Hexagram 18: Work on Decay

The time has come for a hard rethink of everything you have been doing lately. Do not think that the past was a mistake whose consequences you now have to put right. The name of this sign sounds alarming, but that is not what it means.

For a long time you have been moving through life with success. You acted with your eyes open and to a plan. You achieved a great deal. The trouble is that the results you waited for so long began, at some point, to hide the final goal of your movement.

That easing off is how the decay set in. You are like a long-distance runner who ran part of the course and then lay down to rest, forgetting that a long and just as hard stretch is still ahead. Short-term gains have hidden the main goal.

Do you remember that you got results because you could see what lay ahead? Those distant lights are what let you move so well toward your goal. Where are you going now? It is time to shake yourself and set out again. Find the strength to give up the partial results you have now for the sake of new ones. What you already hold in your hands is not always worth more than what you could reach. If you stop, you risk losing much more.

People around you

Start with the people around you. Not long ago you were too taken up with yourself and your own worries. But everything is good in moderation. Talk to your friends and to the people you know, ask about their affairs and their troubles. You will do good both for yourself and for them. Go out of your way to meet people. Show them that you care about them. Then you will not be indifferent to the people around you either.

Work and rest

Do not change your plans suddenly. Keep working as if you had never stopped. Look again at what you want to do. Decide what matters, and what should be changed or adjusted.

Plan your work and rest so that you keep your strength and your ability to work. Otherwise you will soon find that your energy has run out.

Your wish

How soon your wish comes true depends on how much you did in the past to bring it about. If you worked hard then, you will see the results soon. But if it is still only an idea, you will have to work very hard to reach the goal. Keep that in mind, or you will be badly disappointed later.