[ This post is part of my Spiritual Design series, where I will occasionally share thoughts about how looking at ideas and practices from spiritual traditions through a designer’s eye — can help produce beneficial secular practices for the 21st century. ]
These days, I find myself explaining to coworkers and friends the concept of wuwei (無爲), as a remedy to procrastination, stress at work, and fear of failure. So what is wuwei, and how can a thousands year old Chinese concept help you be productive and build the career of your dreams?
I’ll start with a personal example: A year ago or so, I was working on my MA thesis and getting nowhere. I was stuck. It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in the topic: I was fascinated. (I’m writing about the meeting place of Buddhist Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence.) It wasn’t that I didn’t have much to say: I actually did. But every time I sat down to write it, I found myself wasting time on endless research, conversations with other people at the library, and reading the news. The focus to sit down and write was just not there – and this lasted for months.
Luckily, I remembered the idea of wuwei, and was able to identify that I had become overly attached to the idea of writing a bulletproof thesis. In my mind – a lot was writing on it. It could open doors to a Phd in the best schools, it could help find my place in the AI safety community, which I care deeply about, and it could start conversations with the most interesting Buddhist thinkers. The problem was, I had become overly identified with this potential, and it was all riding on this one paper. Of course I froze!
Once I realized what had happened, I spent the next few days intentionally and methodically convincing myself that I was not at all committed to writing this paper at all or even getting my MA. It wasn’t fun anymore, it didn’t feel natural or fresh. This probably meant an academic career was not for me. I decided I would not write a single word until or unless I genuinely felt like doing it.
And of course – as soon as I was convinced that I didn’t need to write the paper – I wanted to. Over the next couple of weeks I wrote over 200 pages consistently, joyfully, and almost effortlessly. This is the power of Wuwei.
Procrastination is a serious problem to individuals and businesses, with some estimating the cost to the economy to be in the Billions not to mention the tremendous cost to individual finances, life satisfaction, and the achievement of meaningful personal and social goals. So naturally, any idea or technique that can make a dent in procrastination can have tremendous impact on people’s lives.
Enters wuwei.
A Chinese Daoist concept, wuwei was introduced in the writings of Laozi and then Juangzi. Literally, it means “Doing without Doing” or “Action in Nonaction”. But that’s not really exactly what it means. Here’s a quote from the second verse of the Daodejing to give you a taste:
“This is why sages abide in the business of nonaction,
Laozi, Daodejing, Chapter 2.
and practice the teaching that is without words.
The work with the myriad creatures and turn none away.
They produce without possessing.
They act with no expectation of reward.
When their work is done, they do not linger.
And, by not lingering, merit never deserts them.”
The wise man, described here and throughout the work, acts without pre-defined intent, commitments, goals, or ego. He does an action for its own sake. When work is done, he does not celebrate or “linger” – but moves on to do the next thing. Taking no credit, committing to no outcomes. Doing – for its own sake.
Here’s a more academic definition:
“Wu-wei would then refer to not intentionally initiating action for one’s own reasons. From the Daodejing, the text in which wu-wei figures most prominently, we might suggest as a first interpretive step that wu-wei is the absence of action motivated by the agent’s desires, will, ambition, knowledge, education, language, or socialization… Removing these motives results in activity that conforms to natural processes, thus allowing things to happen ‘by themselves.’”
Chris Fraser, “On Wu-wei as a unifying metaphor” in Philosophy East and West, Volume 57, Number 1, January 2007, pp. 97-106.
In order to pursue the career of your dreams, you have to overcome fear. The best way to overcome fear is to make the work be its own reward, rather than pursuing it for the sake of uncertain outcomes, goals, or financial rewards. We’re afraid to operate in this way, because we feel that following our impulses could very easily take us in the wrong direction. But we need to let go of that fear if we’re to act holistically and authentically.
Let your spontaneous love of your work be your guide, not some goal or objective. Set up your daily efforts in a way that gives you the freedom to dive into activities that are both intrinsically motivating and also likely to bring about success. Then — focus on the joy of doing. Do not act out or fear or sense of duty but out of love. Make a life you love in the present, that also has a chance of getting you where you need to go in the future.
This is easier said than done — I still can often find myself stuck in a rut of doing things because I “have to” and not because I want to. But I’m getting better at it, and I owe much of it to the concept of wuwei. I hope you found it useful, too!
—
Remake Labs is as Design Sprint agency dedicated to making the world better through rapid and transformative design interventions.
