her husband or go back to her parents' house with her children.

"What makes you suspect that he is acting unfaithfully?" The expert asked.

"It's the way he behaves." She replied, "He was always a nice man, but now he has become short-tempered and picky. He often came home late from work and said he was too tired to go anywhere with me. These are all trivial things about sesame mung beans, but too much will make people unbearable. He even forgot about our wedding anniversary, it's not at all like what he used to be! ”

It does sound like a problem. But the experts still asked her to find more facts to corroborate before taking any drastic action.

The first thing she was advised to do was to talk to her husband's doctor and ask him to have him get a proper check-up. Also, see if there's anything wrong with his job.

As a result, the first suggestion had an effect. Doctors found that her husband was in urgent need of an operation. After the operation, her husband returned to normal, and the wife completely cleared her suspicions.

Marriages like this are on the verge of breakdown, and the cause is usually only one aspect of suspicion. If the woman had taken hasty action in desperation, the consequences would have been completely different.

It is true that the ability to act is one of the necessary conditions for a mature mind, but it must be based on knowledge and understanding in order to avoid worthless and hasty character and behavior.

Indeed, if we want to do things, we must not be indiscriminately chaotic, but we must advance and retreat, rush and slow, and everything is for the sake of winning in stability.

△Decryption of Zeng's Character of Seeking Stability (2)

Distinguish between priorities and urgency, Zeng Guofan especially advocated that things should be prioritized and should not be greedy for fame in one fell swoop. This is important, especially for those who aspire to do something big in their hearts.

In real life, many people who are not good at selling themselves can't tell which is more important and which is more urgent when dealing with all aspects of daily life. As the French philosopher Blaise Bascal said, "What comes first is the hardest thing for people to understand." Unfortunately for many people, they don't know how to rank their tasks and responsibilities in order of importance. They think that the work itself is an achievement, but this is a big mistake.

As an example, what is the most lacking thing in the process of learning in school? Many people may feel the same way, and what we lack most is money. In this period, we can think that for our whole life, learning is important to us, but not the most urgent, and money is urgent for us (we will cite many reasons, such as we have grown up, do not want our parents' money, etc.), but not the most important. What do we choose at this crossroads?

Different people have different choices about this issue. Some chose to abandon school early to start business, some still chose to study in school, and the more tragic person is that whether he gave up school to start a business or study in school, he didn't know what he was doing?

This is a very obvious example, and many people really can't tell which is more important and which is more urgent when dealing with aspects of our daily lives. These people think that every task is the same, and as long as the time is passed away by the busyness, they are happy from the bottom of their hearts. They are only willing to do what makes them happy, regardless of whether it is important or urgent.

In fact, people who know how to sell themselves know the principle of prioritization, and they always arrange their time according to the way of prioritization before dealing with the things of a year, a month, or a day.

(1) Put the important things first

Business and computer magnate Ross Perrault said: "Everything that is good and commendable is on the edge of the knife at all times, and it takes constant effort to keep the edge sharp." Ross realizes that when people determine how important things are, it doesn't mean that things will automatically work out. It may take a lot of effort to get these important things right. And to always put them first, you have to work a lot. Here's a three-step plan to help you do just that:

(1) Valuation

First, you need to use the four principles of purpose, need, reward, and satisfaction mentioned above to make an estimate of what you are going to do.

(2) Deletion

The second step is to delete what you don't have to do and delegate to someone else what you need to do but don't have to do.

(3) Estimates

Write down what you have to do to reach your goal, including how long it will take to complete the task and who can help you complete it.

(2) Carefully determine priorities

Before deciding what to do each year or day, you must have a more holistic view of how you should use your time. To do this, you need to ask yourself four questions:

(1) Where do I come from and where am I going? Each of us comes to this world with a heavy responsibility, and in another 20 years, each of us may have the potential to become a company leader, a big entrepreneur, and a big scientist. So, the first question we need to solve is, we need to understand what we want to do in the future? Only in this way can we persevere in our efforts towards this goal and abandon everything that has nothing to do with us.

(2) What do I need to do? To prioritize, you should also figure out what you need to do. There will always be tasks that you have to do. The important thing is that you have to distinguish whether a task has to be done or whether it has to be done by you. These two situations are different. It has to be done, but it doesn't have to be done yourself, you can delegate someone else to do it, and you are only responsible for supervising its completion.

(3) What will give me the highest return? People should focus their time and energy on the things that will give them the highest reward, that is, the things that I will do better than others. In this regard, let's guide ourselves with Barletto's (80/20) law: people should spend 80% of their time doing what brings the highest returns, and 20% of their time doing other things, so that time is used most strategically.

(4) What gives me the greatest satisfaction? Some people think that the things that bring the highest rewards will definitely give them the greatest satisfaction. But this is not the case in every case. Regardless of your status, you always need to devote part of your time to doing things that bring you satisfaction and happiness. This way you will always maintain your enthusiasm for life because your life is interesting.

(3) Start acting according to your priorities

Once you've decided what you should do, you have to prioritize them. Most people prioritize things based on their urgency, not their priority. These people do it reactively, not actively. People who know how to live cannot do this, but work according to priority. Here are two suggestions:

(1) There is a priority table at the beginning of each day

When Charles Schwaup, president of Bethlehem Steel in the United States, met with efficiency expert Ivy Leigh, Ivy Leigh said that his company could help Shuwap manage his steel company better. Schwaup admits that he knows how to manage it, but the company is not as good as it could be. But what he says he needs is not more knowledge, but more action. "What should be done, we ourselves are clear," he said. If you can tell us how to better execute the plan, I listen to you, and the price is up to you. ”

Ivy Leigh said he could give Schwap something in 10 minutes that would improve his company's performance by at least 50 percent. Then he handed Shuwap a blank piece of paper and said, "Write down the 6 most important things you want to do tomorrow on this piece of paper." After a while, he said, "Now use numbers to indicate the order of importance of everything to you and your company." "It took about 5 minutes. Ivy Leigh continued, "Now put this piece of paper in your pocket." The first thing tomorrow morning is to take out the note and make the first item, don't look at anything else, just look at the first item. Start doing the first thing and finish it until you're done. Then treat the second and third items in the same way...... Until you get off work. It doesn't matter if you only do the first thing, you're always doing the most important thing. ”

Ivy Leigh added, "Do it every day. Once you're convinced of the value of this approach, ask the people in your company to do the same. Do this experiment for as long as you like, then send me a check and give me as much as you think it's worth. ”

The whole meeting lasted less than half an hour. A few weeks later, Schwap sent Ivy Leigh a check for $25,000 and a letter. The letter said that from the point of view of money, it was the most valuable lesson of his life. Later, it was said that five years later, this small and unknown steel mill had become the largest independent steel mill in the world, and Ivy Leigh's approach was a big part of it. The method also earned Charles Schwaup $100 million.

(2) Write down things in order and set a schedule. Organizing your day is crucial for those who achieve great things. In this way, those who achieve great things can concentrate on what they need to do at all times. But it's just as important to get a week, a month, or a year right. Doing so gives you an overall direction and allows you to see your own ambitions, which will help you achieve your goal of selling yourself.