Li Hexagram 62: Why High Achievers Stay Calm — "Yellow Clinging, Supreme Good Fortune" (黄离元吉): Those Who Keep Pace Go Furthest

Have you ever felt this way?

People these days seem to be in more and more of a hurry.

- Just two years into a job, and they’re already chasing a six-figure salary

- Three months into a project, and they expect to see results

- A handful of classes in, and they want to be an expert

- Six months into a relationship, and they think everything should fall into place

Rushing to make money, rushing to succeed, rushing to earn approval.

Everyone else is running, so if you don’t run, you feel like you’re falling behind.

But what happens?

The more you rush, the messier things get.

The messier things get, the worse you perform.

The worse you perform, the more anxious you feel.

The Six in the Second Place (六二) of the Li hexagram (离卦) describes the exact opposite of this state.

「黄离，元吉」 (Yellow Clinging, Supreme Good Fortune)

The Line Text (Yao Ci) for the Six in the Second Place reads: "黄离，元吉。"

What does "yellow" (黄) mean here?

In ancient times, yellow was the color of the center—impartial, neither excessive nor deficient.

Neither cold nor hot, neither rigid nor soft, neither hasty nor slow.

"Yellow Clinging" (黄离) means: bright but not glaring, warm but not scorching.

Is it like the midday sun? No. The midday sun is too harsh, it burns and makes people uncomfortable.

What is it like, then? The dusk sun? No, that’s too dim.

It’s the kind of light that’s just right—

Warm, bright, and comforting.

It illuminates everything, yet never stings the eyes.

"元吉"—supreme good fortune, auspicious at the very root.

Why is this called supreme good fortune?

Because this state is the hardest to achieve.

Why We’re Always Flustered

Don’t be so quick to say, "I want to be steady too."

First, think about why you can’t stay steady.

Reason 1: You’re swept up by other people’s pace

Open up your Moments feed—

Your peers are buying houses, buying cars, getting promotions, succeeding in startups.

Then you look at yourself, and nothing’s changed.

How could you not feel rushed? Of course you do.

But have you ever thought about this:

Everyone’s internal clock is different.

Some people graduate at 22, but wait five years to land a good job;

Some become CEO at 28, but burn out by 35;

Some are still unmarried at 30, but live very happy lives;

Some get married young, but suffer through their marriage.

What you see is only what other people want you to see.

You don’t know what they’ve sacrificed behind the scenes,

Or whether they’re actually happy right now.

Comparing yourself to others is a race you’ll never finish.

And a race you’ll never win.

Reason 2: You think too much and do too little

What’s the root of anxiety?

It’s thinking too much and doing too little.

You worry about what the future will bring,

You fret about what if you fail,

You wonder what other people will think of you,

You fixate on when you’ll finally succeed…

You spin a million thoughts, but barely get any real work done.

The more you think, the more flustered you get.

Because if you just think without acting, problems won’t solve themselves.

The more problems pile up, the more flustered you become.

The more flustered you are, the less you want to act.

It’s a vicious cycle.

Reason 3: You always want instant results

A lot of people feel flustered because they want everything done in one go.

Start a task, and they want to see results immediately.

Learn something new, and they want to master it right away.

Put in a little effort, and they expect instant rewards.

But the real world doesn’t work that way.

Anything worth having takes time.

A seed you plant won’t sprout the next day.

Even if it sprouts, it won’t bloom the next day.

Even if it blooms, it won’t bear fruit the next day.

You have to wait.

You have to persevere.

You have to let it grow slowly, step by step.

If you always want to skip the process and jump straight to the result—

Who wouldn’t be flustered?

What the Rhythm of "Yellow Clinging" (黄离) Feels Like

So what’s the rhythm of "Yellow Clinging"?

Put simply, it’s four words: unhurried, steady.

Unhurried: Calm and methodical

You rarely see truly capable people flustered.

Even if the sky feels like it’s falling, they first get a clear picture of the situation before acting.

Even when a huge crisis hits, they handle things one step at a time.

Why don’t they panic?

It’s not that they don’t care.

It’s because they know—

Panic is useless.

Panic solves nothing.

Panic only makes you make mistakes, and makes things worse.

Since panic does no good, you might as well stay calm.

Calm your mind, and tackle things one by one.

Finish one, and there’s one less to do.

Keep at it, and before you know it, everything’s done.

Look at firefighters putting out a blaze—

The fire is raging, but do they panic?

No, they don’t. They follow procedures, use proven methods, and work as a team.

Follow the steps, and the fire gets put out.

Panic, on the other hand, only leads to accidents.

Steady: Not lazy, never stopping

Being unhurried doesn’t mean being slow.

It doesn’t mean being passive, lying flat, or doing nothing.

They do every task that needs to be done, no shortcuts.

They walk every step of the path that needs to be walked, no skips.

They face every burden that needs to be carried, no退缩.

They just don’t rush.

They know where they’re going, and they know the path has to be walked step by step.

They don’t dream of reaching the sky in one leap, and they don’t give up halfway.

It’s like running—

The person who sprints the fastest won’t necessarily finish the race.

The person who runs steadily is the one who goes the farthest.

Those who laugh last aren’t the fastest runners. They’re the ones who never stop.

How to Find Your Own Rhythm

It’s easy to say, but how do you actually do it?

Step 1: Figure out where you’re going

A lot of people feel flustered because they have no idea where they’re going.

Whatever other people say is good, they chase after it.

Wherever other people run, they follow along.

They run for ages, only to realize—

That’s not where they wanted to go at all.

So the first step is to stop, and ask yourself:

What do I really want?

Not what your parents want,

Not what your friends think is good,

Not what society tells you you should want.

What you, yourself, truly desire.

Once you figure that out, you’ll have a direction.

With a direction, you won’t be so easily swept up by other people’s pace.

Step 2: Break it down into small goals, and take it step by step

A goal that’s too big feels intimidating just to look at.

"I want to make a six-figure income"—it makes you panic just thinking about it.

"I want my startup to succeed"—it feels overwhelming.

"I want to become an expert"—it feels impossible.

Goals that are too big can paralyze you.

What to do?

Break them down.

Break them into yearly goals,

Break them into monthly goals,

Break them into weekly goals,

Break them into what you need to do today.

Then, just do today’s work today.

Don’t worry about the six-figure income yet.

Just focus on doing today’s few tasks well.

Keep at it, and a month passes,

Keep going, and a year passes.

Look back, and you’ll realize you’ve come so far.

Step 3: Accept the slowness of the process

A lot of the time, you feel flustered because you can’t accept "slowness".

You think, I’ve put in the effort, why haven’t I seen results yet?

I’ve stuck with it, why hasn’t anything improved?

But have you ever thought about this:

It’s not that your effort is useless—it’s just not time yet.

A bamboo tree only grows three centimeters in its first four years.

Everyone thinks it’s a failure.

But starting in the fifth year, it grows thirty centimeters every day.

In six weeks, it can reach fifteen meters tall.

What was it doing those first four years?

Growing roots.

Once the roots are deep enough, growing upward happens naturally.

People are the same way.

You might feel like things are slow, like you’re not making progress right now.

Chances are, you’re growing your roots.

Once your roots are solid, the growth will come fast later.

Don’t rush.

Wait a little longer.

The True Meaning of "Yellow Clinging, Supreme Good Fortune" (黄离元吉)

Why is the Six in the Second Place called "元吉"—supreme good fortune?

Because this position is perfect.

It holds the central position, and it is also in its proper position (当位).

Neither too high nor too low, neither too far ahead nor too far behind.

There are people above to support you, people below to uphold you.

And you yourself carry the virtue of brightness.

Not everyone can be in this state.

But everyone can strive for it.

Strive for what?

Strive for a life that’s "just right".

You don’t have to be the richest—just having enough is fine.

You don’t have to be the most successful—being satisfied with yourself is enough.

You don’t have to be the most famous—having the approval of the people you care about is all that matters.

You don’t have to be the fastest—just keep moving forward.

Impartial and balanced,

Neither hasty nor slow,

Steady and sure.

This is the state of "Yellow Clinging" (黄离).

What the Six in the Second Place Teaches Us

If you’re feeling flustered, rushed, or anxious right now:

Stop. Take a deep breath.

Ask yourself—

What am I rushing for?

Who am I comparing myself to?

Where am I going?

Once you figure that out, just take it step by step.

Don’t rush, and don’t stop.

**Life is not a sprint. It’s a marathon.**

Running fast doesn’t count. Running steady, and running long—*that’s* what counts.

The people who end up living well,

Aren’t the smartest,

Aren’t the most capable,

Aren’t the luckiest.

They’re the ones who—

Found their own rhythm, and kept walking with it.

黄离，元吉。

Stay steady, and you’ve already won.