You Don’t Have It All Figured Out, and You Never Will
What an ancient Chinese emperor can teach you about wisdom
There is so much sound and fury from preening peacocks in the public sphere it takes wisdom to wade through the swamp of BS.
The great thing is moral wisdom has been preserved in so many amazing shapes and forms across history. We just have to explore and use it.
Egoism has been a significant trap to growth since the beginning of time. One of the most famous soliloquies from Shakespeare mocks people’s self-absorbed certainty.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth, Act 5-Scene 5
In a way only Shakespeare can, he captures the essence of the hubris we all are prone to display. Some of us, more than others, but still, we all can learn much from the ancient parables passed down for thousands of years.
Let me introduce you to Yuan Shao
He was an impressive figure. Shao was a military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty around 200 CE. He came from very wealthy parents with an impressive pedigree.
He made a powerful first impression by looking, walking, talking, and carrying himself as a powerful general.
Yet, for all the boisterous talk, glowing accolades showered upon him by his yes men, physical appearance, and perfect dress the guy was a failure when it counted most.
Yuan Shao was called on to quell internal dissent and outright mutiny not once but twice. Both times he failed miserably. After a decisive loss in the Battle of Guando, he died two years later of illness.
He accomplished nothing in his political and military career for all his bravado.
Chinese historians have not been kind to Yuan Shao. His glaring failures, despite his illustrious family background and geographical advantages, were blamed on his indecisiveness and inability to listen to the advice of his advisors.
He was a much better warrior talking about combat in the parlors of parties than on the battlefield.
A famous Chinese parable was directed squarely at him after his failures:
“The feathers of the Phoenix are of no assistance if you have the liver of a chicken.”
There is much we can learn from the failures of Yuan Shao.
Take substance and action over style and hype any day.
Words are the talk. Actions are the walk. People don’t care what you say, unless you execute in actions. Somehow we tend to forget this far too often.
Yuan Shao loved to broadcast all the greatness he was going to achieve, but those words meant nothing at the end of the day. Actions are what people remember about Yuan Shao. And your actions are what you are going to be remembered as well.
The coulda, woulda shoulda, only if mentality always fails, and sets you up for mocking disgrace.
Having confidence is fine. Articulating a vision of what you want to be is powerful. Yet, don’t live like Yuan Shao — arrogant, unresponsive to advice, cocksure about everything, and obsessed with outward appearance and wealth.
Be mindful of the words and language you use with yourself and others. You don’t have all the correct answers. You don’t. This fact isn’t a knock on you or your intellect. It is just the truth, so stop pretending you have it all figured out. Stop mocking or minimizing the opinions of others, and most certainly walk with humility, empathy, and open-mindedness.
Your words become your deeds. Your deeds become your habits, and your habits form your personality. Others will remember you for your personality.
So choose wisely your words and actions. It does matter.
Next Steps
If you enjoy exploring wisdom texts, like the story of Yuan Shao, I invite you to join the Intellectual Freedom Course. The course contains diverse readings by some of the world’s most celebrated thinkers. The course is 100% free!
We take a historically rigorous cosmopolitan approach, focusing on wisdom. The wise individual makes good choices, understands happiness, makes sense of moral failure, and maintains deep friendships, to name just a few.
In the course, we analyze religious scriptures, political manifestos, fables, proverbs, letters, and epistles, which often reveal deep moral insights that need to be considered by anyone searching for a well-grounded personal ethic to lead a fulfilled life.