Have you ever had similar experiences:
Recently, my academic luck hasn’t been great, but I still forced myself to work hard—signing up for various exams and certifications, studying from dawn to dusk, pushing through even when I couldn’t focus, as if just sitting in front of my books meant I was still trying. In the end, the results of all those exams were disappointing.
Lately, my career luck has been poor, but I wanted to change jobs, so I sent out resumes and went to interviews, going through all that hassle only to realize I wasn’t finding any significantly better opportunities. The few offers I got were no better than my current job—just about the same—so it made more sense to stay put and tough it out where I am.
Notice something? Very few people can calmly accept that their luck is down for a while and truly choose to lie low quietly.
A significant portion of people remain unwilling to accept their fate, refusing to believe in fortune—or perhaps they do believe in it, but they place even greater faith in miracles, convinced they can turn their fortunes around.
Thus, even during low periods, they keep taking action. Though they may ultimately fail and come to terms with reality, realizing they were just spinning their wheels, at least having something to do keeps their minds from panicking. Beyond the hope of securing a miracle or believing themselves to be an exception, perhaps another reason is their attempt to combat hidden anxieties through constant activity. Matters of human nature are hard to restrain with just a simple phrase like “bad fortune.”
Bad fortune can be understood simply as, on one hand, a temporary lack of favorable opportunities around us, or even the presence of some unfavorable influences;
On the other hand, during periods of unfavorable fortune, our own emotions and thoughts tend to go awry—for example, we might become more prone to fixating on trivialities, struggling to let go, or being overly trusting and impulsive. The internal and external reflect each other. It’s not always, as some believe, that the external world is solely to blame—that it’s the outside affecting us, or others influencing us.
To remain calm and composed, going with the flow without anxiety or impatience, sounds easy and is easy to understand, but truly achieving it requires wisdom—this is where the necessity of cultivating the mind comes in.
When there are no good opportunities externally and you feel uncomfortable internally, don’t force a confrontation. First, settle yourself in the current environment and wait for the right moment to emerge. If you must do something to ease your mind, learn something new—whether useful or not—then delve into history, explore traditional culture, or study the customs and lifestyles of different places.
In times of prosperity, maintain self-discipline and introspection, staying grounded and steady. In adversity, face it with equanimity and live each day diligently. The wisdom of life is already blossoming in your heart.
