"The cure for your suffering is within you": Bruce Lee's advice on self-development

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Bruce Lee was not only a movie star, but also a philosopher, martial artist and cultural icon. His energy has mesmerized and inspired audiences all over the world. Shannon, Bruce Lee's daughter, chose her father's sayings that help her stay on track and overcome difficulties. They can help you too.

1. Strengthen the fortitude

Try to notice in what areas of life you are experiencing difficulties. Write down your observations, but don't judge yourself. Move forward and rejoice at every victory.

The medicine for my suffering was within me from the very beginning, but I did not take it. My illness came from myself, but until now I have not seen it. Now I understand that I cannot find light until, like a candle, I become my own fuel.

Bruce Lee

This quote helped Shannon Lee cope with depression after the tragic death of her brother. But it can be useful in other situations as well.

2. Be water

This is the most famous quote from Bruce Lee. The very idea of assimilating water goes back to Taoism - an ancient Chinese philosophical teaching. If you are like water, you can take any form and easily bypass all obstacles.

The next time you come across undeserved criticism or some kind of obstacle, try not to get numb and not resort to aggression. Imagine that you are "flowing" around a problem, like a stream of water flows around a stone.

Empty your mind. Become amorphous and formless like water. When water is poured into a cup, it becomes a cup. When water is poured into a kettle, it becomes a kettle. When water is poured into a bottle, it becomes a bottle. Water can flow or it can crush. Be water my friend.

Bruce Lee

3. Never be discouraged

The years between The Green Hornet and the films filmed in Hong Kong were pretty tough for Bruce Lee. In Hollywood, he was not offered the roles he deserved, and during this time he seriously injured his back. The doctors said he would no longer be able to practice martial arts and might not even be able to walk normally. But he did not give up and devoted all his efforts to recovering from the injury.

On the back of his business cards, he began to write the phrase "Move on" to remind himself to always think positively and move forward.

Do you have any phrase that helps you in difficult times? Try to find or come up with some motivating statement that will give you the strength to move on.

4. Define your main goal

In 1969, Bruce Lee wrote down his main goal to remind himself in which direction he wants to go. He called it "My very definite main goal."

I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid superstar of the East in America. I will achieve worldwide fame and will have a capital of ten million dollars. I will be able to live as it pleases me, having achieved inner harmony and happiness.

Bruce Lee

Write down your own main goal. Do not be afraid to dream and remember that the goal is just the direction in which you want to move, what inspires you.

5. Create your own path

In 1964, followers of the traditional kung fu style in San Francisco challenged Bruce Lee to a duel. They were unhappy with the way he was teaching this martial art. In the event of a loss, Lee had to close his workshop in Oakland. Lee agreed and defeated his opponent in three minutes.

Although he managed to keep his workshop, he was dissatisfied with himself. He planned to defeat the enemy in one minute, but he moved around the room during the fight, so Lee had to chase him.

The classical form of kung fu that he was trained in (wing chun) did not prepare him for real combat. Therefore, Lee began to develop his own style (Jeet Kune Do), abandoning some elements of classical kung fu and developing techniques that best suited his body.

Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is yours.

Bruce Lee

If you are following the same pattern, consider if you can improve it somehow. It is not necessary to follow the common beaten path. You can create your own path, perfect for you.

6. Develop

Bruce Lee also developed four stages of self-education.

1. Incompleteness: the divided yin-yang symbol symbolizes a person who rushes to extremes and cannot achieve harmony with himself.
2. Fluidity: the combined yin-yang symbol symbolizes the achievement of harmony between the masculine and feminine, and the arrows indicate the constant interaction between them.
3. Emptiness (formless form). At this stage, the mind is freed from all unnecessary, we are in the present moment.
4. The Jeet Kune Do symbol is the ideal of a self-realized person. Inscription in Chinese: "Not using the path as a path, no limitation as a limitation."

Look at these four stages of self-education and determine where you are now. Keep a record of how you would like to develop.

7. Treat others with respect

Bruce Lee taught martial arts to everyone, regardless of race or origin. He believed that all people are one big family. And although he himself was discriminated against in Hollywood (he was told that no Asian would ever get a starring role on television), he did not get bitter. He wrote and directed his own scripts with even greater persistence. His charisma and talent attracted people to him, and his philosophy still inspires.

We are all one family under this sky.

Bruce Lee

Think of a person or people you are prejudiced against. Try to find something in common. It is possible that you love the same movie, dish, or something else. Try to see that this is a person just like you. We all have much more in common than we think.