greatest wisdom book

Chapter 97
Know yourself and know your enemy, you will win

Therefore, it is said: Those who know the enemy and know themselves will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if they do not know the enemy but know themselves, they will win one and lose one; if they do not know the enemy and themselves, they will be imperiled in every battle.

"Know yourself and the enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles" evolved from "Know the enemy and yourself, and victory is never imperiled" in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.At that time, Sun Wu did not say that if you know yourself and the enemy, you will be victorious in all battles, but that there is no danger, and you can be evenly matched and tied.But Sun Wu said with certainty that if you don't know yourself or the other party, it will be very dangerous and you will definitely fail.

It is not only necessary to obtain the intelligence of the other party first when fighting a war. As a kind of survival wisdom and decision-making strategy, knowing yourself and the enemy is also applicable to all fields of social life.

Wolves who live by acquiring prey will understand their prey, observe and remember many subtle personality traits and habits of prey before each attack, so wolves rarely make mistakes in their attacks.

A rich man was hunting on the grassland. After three days and nights, a wolf became his prey.When the guide was about to skin the wolf, the rich man stopped him and asked, "Do you think this wolf can still live?"

The guide was very surprised at what the rich man said, but he said nothing, but nodded.

The rich man turned on the communication equipment he carried with him and let the helicopter parked at the camp take off immediately. It turned out that he wanted to save the wolf.The helicopter flew away with the seriously injured wolf and flew to a hospital 500 kilometers away.

The rich man sat on the grass and was lost in thought.This is not the first time he has come here to hunt.In the past, he had captured countless prey, and most of these prey were eaten as delicious meals in the camp, but this wolf gave him the idea of ​​"keeping it alive".

While hunting, the wolf was chased by him to a T-shaped fork, right in front of him was the guide approaching him, holding a gun in his hand, and the wolf was caught in the middle.In this case, the wolf could have chosen to escape from the side road, but why didn't it do so?Was that fork more dangerous than the guide's muzzle?

Faced with the rich man's confusion, the experienced guide told the whole story: "Wolves are very smart animals. They know that as long as they succeed in taking the road, they have the hope of survival; if they choose a side road without a shotgun, they will definitely die. .Because there are bound to be traps on that seemingly smooth road, this is the truth they have realized during their long-term dealings with hunters."

The guide's answer stunned the rich man. He never thought that any animal could know the opponent's situation so well, except man, and all this just happened in front of him.

Humans claim to be the most intelligent animals, but we are surrounded by many people who lack self-awareness.They are either ambitious and lacking in talent and pretentiousness; or they underestimate themselves and lack self-confidence;Only by correctly understanding oneself and the other party, and effectively utilizing the advantages of oneself and the environment, can one remain invincible in the competition.To "know the enemy", the best way is to look at the problem from the standpoint of the other party.

One prisoner was placed in solitary confinement.The guards had already taken his shoelaces and belt, they didn't want the prisoner to hurt themselves.The prisoner carried his trousers with his left hand and walked listlessly around the solitary cell.Now, he wants to smoke a cigarette.Through a small window in the door he saw the lone guard on the porch smoking a cigarette, taking a deep drag and exhaling it with pleasure.The prisoner knocked politely on the iron door.

At this time, the guard walked over slowly and asked arrogantly, "What do you want?"

The prisoner replied: "Excuse me, give me a cigarette, please..."

The guard thought that the prisoner had no such right, and with a mocking snort, he turned and walked away.

But the prisoner saw his situation differently.He thought he had a choice, and he was willing to take the risk of testing his judgment.So, he knocked again.This time, his attitude was dignified.

The guard turned his head angrily and asked, "What do you want?"

The prisoner replied: "Excuse me, please give me your cigarette within 30 seconds. Otherwise, I will bang my head on this concrete wall until I am bloody and unconscious. If the prison authorities I got up off the floor, woke me up, and I swore you did it. Of course, they'd never believe me. But, think about every hearing you have to attend; you have to go to every hearing The committee certifies you innocent; think of the report you'll have to fill out in triplicate; think of the incident you'll be involved in - all because you refused to give me a bad cigarette! Just one cigarette, I promise not to trouble you again."

The guard understood the pros and cons of the matter, so of course he didn't dare to take the risk of rejecting his request.It was because the prisoner understood the guard's position, or weakness, that his request was granted—a cigarette.In fact, no matter what kind of opponent you are facing, as long as you can clearly understand the opponent, you can get what you want in a way that he can accept or that he cannot refuse.This is the principle of "know yourself and know the enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles".

If you think about the problem from the standpoint of the other party, you will find that what the other party thinks, likes and dislikes will all come into your sight.In all kinds of interactions, you can deal with it calmly, either extending a helping hand of understanding, or guarding against the other party's evil tricks.You already have the upper hand before things start, and it is only a matter of time before you are sure of winning.

(End of this chapter)