Confucius and Mencius like to take archery as an example to illustrate his thoughts. Confucius said that a gentleman, like archery, does not blame the target, but only blames his own archery level. Mencius said that benevolent people are like arrows. If you don't succeed, don't blame the winner, find the reason from yourself. Mencius said that a gentleman is like a shooter. Before shooting an arrow, the shooter should first straighten his position, so he can't shoot an arrow well. He can't blame the arrow, but should find another reason.
Confucius and Mencius' ideal archer always looks for reasons from himself. We often make a hundred excuses for failure, but we refuse to admit that we made a mistake. It's like archery has no satisfactory result. Some people will say that the wind is too strong today, and maybe today's goal is crooked. Confucius and Mencius told us not to make excuses for failure, but to find ways to succeed or ask others for help. The core spirit of Mencius' moral cultivation is "asking yourself".
Everything should be considered first, whether it is done well or not, rather than looking for faults with others. Mencius often said: "If you love others, you are benevolent.": If people are not cured, they will be wise; It's respect if people don't answer. "Anyone who doesn't want to answer will ask others for help. They are upright and the matter will be solved by them. Mencius famously said that if I love someone but I am not close, I should reflect on whether I really love someone. If I am not good at managing people, I will reflect on whether I have the wisdom of management.
In archery theory, if I am polite to others, but I am not polite to others, I have to reflect on whether I am polite enough. Happiness is achieved by our own efforts. If you don't work hard, others can't give you happiness.