[A Sip of Books] Life Is Like a Clock Spring: Too Much Causes Malfunction, Too Little Means It Won't Run

Editor's NoteSome sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly resonate with the reader, creating a connection with the book. We excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from books.

This book contains reflections on literature, psychology, sociology, and self-development accumulated over 17 years since the author’s debut in 2006. It captures the insights of the author who has struggled and lived as a writer for 17 years, transitioning from a copywriter writing one-page copies, an online bookstore MD writing eight-page book reviews, to a fashion magazine journalist writing 30-page interview articles. It introduces a life philosophy that makes life flexible?from how to move forward to how to rest without guilt. The author compares life to the mechanical spring of a clock. To move without error, the spring must be wound a certain amount every day, but excessive winding can break the spring or the mainspring, so an appropriate amount is necessary. Just like a clock, life runs smoothly when strength and rest mesh properly. The book introduces ways to cultivate life skills such as how to work appropriately, how to speak precisely, how to listen attentively, how to choose and give up.

Even the same flower blooms at different speeds depending on whether it is in the shade or the sun. Even azaleas and rhododendrons, which look similar, bloom and wither in different orders. What we need to learn here is patience. Elderly people’s enthusiasm for flower photos is not just because the flowers are beautiful, but because they realize that such beautiful flowers “wither early.” What is needed here is perceptiveness. The bonfire or candlelight that brightens the darkness does not disappear or diminish when shared with someone. What we need to learn here is cooperation and empathy. People say how precious humans are, but there is something we fail to realize. Regardless of whether one is born with a golden spoon or a dirt spoon, we are all flowers. - From “Prologue: To Us Who Are Not Happy but Wish to Be Happy”

My body weight is the result of my accumulated eating habits.

Promotion is the result of my accumulated work habits,

Assets are the result of my accumulated financial habits.

How many people will answer my call in an emergency?

It is the sum of my relationship habits.

Good habits ultimately lead to a good life.

- From “Part 1. Habits: Things That Can and Cannot Be Changed”

The essence of time management is not “what to do” but

deciding “what not to do” first.

The plan to do everything is the worst plan of all.

- From “Part 4. Letting Go: The Greed to Fill, the Resolution to Discard”

The gift we receive when we listen attentively is “hearing.” Through occasional breaths, dry tones, low voices, and humid sighs, we hear someone’s pain, loneliness, and despair. Those who hear read between the lines in the small acts of living beings. The magic of hearing what was previously unheard comes from the willingness to listen. Have you ever just listened to a friend’s words and by the end of the conversation heard, “Thanks for your advice today. It really helped me a lot!”? Even though all you did was look into your friend’s eyes, nod, and hold their hand when they cried.

- From “Part 5. Listening: Preparing to Listen Rather Than to Speak”

If you don’t clean, dust accumulates. The mind is the same. Without conscious effort, worries, anxieties, sadness, and anger accumulate like dust. This is the law of entropy.

- From “Part 9. Satisfaction: The Right Limit, the Proper Life”

The scariest thing is relentless self-exploitation.

If you internalize self-exploitation,

self-destruction proceeds automatically.

At the peak of being a professional work expert,

what you must paradoxically remember is self-care.

- From “Part 10. Work: Self-Exploitation and Self-Care”

What does it mean to win and not to lose? Not losing is a kind of attitude. It is an unyielding heart, the resolve of someone who accepts life’s imperfections and knows that failure is always lurking. It is not the optimism of walking only on flower paths, but the hope to walk even on rocky paths, though fearful and trembling. - From “Part 12. Growth: The Past Changes, Remember the Future, Live the Present”

Strength and Rest | Written by Baek Young-ok | Gimm-Young Publishers | 264 pages | 16,800 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.