[One Thousand Characters a Day] Shindok, The Power of Time Alone <2>

Editor's NoteWhen living each day as if being chased, there is hardly any time to find answers to questions like 'How should I live my life?' or 'What does it mean to live true to myself?' However, the faster life goes, the more necessary it is to look back on oneself, face oneself, and organize oneself. Those who have achieved great things in human history all focused on time alone to accomplish their grand purposes. Bill Gates' "think week," Henry David Thoreau's two-year stay by Walden Pond, and Steve Jobs' trip to India were all great turning points achieved through time spent alone. Word count: 1018 characters.

Everyone wants to understand the hearts of others. If I could know the heart of the person I am trying to persuade, capturing that person's heart would be very easy. Therefore, knowing people's hearts can be considered the highest level of social skills.

Not only in personal dealings but also in war, knowing oneself and the opponent is the shortcut to victory. In The Art of War (孫子兵法), "Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles (知彼知己百戰不殆)" is listed as an important tactic. It means "If you know yourself and your enemy, you will not be endangered even if you fight a hundred battles." It is often mistaken as "winning every battle," but rather "not being endangered in a hundred battles" is a higher level. The most important goal for those going to war is to keep themselves safe on the battlefield. Even if you win all hundred battles, if you are not safe, that victory means nothing.

Knowing people's hearts is by no means easy. The proverb "You may know ten feet underwater, but you cannot know one foot into a person's heart" well expresses this. Understanding people is only possible for the wise. The power that supports this is study. Especially, the humanities classics, which are studies about people, greatly help cultivate insight into understanding people.

Laozi speaks of an even higher dimension, which is knowing oneself. Knowing people's hearts is possible through study, but knowing oneself is difficult because it requires transcending one’s own limits. Obstacles such as greed, pride, arrogance, vanity, self-pity, and comparison consciousness, which are hard even to control oneself, stand in the way. Above all, the most difficult thing is the constantly changing mind. It is no easy task to control a mind that changes frequently depending on the situation and the person you are facing.

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To know oneself, one must first attain peace of mind. With a mind that wavers constantly, you cannot see yourself clearly. Just as you cannot see your reflection in flowing water, the same applies to the mind. In a busy daily life immersed in work, it is even harder to take a moment to 'pause.' This is why being alone is necessary.

－Jo Yoonje, Shindok, The Power of Time Alone, Business Books, 17,800 KRW