What to Do When Old Problems Keep Recurring? Gu Hexagram Nine in the Third Place: "Gan Fu Zhi Gu (Work on the Decayed Left by the Father), Small Remorse, No Great Blame" — Tough Confrontation Has Twists but Solves the Root Cause

What’s it like when an old health issue keeps coming back again and again?

It might be neck pain, a weak stomach, insomnia, lower back soreness, or some vague, hard-to-name discomfort you can’t quite put your finger on.

It’s good for two days, bad for two days; mild for two days, worse for two days. You’ve even picked up on the pattern — it flares up when you’re tired, when you stay up late, when you eat something wrong, or when you’re in a bad mood.

You’ve seen doctors, taken medicine, tried all kinds of remedies, but it never goes away for good. It comes and goes, flaring up over and over.

You’re almost ready to give up — whatever, it’s an old problem, it can’t be cured, I’ll just live with it.

But deep down, you can’t shake the worry — what if it gets worse later? What if it turns into something serious because I put it off?

You’re totally torn — when an old issue keeps coming back, can it actually be fixed for good? And how do you fix it so it never comes back?

The third line of the Gu Hexagram, the Nine in the Third Place, has the answer for you — 「干父之蛊，小有悔，无大咎。」 (Gàn fù zhī gǔ, xiǎo yǒu huǐ, wú dà jiù / "Working on what has been spoiled by the father, there is small remorse, no great blame.")

Nine in the Third Place: Fixing Deep-Rooted Problems Takes Tough Action

The Gu Hexagram is about addressing long-standing problems and correcting what’s gone wrong.

The Six at the Beginning is the starting phase of fixing things: gentle and cautious, "danger, but in the end good fortune" — it’s hard, but it turns out well in the long run.

The Nine in the Second Place is about fixing softer, more nuanced problems: balancing firmness and flexibility, "not to be persevering" — you can’t be too rigid, you have to be strategic about your approach.

When you get to the Nine in the Third Place, the tone shifts again. This is a Yang Line in a Yang position — firmness stacked on firmness, sitting at the top of the inner trigram.

What’s its approach to fixing deep-rooted problems? Direct, tough, swift and decisive, no beating around the bush.

Is this approach good? It has its pros and cons.

The upside? It gets to the root of the problem, fixes it for good, and doesn’t leave loose ends.

The downside? It’s easy to push too hard, to hurt people in the process, to trigger pushback, and to leave a few small regrets or missteps behind.

That’s why the Line Text says: "small remorse, no great blame."

There will be small regrets and bumps along the way, but the overall direction is right, the root problem gets solved, and there are no major missteps or lasting regrets.

The Xiang Commentary says: "Working on what has been spoiled by the father, in the end there is no blame."

Fixing the long-standing problems left by a previous generation ultimately leads to no major issues. Why? Because you’re doing the right thing, you’re solving the root problem, and you’re following the proper path.

There might be small frictions, small regrets, small twists and turns along the way, but the end result is good — and worth it.

Applied to the issue of recurring old health problems, here’s what the Nine in the Third Place is saying:

For some old, chronic issues, you can’t just take it slow and let them linger forever. You have to take tough action and treat them from the root up. The process might be a little painful, a little disruptive, and you might even have a few small regrets, but it’s still better than letting it drag on and get worse and worse.

Why Old Problems Get Harder to Fix the Longer You Wait

A lot of people have chronic, long-standing health issues. These problems don’t pop up overnight — they build up over years and years.

But what’s their attitude toward these issues? It’s always: "I’ll just take it easy and nurture it back," "Everyone has this when they get older," "It can’t be cured anyway," "Might as well just live with it."

So they keep putting it off, keep dragging their feet, keep toughing it out.

What happens in the end? Small problems turn into big ones, chronic issues turn into serious conditions, treatable problems turn into untreatable ones.

Why do people put off getting treatment? Three main reasons.

First, they hate the hassle.

They think taking care of their body is too much trouble — you have to watch what you eat, exercise, go to bed early, get regular checkups, spend so much time and energy on it. Just thinking about it is exhausting, so they give up before they start.

Second, they’re afraid of the discomfort.

They know that to fix it for good, you have to take tough action — you might have to change years of habits, go through some discomfort, power through a rough patch. Just thinking about it scares them, so they give up.

Third, they have a "it won’t happen to me" mindset.

They figure they won’t be that unlucky, their problem is probably nothing, they can wait a little longer. They always assume the worst-case scenario will never happen to them.

At the end of the day, all three reasons boil down to one thing: laziness.

Too lazy to change, too lazy to stick with it, too lazy to be tough on themselves.

The Nine in the Third Place is telling you: stop putting it off. Procrastination is the biggest problem of all.

"Small remorse, no great blame" — if you take tough action to fix it, even though the process will be painful, disruptive, and you might even wonder why you’re putting yourself through this, the end result is good: the problem is solved, fixed at the root, and you won’t have to suffer through it anymore.

What if you just keep putting it off? Then it becomes "great blame" — by the time the problem gets serious, by the time it’s too late to fix, that’s when you’ll have real regret, real trouble.

Do the math: which is the better deal?

Suffer through a few months of discomfort for a lifetime of ease afterward? Or take it easy for a few more years and end up with a major problem?

Everyone can do that math, really — no one just wants to actually follow through on it.

How to Fix Old Health Problems From the Root Up

So how do you fix old health problems for good? Three pieces of advice, tied to the wisdom of the Nine in the Third Place.

First, cut off the root cause first.

The reason old problems are called "old" is because they have a root cause — your lifestyle habits, your sleep schedule, your diet, your mood, your posture.

If you just take medicine without changing your habits, that’s treating the symptom, not the disease. You could take medicine your whole life and never get better.

You have to find the root cause and eliminate it. Cut the root, and the illness will heal.

Take insomnia, for example: just taking sleeping pills won’t help. You have to figure out why you can’t sleep — are you staying up late scrolling on your phone? Is it too much stress? Do you overthink things before bed? Find the cause, fix it, and the insomnia will go away on its own.

Take a weak stomach: just taking antacids won’t help. You have to change your eating habits — do you binge eat? Do you skip meals or eat at irregular times? Do you eat too much cold or spicy food? Fix that, and your stomach will feel better naturally.

Take neck pain: just putting on pain patches won’t help. You have to fix your posture — are you hunched over your phone all day? Do you sit for hours without moving? Is your pillow too high or too low? Fix that, and your neck will feel looser naturally.

Don’t just focus on the symptoms — work on the root cause.

Second, don’t be afraid to be tough.

If you’re going to fix an illness, you have to act like it. Stop thinking you can get better without putting in any effort.

Cut out the foods you need to cut out, exercise when you need to exercise, go to bed early when you need to, change the habits you need to change.

The tougher you are on yourself, the kinder the illness will be to you. If you’re always chasing comfort, the illness will stick around forever.

For a lot of people trying to get healthier, the biggest problem is that they’re too lenient with themselves.

Today a friend treats you to dinner, so you make an exception. Tomorrow you’re in a bad mood, so you stay up a little late. The day after you’re too tired, so you skip exercise for a day.

One exception leads to a second, a second leads to a third. By the end, the whole "getting healthy" plan is totally out the window.

Why are old problems so hard to fix? It’s not that the illness is hard to treat — it’s that people are too soft on themselves.

You have to be tough on yourself. Stick to what you need to stick to, cut out what you need to cut out, change what you need to change.

Be tough for a little while, and you’ll be comfortable for the rest of your life. It’s a good deal.

Third, accept that there will be ups and downs.

"Small remorse" — the process of getting better won’t be smooth sailing. There might be setbacks, side effects, periods where you feel worse before you feel better.

That’s totally normal. Don’t give up or regret your choice the second things get a little wobbly.

For example, when you first start working out, your whole body is sore. You might think, is exercise actually making this worse? No — your body is just adjusting. Push through it, and it’ll get better.

For example, when you first start cutting out certain foods, you’ll crave everything and feel miserable. You might think, what’s the point of life if I can’t eat what I want? No — your taste buds and habits are just shifting. Push through it, and you’ll get used to it.

For example, when you first start going to bed early, you’ll lie awake tossing and turning. You might think, I might as well just stay up late. No — your internal clock is just resetting. Push through it, and it’ll get easier.

Any change comes with an adjustment period. Adjustment periods are uncomfortable — if they weren’t, it wouldn’t be a change.

Stick with it, power through the hardest part, and the rest will be smooth sailing.

Final Thoughts

The Xiang Commentary says: "Working on what has been spoiled by the father, in the end there is no blame."

Fixing deep, long-standing problems ultimately leads to no major missteps, because the direction is right and the root problem is being solved.

As long as your direction is right, your methods are right, and you stick with it, an old health problem will eventually be fixed for good.

But the catch is — you have to actually do something about it, and you have to be tough on yourself. Putting it off and letting it fester is the biggest problem of all.

The core principle of the Gu Hexagram is "Originating, Penetrating. It furthers one to cross the great water. Three days before the beginning, three days after the beginning" — the Gu Hexagram is about fixing long-standing problems and solving them from the root up.

The Six at the Beginning is the starting phase: hard, but ultimately good fortune. The Nine in the Second Place is about being strategic, following the middle path. The Nine in the Third Place is about taking tough action, tackling the hardest parts head-on: small remorse, but no great blame.

Once you’ve gone through these three lines, the work of the inner trigram is complete — from starting out, to being strategic, to taking tough action, each step goes deeper, each step is firmer than the last.

Health issues work the same way: when you have minor aches and pains, you just need to pay attention and take care of yourself — that’s the Six at the Beginning. When you have vague, hard-to-name issues, you need to be strategic and take it slow — that’s the Nine in the Second Place. But when you have a real old, chronic problem, you have to take tough action, treat it from the root, and stop putting it off — that’s the Nine in the Third Place.

The longer you wait, the harder it is to fix. The earlier you start, the easier it is.

So what do you do when an old problem keeps coming back?

Stop putting it off. Take tough action and fix it from the root. Don’t be afraid of the hassle, don’t be afraid of the discomfort, don’t be afraid of the bumps along the way. There might be a few small regrets and disruptions in the process, but as long as your direction is right, you’ll solve the problem in the end.

It’s still better than letting it drag on, getting worse and worse, until it turns into something serious.

Wen Laoshi once said — your body is the most honest thing there is. Treat it well, and it’ll treat you well. Cut corners with it, and it’ll cut corners with you tenfold. That bill always comes due, sooner or later.

May you soon get your old health issues sorted out, feel light in your body, and at peace in your mind.