What to Do When Overwhelmed at Start: Preponderance of the Great First Six "藉用白茅 (Jie Yong Bai Mao)" — Thicker Padding, Softer Fall

Have you ever felt this way when you’re just starting something new?

- Joining a new company, knowing nothing, terrified of messing up, and under insane pressure

- Just launching a business, waking up every day to mounting costs and lying awake at night

- Picking up a new skill, only to find it so much harder than expected that you want to quit

Most people say it’s normal to feel overwhelmed at the start—just tough it out and it’ll pass.

But the Six at the Beginning (初六) of Preponderance of the Great (大過) doesn’t see it that way.

It says: when you’re starting out and the pressure is high, you don’t force yourself to grit your teeth and bear it—you lay down a cushion.

What Does 「藉用白茅」 Mean?

The Line Text for Six at the Beginning (初六) reads: "藉用白茅，无咎。"

"藉 (jiè)" means to lay a foundation or cushion. "白茅 (bái máo)" is a type of soft, clean grass.

In ancient times, people would spread white thatch grass on the ground before placing ritual offerings on top. Why use white thatch? Not for its looks, but for its softness—if something fell, the grass would cushion the fall and keep it from shattering.

That’s the wisdom of the Six at the Beginning of Preponderance of the Great: when you’re just starting something, first lay a soft cushion for yourself.

When pressure is high, you don’t need to get tougher—you need to get softer.

Why Newcomers Feel the Most Pressure

Newcomers face the most pressure not because the work itself is harder, but because they have zero room for error.

- A new hire who makes one mistake might get fired; a veteran employee can make ten and still keep their job

- A startup that loses one round of funding might fold; a big company can lose ten and keep operating

- A new cyclist who falls once might break a bone; an experienced rider can fall ten times, brush off the dust, and keep going

The gap isn’t in ability—it’s in buffer.

Veteran employees have experience as a buffer, big companies have capital as a buffer, seasoned riders have muscle memory as a buffer. But a beginner has no buffer at all—one tiny slip-up becomes a major crisis.

So if you’re stressed at the start, it’s not that you have weak mental fortitude—it’s that you don’t have a cushion beneath you.

Three Ways to Lay Your Cushion

So how do you build that cushion? Preponderance of the Great offers three approaches.

First Cushion: Time Buffer

Don’t push yourself too hard, too fast.

Lots of people set sky-high goals the second they start something new:

- "I’ll be top of my field in three months"

- "I’ll make a million yuan in my first year"

- "I’ll master this in a week"

Having high goals isn’t a bad thing, but without a buffer, the higher the goal, the harder the fall.

Smart people build in "trial-and-error time" for themselves.

For example, when learning a new skill, instead of thinking "I have to master this in three months," tell yourself "I’ll study for six months first, and if that’s not enough, I’ll do another six." Stretch out the timeline, and the pressure naturally eases up.

Time is the cheapest cushion there is.

Second Cushion: Financial Buffer

Money can’t solve everything, but it gives you confidence.

Someone starting a business with three years of living expenses saved up has a completely different mindset than someone with only three months of savings.

If you have three years of runway, you can take your time testing and adjusting, say no to flaky clients, and stick to what you believe is right.

If you only have three months of savings, you’ll be anxious every single day, chasing every quick buck and taking every gig that comes your way—until you’re so busy you’re just spinning your wheels.

So before you dive into something big, save up enough money first.

Money isn’t the goal—it’s the cushion. The more you have, the less it hurts when you fall.

Third Cushion: People Buffer

Find someone who can catch you if you fall.

When you’re new to a job, a good mentor can save you three years of dead ends.

When you’re starting a business, a reliable co-founder can cut your stress in half.

When you’re tackling something totally unfamiliar, advice from someone who’s been there can keep you from falling into traps.

A lot of people think asking for help means you’re incompetent. But Preponderance of the Great tells you: having people to cushion you is a sign of wisdom.

One pillar can’t hold up a beam, but ten pillars can.

Pressure that crushes one person becomes nothing when ten people share the load.

Laying a Cushion Isn’t Being Lazy

Some people might say: A cushion? Isn’t that just leaving yourself an escape route? What if having a backup makes you lose the courage to burn your bridges and go all in?

These are two completely different things.

Burning your bridges is a deliberate choice to fight with your back against the wall. That’s a strategy.

Having no cushion means you’re backed into a corner with nowhere to go. That’s a dead end.

The difference between strategy and desperation is whether you have a choice.

Someone with a cushion can choose to "go all out this time" or "test the waters first." They’re in control.

Someone with no cushion can only charge forward—because if they don’t, they’ll fail. They’re trapped.

Pressure you choose to take on is nothing like pressure you’re forced to bear.

The first makes you grow. The second makes you break.

The Lesson from Six at the Beginning (初六)

Six at the Beginning is the first line of the entire Preponderance of the Great hexagram. Sitting at the very bottom, it bears the heaviest pressure.

Yet its outcome is "No blame (无咎)"—no fault, no harm.

Why? Because it knows how to lay a cushion.

High pressure isn’t scary. What’s scary is having nothing beneath you when the pressure hits.

So if you’re right at the start of something new and feeling totally overwhelmed:

First, don’t rush to prove yourself. Building a solid foundation matters more than anything.

Second, give yourself enough buffer. Time, money, people—add as many layers as you can.

Third, it’s okay if you fall. Because you’ve laid a cushion, it won’t hurt.

藉用白茅，无咎。

The thicker the cushion, the steadier your steps.