Sun Tzu's Art of War for Women. Catherine Huang

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СКАЧАТЬ War teaches that timely use of defensive measures can be as aggressive as attack. Blindly rushing forward exposes you to obvious dangers and risks damaging potential allies and resources; preparation, a strong defense, and recognizing when to use them are among the keys to a successful campaign. Sun Tzu spoke of terrain, seasons and resources when determining tactics. These conditions are applied to useful tips and strategies for women in the later chapters of this book.

      The Master also reminds us of the universal balance represented by the Chinese terms, yin and yang. In this context, it is particularly important to understand their relevance to women.

      Yin, which represents the female and the earth, is traditionally associated with turmoil, darkness, cold, conservation and substance; yang—the male side—stands for heaven, light, heat, destruction and disintegration.

       Yin is soft; yang is hard. Yin is moon; yang is sun. Yin is mountain; yang is river. Yin is intuition; yang is logic.

      We hasten to point out that these are intended as complementary universal forces, not as definitions of the differences between women and men. All living creatures, including humans, share these qualities to a greater or lesser degree. According to traditional Chinese medicine, a person’s health is optimum only when their yin and yang are in balance; indeed, illness is believed to be the result of one or more imbalances.

      What does this mean to women?

      The message is threefold:

      1. Despite so-called conventional wisdom, neither gender has a monopoly on thought or behavior patterns. But to shore up, tone down, or otherwise modify your natural strengths and weaknesses, you need to first identify and acknowledge them.

      2. In all things, you are best served by a healthy and productive balance between contrasting qualities. Since women tend to be more grounded than their male counterparts, they can more easily learn to recognize when to emphasize a certain quality and how much of it to use.

      3. Wisdom, strength, courage, purpose, skill, analysis, discipline, and all the other qualities that may be needed to succeed in a variety of circumstances, are as available to gals as guys. Applying them in proportion to the need at hand may provide you with a strategic advantage over those with heavy hands or fragile fingers.

      Western societies tend to focus upon opposites, whereas Sun Tzu and traditional Chinese philosophy view differences as degrees (yin/yang) of the same thing. If this seems counterintuitive at first, it will grow familiar as you dig deeper into the pages and ideas that follow.

       Synopsis

      Come to terms with your assets and liabilities, and recognize when to move forward, retrench, or step back. Innovators do not go against the flow; they create their own direction.

       Embracing Obstacles

       “Earth embraces far or near, difficult or accessible, open or restricted, dangerous or safe conditions.”—Sun Tzu

      Women know that opportunities come with a price tag. Whether you pay up front or later on, nothing worth having is for free. That’s why career and other significant decisions must be carefully weighed and evaluated: probable cost vs. potential gain.

      What kinds of cost?

      First, take the time and effort to learn and work toward an objective. This can entail study (formal and ad hoc), periods of long hours and hard work (apprenticeship), sacrifice and patience.

      Women are often expected to juggle family obligations and career ambitions like magicians. Are these your expectations of yourself?

      More subtle, but no less real are the interpersonal relationships you form along the way. And here, more than in any other facet of their careers, is where women are faced with greater obstacles—call them complications—than their male counterparts.

       Recognizing

      It is no secret to women that sexism is an ugly social and career obstacle to women here on planet Earth. In the U.S. and most developed nations, sexual discrimination is illegal but in full regalia; in many other places it remains the status quo.

      Back in the 17th century, poet George Herbert wrote: “Words are women, deeds are men” (this from a man of letters). Two centuries later, Mathew Arnold wrote: “With women the heart argues, not the mind.” Haven’t attitudes like these finally disappeared? Not entirely. Given the sensitivity of our society and working environments today, sexist sentiments are voiced far less freely than ever before, but regardless of what is said or not said, women continue to battle for equal pay, equal opportunity for advancement, and the sort of assignments that will challenge them and allow them to prove their value in the workplace. The reasons for this are many, including outmoded ideas of what women can offer. What many men have yet to realize is that women like Catherine the Great, Joan of Arc, Margaret Mead, Golda Meir, Marie Curie, Indira Gandhi, Chien-Shiung Wu, Mother Teresa and Benazir Bhutto (to skim the surface) are not the exception that proves the rule.

      In the 20th century, Marianne Williamson—author, lecturer and minister—wrote in A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?”

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