When Living "The Tao" Activates Success

Rather than force, it's better to flow into abundance

Westerners are obsessed with achieving financial wealth. Well, I shouldn’t speak for everyone but most American’s are. And yet, it seems that compared to the rest of the world, we rate the highest for depression and anxiety. Is it due to the way we push past our limits, overextending ourselves to the point that we ignore our body and keep working even after burn-out? I’m guilty of this myself. As an ambitious woman, I admit that I’ve worked myself to the bone and had to learn the hard way. Balance is key.

For those unfamiliar with Taoism, “The Tao” means “The Way,” or in other words, to be in flow. When one follows Taoism, they harmonize with their environment instead of pushing against it. It’s as if an energetic current guides their footsteps creating a life of ease and harmony. There’s less doing and more being. Contradiction?

At first, Taoism can feel that way, but once you flow with it, it really does begin to make sense.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao Tzu

We see this when witnessing how flowers grow. No matter how quickly you may want the petals to bloom, we have to have to wait for the nights to turn into days, and for the days to offer enough sunlight - a flower will not bloom a minute earlier. And so, nature teaches us that there is a natural order to the rhythm of success. Lest we rush for faster results, we may suffer consequences. The challenge is that when people admire celebrities and wealthy entrepreneur’s, they often forget their success didn’t happen “overnight.” Disillusioned by what they see on the surface, they want to achieve a certain type of success by any means necessary even if it kills them.