I Ching Hexagram 64 Wei Ji Nine in Second Place: Pull Others Up When Needed — You Don’t Need Speed, You Need Steadiness

Your project is moving forward — but you can’t shake the feeling that something’s off. The pace is too fast, your team can’t keep up, you haven’t had time to process client feedback, and you haven’t worked out the plan for the next phase. But everyone’s pushing ahead, and you feel awkward hitting the brakes.

The Nine in the Second Place of *Before Completion* (火水未濟) says: hit the brakes when you need to.

The Line Text (Yao Ci) reads:

「曳其轮，贞吉。」 (Ye Qi Lun, Zhen Ji / Pulling the wheels, perseverance brings good fortune)

"Ye Qi Lun" — hold back the wheels to slow the carriage down. "Zhen Ji" — doing so is correct and auspicious.

Have you noticed? The Nine at the Beginning of *After Completion* (水火既濟) also mentions "pulling the wheels" — but that’s at the start of a journey. The Nine in the Second Place of *Before Completion* is about pulling the wheels mid-journey. Being cautious at the start is instinct — being able to hit the brakes when you’re already moving is true skill.

Wen Laoshi says the phrase "pulling the wheels" describes a severely underrated ability: daring to slow down when everyone else is speeding up.

1. The Position of the Nine in the Second Place

The Nine in the Second Place sits in the middle of the lower trigram of *Before Completion*. It is a Yang Line in a Yin position — not in proper position, but in the central position. A Yang Line in the middle means it has strength and drive — yet it chooses to "pull the wheels".

Why? Because the Nine in the Second Place sees the full picture. It knows that even as it moves forward, the resources and coordination behind it haven’t caught up. If it keeps accelerating, the carriage will fall apart.

The *Xiang Commentary* (Images) says: "The good fortune of the Nine in the Second Place through perseverance comes from walking the correct path by holding to the center." — because it follows the middle way, it can walk the right path.

Wen Laoshi says the phrase "walking the correct path by holding to the center" is very important — the Nine in the Second Place doesn’t slow down out of timidity, but because it sees the "middle way". It doesn’t go to extremes, follow the crowd, or act impulsively — it moves at its own pace.

2. "Pulling the Wheels" in Your Career

Your company is growing — orders are up, the team is expanding, the market is opening up. Everyone’s saying "charge ahead", "move fast", "don’t miss the window".

But you’ve spotted some problems: product quality is starting to slip, customer service responses are slower, new hires are put to work before they’re fully trained, and long-time employees are starting to complain about burnout.

These are the signs that the "wheels" are about to come loose.

The Nine in the Second Place says: give it a pull. Hit the brakes. It doesn’t mean stopping entirely — it means adjusting your speed to a level your team, your resources, and your quality standards can keep up with.

Wen Laoshi says most companies run into trouble not because they "did the wrong thing" — but because they "did things too fast". You expand too quickly, and management can’t keep up. You take on too much work, and quality suffers. You grow too fast, and your company culture gets diluted.

"Pulling the wheels" isn’t being conservative — it’s being smart. You know when to speed up, and more importantly, you know when to slow down.

3. Why It Is "Perseverance Brings Good Fortune"

How can pulling back the wheels be "auspicious"?

Because in the pattern of "Before Completion" — where everything is chaotic and out of alignment — if you can steady your own pace, you become the most reliable force amid the chaos. While others rush recklessly, you stay on your own path; while others crash and burn, you keep moving forward.

Wen Laoshi says career winners usually aren’t the fastest ones — they’re the ones who are still running at the end. How many companies have you seen shine brightly in their first year, only to collapse in the second? And how many take it slow for the first five years, only to grow more and more stable later on?

"Pulling the wheels, perseverance brings good fortune" — control your speed, and you can control your direction. Control your direction, and you can make it to the finish line.

4. Do You Need to "Give It a Pull" Right Now?

Ask yourself a few questions:

Can your team still keep up? Or are some people already falling behind?

Is the quality of your product or service still consistent? Or is it already slipping?

Can your own body and mind still hold up? Or are you already running on fumes?

Is your pace something you chose actively — or are you being forced to speed up by outside pressure?

If most of your answers point to "too fast" — then give it a pull.

Wen Laoshi says the Nine in the Second Place of *Before Completion* doesn’t teach you to "stop running" — it teaches you to "run at your own speed". Other people’s pace is their business — you have to find your own.

Put simply, plenty of people know how to step on the gas, but few dare to hit the brakes — yet the latter usually last longer.