“To know the Way,
We go the Way;
We do the Way
The Way we do
The things we do.
It’s all there in front of you,
But if you try too hard to see it,
You’ll only become Confused.
I’m me,
And you are you,
As you can see;
But when you do
The things that you can do,You will find the Way,
And the Way will follow you.”
From The Tao of Pooh
When I was too young to read, my mom read Winnie-the-Pooh to my brother and me. It was cold and snowing outside, but we felt safe and warm, snuggled under a blanket, giggling at Pooh’s adventures.
Oh, I love Pooh. And Piglet. And Tiger. And still, to these days, my brother and I exchange Poohisms – little sayings from one of the most incredible children’s books.
So what does a children’s book have to do with Unhustle?
More or less, it has to do with the grown-up version of Pooh, The Tao of Pooh, written by Benjamin Hoff, not A.A.Milne.
It has to do with ancient Chinese philosophy, Wu Wei.
Wu Who?
Wu Wei is the art of non-action, accepting flow instead of an effort to achieve a result. It’s working with your inner nature and the natural laws around you to operate with “minimal effort.” It means listening to your intuition, “being in the zone,” appreciating the process on the Way to the reward instead of desperately chasing an outcome. It means having an appreciation for your surroundings and being alive.
Benjamin Hoff explains how to stay happy and calm under all circumstances and live using the WuWei Taoism principle using Pooh’s calm and reflective mind, the Uncarved Block.
Wu Wei means “without doing, causing, or making.”
Not to be confused with laziness or apathy. “The Way does nothing, and yet nothing remains unaccomplished” (wuwei er wu buwei). It’s being in harmony with the natural cycles, swimming with rather than against the current. It means being flexible, like the bamboo bending in the wind but standing back up. Letting go of our ego, our attachment to the outcome. The art of non-doing, non-forcing means effortless living and effortless working where natural cycles prevail—attributed to Lao-tzu, “The Old Master,” the philosophy of wu-Wei teaches you how to develop a natural state of consciousness not bound by thought or preconceived limitations.
“Tao does not do, but nothing is not done.”
Benjamin Hoff now typing…
“When you work with Wu Wei, you put the round peg in the round hole and the square peg in the square hole. No stress, no struggle. Egotistical Desire tries to force the round peg into the square hole and the square peg into the round hole. Cleverness tries to devise crafted ways of making a peg: fit where they don’t belong. Knowledge tries to figure out why round pegs fit round holes, but not square holes. Wu Wei doesn’t try. It doesn’t think about it. And when it does, it doesn’t appear to do much of anything. But Things Get Done.”
Since Wu Wei receives minimal mention and attention in the Western World, we’ll call it the Unhustle Way.
Letting go
So instead of trying too hard and wearing ourselves out, we need to let things happen – effortlessly.
When we release the ego, we can find inner freedom and align ourselves with our goals, cultivating skill and mastery along the Way.
When we release limiting beliefs about achieving success, we can approach life with openness, acceptance, and curiosity while staying attuned to our natural rhythms and those of the world around us.
As a leader, being able to see and hear without getting caught up in the details allows for tasks to be taken care of by your team while you remain calm and relaxed, able to keep your eyes on the long-term goals. So, if you’re a leader – hire the right people, point the Way, give them the tools and get out of their Way.
Something of the special sauce of Wu Wei is captured when we talk of being “in the zone” – at one with what we are doing, in a state of profound concentration and flow.
Living and working in flow is the Unhustle Way.
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