Wu Wei: Dont force things

Wu Wei is a Chinese term that loosely translates into non doing or not doing. It is not an accurate as often happens when you translate language.

A more accurate understanding is the art of doing while being still or calm.

Human beings have a tendency to get excitable when doing. It comes from the need to shift from a state of inertia to a state of doing. Getting the hormones going so to speak.

But often times we find ourselves stressed by the need to do. The excitement translating into anxiety.

Michael Phelps, the multiple Olympic Gold medal winner in swimming, is famous for reframing this anxiety into excitement.

But most of us are not able to do that. So our need to do causes stress.

We Wei is the philosophy that aims to help. The best description I found was “effortless action.”

Being able to do without making it feel that you are.

The concept comes from the ancient Daoist line of thinking. Essentially, the belief revolves around harmony.

Harmony with nature and with those around you. A natural flow of events where you act in consonance.

It should not be mistaken with not acting or doing nothing. You are acting, just doing so that allows things to remain in a state of natural harmony.

We all have a sense of this in our lives. We know when our desires and needs exceed our reality. It causes us stress but also stresses the world around us.

That is the time to consider Wu Wei - the art of non doing.

Counter intutively, when you do this, things get done. Nature and the world is never still. Sometimes even a gentle push can go a long way in achieving outcomes.

The mistake we make is to believe that going forward needs minute to minute action. But that is just your stress and anxiety playing out.

Act when you need to. Be calm and patient the rest of the time.

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