It was not long ago that universal history used to be part of the curriculum in secondary schools. A solid understanding of the key historical periods, their ideas and leading figures was a precondition for graduation.

Students were required to grasp the historical sequence that began with Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and so forth.

On the one hand, the study of history helps us place things in perspective, and on the other hand, it enables us to prevent repeating the mistakes made in the past. I regard it as naive to want to grasp the lessons from history without having gained a solid overview of the timeline.

Without historical perspective, nobody can understand the events taking place today, and without understanding, it is not possible to choose the correct course of action; no wonder that, in view of the diminishing knowledge of history, people keep repeating the same mistakes.

Each historical period is dominated by a particular doctrine or philosophy. It also encompasses a concept of happiness that drives people to act in a certain way. That explains why people in Ancient Greece undertook bold commercial expeditions, and people in the Middle Ages rarely ventured out of their village.

The goal determines the path

A particular happiness concept defines a path to happiness. I can predict how a person will behave if I know what he wants, where he stands today, and which path he is following. When it comes to a whole culture, the same principle applies. The goal will determine the path, and the path will determine the future.

Taoism plays a unique role in the history of thought because it has never dominated any period. We cannot say that Ancient China was predominantly Taoist because it was home to a wide array of doctrines, such as Confucianism, and an early adopter of Buddhism, although not in its purest form.

Nonetheless, Taoism has influenced countless numbers of people in China and other countries across the centuries. Even if it has never become the dominant cultural force, it has made people pursue certain goals and behave in a certain manner.

The Taoist path to happiness has shaped their mentality and existence, setting them apart from Buddhists, Confucians, and Christians. Even today, we can recognise the followers of Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu, and Chuang-Tzu by their unique way to assess events and make decisions.

Perspective

What characterises the Taoist path to happiness? First of all, it is non-directive. It pursues goals, but doesn’t place too much emphasis on achievement; thus, it removes the high pressure to perform that is rendering so many people anxious nowadays.

Taoism acknowledges the fact that our success and failure depend on many factors, and that the best we can do is to work steadily towards our goal, while enjoying every step we make. Normally, life will reward our efforts with a certain measure of success, but the reward might take an unexpected shape.

An ancient Taoist story illustrates the idea that people tend to perform better when they are not subjected to pressure. The story speaks about an archer who was normally able to hit his target without difficulty, but when he took part in competitions, he lost his touch and could not hit the target.

The more valuable the prize, the worse the archer did in the competition. If the prize consisted of copper coins, he failed to hit many of the targets; and if the prize consisted of gold coins, his performance was abysmal.

What was Lao-Tzu’s advice to the archer? To place things in perspective and shoot his arrows as he always did. It was not a good idea for the archer to focus on the prize because it would disrupt his serenity. Anxiety would disrupt his serenity, and he would not be able to exert his capabilities as usual.

Steadiness

Steadiness is the second key characteristic of the Taoist path to happiness. Chapter 24 of the Tao Te Ching exhorts us to stay on solid ground and warns us against going too fast; the goal is to book some progress each day, even if it is minimal, and steer away from risks that might destroy what we have built.

I must underline that Taoist steadiness aims at obtaining real rewards in life. I mean tangible rewards such as good health, love, friendship and prosperity. Conversely, steadiness aims at preventing adverse effects such as sickness, financial losses, or interpersonal conflict.

Calmness is the third crucial element of the Taoist path to happiness, an element that many individuals know from the martial arts movies produced by Hollywood. In those movies, the hero learns some Taoist quote that enables him to remain calm and prevail in the final fight.

For Taoists, calmness is a tool, not an end in itself. They do not engage in shouting contests because they regard them as a waste of time, or worse, as counterproductive.

Taoists want to achieve happiness in their own life and view it as pointless to fight with destructive people. It is far better to avoid them altogether. More often than not, obnoxious people will end up harming themselves due to their lifestyle.

Calmness

Calmness, as a practical virtue, requires a profound grasp of human psychology. In life, there is nothing more natural than lamenting other people’s unfairness, our bad luck, and any random damage suffered by the general state of the world.

A traditional Taoist story explains the reasoning that enables us to remain calm in any circumstances. Imagine that you are sailing on a boat in a lake. Suddenly, you collide with another boat and you almost fall to the water.

The first reaction is to shout angrily at the other boat’s pilot and reproach him for his negligence. However, how would you react if the other boat has no pilot? If the other boat is empty, it wouldn’t make sense to react angrily and make any reproaches.

Ancient Taoists argue that, in a certain manner, every boat is empty and without a pilot, either because the pilot is distracted, or because he is incompetent, negligent or aggressive.

The idea is that, when those clashes take place, we’ll likely do better if we stay calm and look for a practical solution, such as asking the rogue pilot to compensate for the damage. No matter the context, shouting is unlikely to lead to a solution.

By practising the above-mentioned virtues, Taoists walk the path of happiness, patiently and relentlessly. They don’t expect immediate results, nor do they consider those results necessary. The goals will be achieved naturally if we just keep doing each day what needs to be done.

If you are interested in applying effective ideas to all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “Consistency: The key to permanent stress relief.”