Small change: be bamboo-like

In The Warrior Within author John Little outlines Bruce Lee’s philosophy of living. One memorable piece of advice centres on working with — rather than against — the energy that is present in a situation. Lee argued that our default behaviour is to be the oak: proud, unyielding and, as a result, prone to be uprooted when hostile forces are strong.

To be successful, we should aim to be like the bamboo: bending in the wind before returning to alignment. This, Lee proposed, is true strength in action — and often the route to a winning strategy.

In change, instead of working against energy that you perceive as negative — resistance, apathy, sluggishness — how can you work with it, leaning in to the insight that it has to offer?

Something to consider: where might it serve me to behave more like the bamboo?

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