The word “worry” cannot accurately describe the emotional reaction of being confronted to a wide variety of threats, risks, and problems. In daily life, modern individuals face problems that their ancestors could not even imagine.

No wonder that, confronted with stress and preoccupations, people look in awe at ancient Taoist masters and their insights about smooth living. How did they do it? And most importantly, can we apply their strategies to improve our lives today?

Chapter 76 of the Tao Te Ching identifies smoothness and softness as cardinal elements of wisdom. The Tao favours soft, kind, benevolent social interactions, and regards inflexibility as the mark of death.

Children’s muscles are soft and flexible. As we age, we lose part of our physical and mental flexibility. Taoism recommends that we retain the smoothness of youth, and that we steer away from hardening, conflict, and aggression. That’s the essence of the Taoist lifestyle.

Lao-Tzu and the small steps

Lao-Tzu concludes Chapter 76 by predicting that harshness and rigidity lead to ruin, and that softness and smoothness will carry the day. I could not agree more with this statement.

Why does rigidity lead to trouble? Because, as explained in Chapter 30 of the Tao Te Ching, every attempt to use force is likely to generate a counterforce.

Rigidity, aggressiveness, impositions, harshness, and threats may deliver victories in the short term, but it will not take long for a reaction to emerge. Ground will be soon lost, after having incurred enormous costs, and chaos will ensue.

In Chapter 63 of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-Tzu praises people who “act without effort and by taking small steps.” Taoists are essentially smooth in their ways because they will go to great lengths to avoid friction, harshness, and confrontation.

Taoism calls for avoiding harshness because, as Chapter 79 of the Tao Te Ching observes, resentment tends to reverberate. Once we get involved in bitter debates, it does not matter if our arguments are stronger. Even if we win the debate, we will not convince the opponent, and he might bear a grudge for years.

How can we achieve the smoothness inherent in Taoism? Is it feasible to live smoothly in the modern world, where tension and conflict have become a daily experience for many people?

Chuang-Tzu and self-reliance

Chuang-Tzu gives us the Taoist prescription for smoothness in difficult circumstances: We should remain calm and refuse to be moved by insults and bellicosity, on the one hand, and by praise and flattery, on the other hand.

Smoothness begins and ends with self-reliance. Harmony is achieved by taking note of other people’s words and actions, in favour or against our interests, and analysing them quietly to figure out which course of action is best. The Taoist first thinks and then acts. He trusts his own abilities to find the answer.

In Western history, we have few examples of smooth action presented as wise or admirable. For the most part, our history books are filled with wars and conquests. The victims of those conflicts are barely mentioned individually, nor is it spelled out that the ensuing hatred might fuel new conflicts shortly after.

Taoist smoothness can be learned, but requires a great deal of practice. Take for instance the career of the US entrepreneur Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877). He started as a pugnacious ferry operator, often in conflict with local regulations, but over time, he shifted from confrontation to negotiation.

Later in life, some of Vanderbilt’s best business deals were made with individuals who had tried to destroy him. In his youth, he would have opted for litigation, but experience and reflection taught him to choose the smoothest possible path.

Taoism and Cornelius Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt had several feuds with Daniel Drew, first over the control of the Harlem railway, and later over the Erie line from Buffalo to Chicago. Their conflicts involved large sums of money, large even for someone as successful as Vanderbilt.

Despite the harsh behaviour displayed by Drew, Vanderbilt opted for making a deal to settle their dispute about the Erie railway. If he had not done so, he might have eventually won his case in court, but only years later, after incurring massive costs, and enduring severe delays and heartaches.

Vanderbilt was not a Taoist in any way, shape or form. I do not think that he had ever read the works of Lao-Tzu or Yang-Tzu, but he was a clever observer. He knew when to give in to achieve goals that couldn’t be achieved through confrontation.

What was the turning point in Vanderbilt’s life? What made him abandon confrontation and embrace smoothness? It took a momentous event at every step. Vanderbilt did not change his mentality overnight. It was a process spanning two decades.

At thirty, Vanderbilt grasped that his ferry operations would soon become antiquated due the steam engine technology. His fleet consisted only of sailing vessels. Although they were still profitable, they might not survive the emerging competition.

Instead of redoubling his efforts to keep the business afloat, Vanderbilt opted for selling his entire fleet and getting a job in a steam boat, so that he could familiarise himself with the new technology.

The Tao Te Ching and adaptability

Vanderbilt gave in to achieve a larger goal. Taoists do so all the time, but not to increase their profits. Their main concern is to align their actions with the Tao, trusting that the Enlightened Path will lead to happiness.

As the years went by, Vanderbilt increased his willingness to give in and choose smoothness instead of confrontation. His curiosity for fresh opportunities prompted him to abandon the shipping business and invest in railways, from which he knew very little at the beginning.

Lao-Tzu would have approved of Vanderbilt’s commitment to “acting without effort and by taking small steps,” as advised in Chapter 63 of the Tao Te Ching. Vanderbilt absolved quickly of his learning curve in the railway business, but took his time to familiarise himself with all aspects of the operations.

Unfortunately, some people may never evolve from rigidity and harshness into adaptability and smoothness. They might be too busy to study Taoism, too stressed to read history, and too self-absorbed to realize the consequences of their actions.

I can only point them to the Tao Te Ching and wish them enlightenment. If Cornelius Vanderbilt was able to see the light despite his stressful occupation, it means that the opportunity to do so remains open to everybody.

If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice, I recommend my book “Sequentiality: The Amazing Power of Finding the Right Sequence of Steps.”