Putting Off Repairs Only Makes It Costlier — Hexagram Gu Line 64: 裕父之蛊 (Yielding to Father's Decay) Brings Regret Ahead, Indulgence Hurts Most

There was a business owner who was owed 300,000 yuan by a long-time client. This is exactly the kind of debt described in the sixth line of the Gu Hexagram.

The debt has been outstanding for two years. He has never pressed for payment. Why? Because this person was his very first client when he started his business, and had lent him a helping hand.

In the third year, his own capital chain snapped. When he went to demand repayment, the other party retorted, "Where were you earlier? I have no money now either."

He said that day he sat in the car and smoked half a pack of cigarettes. He didn't hate that person; he hated himself. Three hundred thousand yuan—if he demanded repayment in the first year, he could get it all back. In the second year, he could get half. By the third year, he'd get nothing at all.

The Six Yang Line at the Fourth Position of the Gu Hexagram (蛊卦六四, *Gu Hexagram, Fourth Yang Line*) is exactly about this incident.

The seven-character line statement: "裕父之蛊，往见吝 (Yù fù zhī gǔ, wǎng jiàn lìn; To carry on the father's corrupted legacy, going forward will meet with regret)."

Yu (裕) means to be lenient, gentle, and treat others with tolerance. Wang (往) means to continue moving forward. Lin (吝) means difficulty, hardship, and embarrassment.

The meaning of the whole sentence is: If you take a lenient and slow approach to old problems and keep going along the same path, you will hit a wall.

To put it bluntly, what the Six Yang of the Gu Hexagram (Hexagram 18: Gu / Work on What Has Been Spoiled) conveys is a rather unpalatable truth: indulgence is tantamount to nurturing an illness.

The Position of Six in the Fourth Place: Where Vigilance Is Most Needed

The Gu Hexagram is the Mountain-Wind Gu. The sixth line (Sixth Four) is a yin line occupying a yin position, reaching the extreme of softness.

It is connected below to the Nine Third, a line of unyielding firmness to the end; above it is the Six Fifth, likewise yielding in nature.

In the entire Gu Hexagram, the Nine-Third line is vigorously carrying out rectification, while the Six-Fourth line is gently dragging its feet.

Because its "softness" is misplaced. Being soft to one's mother is proper restraint; being soft to malpractices is connivance.

These two things may look similar, but they are actually completely opposite.

Why Do People Procrastinate Even When They Know They Should Change

Procrastination is never caused by laziness.

It's because change hurts.

The first kind of pain is offending people. That veteran employee has been with you for ten years. You know he's long past his prime, but you just can't bring yourself to say it.

The second kind of pain is admitting you were wrong. This problem has existed for three years, and you have been ignoring it all along. Taking action on it now is tantamount to admitting that you have been evading it for three years.

The third type of pain is that things will get more chaotic in the short term. When the old has been torn down and the new has not yet been established, no one feels comfortable during that interim period.

When three kinds of pain pile up, people choose the easiest way out: wait a little longer.

The Six Yang Line of the Gu Hexagram tells you that waiting is the most costly thing.

Procrastination Comes with Compounding Costs

This point must be calculated clearly.

The cost of small problems grows exponentially over time.

In the first year, it was just a minor problem, and fixing it would take three days.

The following year, it became part of the workflow, and modifying it required the coordination of three people.

In the third year, a group of people who depended on it for a living grew up behind it. To make a change, one had to hold a meeting, have three quarrels, and see two people leave.

By the fifth year, it had become "our tradition."

By that time, you will no longer be able to change anything. You can only wait for it to collapse on its own.

And it will collapse sooner or later.

In Reality, How to Tell It's Time to "Take Action"

Teacher Wen gave four signals, and you should take action when two of them are met.

The first sign: you start avoiding this matter.

You dare not bring it up, don’t want to think about it, and steer clear whenever you see anyone related to it. That means it has already exceeded what you can bear.

The second signal: it begins to appear repeatedly.

The same problem pops up a third and fourth time. This indicates a flaw in the structure, not a random occurrence.

The third sign: someone is making excuses for it.

"This is how the whole industry operates" and "We’ve always done it this way." As soon as these words come up, it indicates that vested interests have already taken shape.

The fourth signal: a new person's first reaction is "This is wrong."

Problems that outsiders spot at a glance are often things insiders have grown accustomed to. That is the most accurate signal.

When Taking Action, How to Reduce Pain

First, put your words on the table upfront.

If you want to make changes, first tell everyone why you are changing, to what extent the changes will go, and when they will be completed. What people fear most is not change itself, but uncertainty.

Second, adjust the matter first, then adjust the person.

Start with processes, rules, and systems first. Leave personnel matters for later. If you adjust personnel first, it will be interpreted as a purge.

Third, provide a dignified exit.

For positions that need to be eliminated, provide compensation, give transition time, and offer a clear explanation. Let those leaving depart with dignity, so the remaining staff can feel at ease.

Fourth, don't change everything all at once.

Pick the most painful one to move first. Once you move it, the others will loosen up accordingly.

Also a Word: Not Everything Should Be Changed Right Away

When looking at the first six, second nine, third nine, and fourth six lines of the Gu Hexagram together, they describe a set of rhythms.

Act when it's time to act, be gentle when it's time to be gentle, be firm when it's time to be firm — but above all, never procrastinate.

Procrastination is not "slowness"; procrastination is "failing to act."

Slowness is acceptable; it is a strategy. Inaction is escape, and in the end, all the burdens will fall on you.

Final Words

The sixth line (fourth position) of the Gu Hexagram is the line among the sixty-four hexagrams that most resembles our daily life.

Because most people don't fail to change because they can't, but because they don't dare to start.

We can always find an excuse: the timing isn’t right now, let’s wait until this busy spell is over, until the kids finish their exams, until next year.

But problems won't wait. They grow every day, faster than your courage.

Teacher Wen once said: "For things that need fixing, if you put them off for a year, you'll spend three extra years when you finally get around to repairing them."

This saying is understood by both those who do business and those who live their daily lives.

When the roof leaks, patching a single tile is enough. But when the beams rot, the whole house has to be torn down.