What to Do When Stuck in a Dilemma? The Six at the Beginning of Oppression Hexagram Explains It All in Three Lines

Have you ever been in this kind of situation?

You can’t move forward, and you’re not willing to step back. Standing still feels unbearable too.

It’s like being trapped in a narrow alley blocked at both ends—you don’t know whether to move or stay put.

At work, you’re caught between two bosses, and following either feels wrong. You want to quit but have no next job lined up; you want to stay but feel on pins and needles every day.

In love, you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place—you can’t bear to break up, but the relationship isn’t working out. You try to talk things through but can’t reach an agreement; you try to cool things off but can’t calm down.

This feeling is all too familiar to the First Line of the Oppression Hexagram.

The Line Text for the Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram says: 「臀困于蒺藜，入于幽谷，三岁不觌。」 (One’s buttocks are trapped in thistles and thorns; one enters a deep, dark valley, and does not see a way out for three years.)

Just picture this scene—

You’re sitting on thistles and thorns, so pricked that you can neither sit still nor stand up. You try to leave, but you walk into a deep, dark valley where you can’t see an exit for three whole years.

Wen Laoshi says this is the very first state of the Oppression Hexagram. The first stage of being trapped isn’t about having no money or no resources—it’s about being completely stuck, unable to advance or retreat, move up or down.

Why do people get stuck?

Because they’re in the wrong position.

The Six at the Beginning is the bottommost line of the Oppression Hexagram: a Yin Line sitting in a yang position. It lacks inherent strength and is in an improper position. When you’re not yet capable enough but insist on taking a position you can’t handle, you’ll naturally feel trapped.

It’s like taking on a big project when you clearly don’t have enough experience. It’s not that you don’t want to do well—you just don’t have the ability yet. The result? You’re sitting on thistles and thorns, pricked all over, and you can’t just walk away.

So what should you do?

The Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram puts it clearly: 「入于幽谷，三岁不觌。」 (One enters a deep, dark valley, and does not see a way out for three years.)

You walk into a deep valley and don’t see another person for three years.

This isn’t a curse—it’s telling you the truth: at this stage, you simply can’t get out.

The more you struggle, the more anxious you get, and the more you rush to find a way out, the more trapped you’ll feel.

Wen Laoshi says the core of the Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram isn’t “how to escape the trap” but “how to survive while trapped.”

These two things are worlds apart.

If your goal is to escape, your mindset is: I need to get out fast, I need to fix this right now, I can’t stand the current situation. This mindset makes you do impulsive things—quitting without a plan, falling out with people, taking reckless gambles. And what happens? The more you struggle, the deeper you sink.

If your goal is to survive, your mindset is: I know I can’t get out right now, I accept this reality—so how do I live my days while I’m stuck?

The latter is what the Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram is trying to teach you.

First, admit that you’re trapped.

When many people are stuck in a困境, their first reaction is denial. I’m not trapped, I’m just having a rough patch. I’m fine, it’s the environment that’s the problem.

Who are you kidding?

If you’re trapped, you’re trapped. Admitting it isn’t shameful—denying it is. If you don’t admit it, you won’t think about how to deal with it, and you’ll keep forcing things with old methods.

Forcing it until you can’t hold on anymore and break down—that’s what’s really shameful.

Second, cut down on energy drain.

When you’re sitting on thistles and thorns, the most important thing isn’t finding an exit—it’s not losing too much blood.

What counts as energy drain? Anxiety is a drain, complaining is a drain, venting to everyone you know is a drain, scrolling through your phone all day to escape is a drain, and picking fights with people you shouldn’t argue with is a drain too.

When you’re in a困境, every bit of your energy is limited. If you waste it on useless things, you’ll have none left when you really need it.

Wen Laoshi says that at the stage of the Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram, you should learn to be a turtle—tuck your head in, pay less attention to outside matters, and conserve your energy.

Third, wait for the right timing.

“Does not see a way out for three years”—three years is a figurative number, meaning a long period of time.

You might think three years is too long. But think about it: how long did it take you to end up in this困境?

Freezing three feet deep isn’t the work of a single cold day, and your困境 didn’t appear out of nowhere in three days. Of course it takes time to get out of it.

The Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram tells you that this isn’t the time to take action—it’s the time to rest and build up your strength. You’re in a deep valley: no one outside can see you, and you can’t see what’s outside. So stop trying to look. Just stay put peacefully and wait for the fog to clear.

This isn’t passivity—it’s clarity.

The most important thing to do when you’re trapped isn’t to frantically search for an exit—it’s to keep yourself steady.

Steady your emotions, steady your body, steady your basic daily rhythm.

Then wait. Wait until when? Until the day you walk out of that deep valley.

That day will come. But only if you don’t wear yourself out completely while you’re in the valley.

The Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram doesn’t feed you chicken soup for the soul, it doesn’t tell you “everything will be okay”—it just tells you honestly:

You’re trapped right now, and you probably won’t get out anytime soon. But if you can hold on, if you don’t get pricked to death by the thistles, if you don’t break down in the deep valley, there will still be a day when you walk out.

Remember: the Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram isn’t the end—it’s the starting point. The first step of a困境 is often the hardest step.

Because even though the road ahead is still tough, at least you’ll have gotten used to the rhythm of being trapped.

The scariest thing is panicking at the first step, falling apart at the first step, losing your will at the first step.

Wen Laoshi says when you run into trouble, first ask yourself which line you’re on. If you’re at the Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram, don’t rush to find an exit—first make sure you don’t get pricked to death by the thistles.

Staying alive is the greatest victory of the Six at the Beginning of the Oppression Hexagram.