An ordinary farmer with no cultural background or official background, his father took the 17 scholar test, and his scholar took the test seven times before he was ranked on the list. He is a grumpy and rude "rogue". How did he grow into a generation of famous ministers and even saints?
It can be said that Zeng Guofan's life is a life of constant reform, a life of long-term inspiration, a life of self-reflection and a life of constant struggle with "self".
His spirit is worth learning from. From his little things, we can get the most important revelation.
First, the story of Zeng Guofan quitting smoking. Since Zeng Guofan vowed to become a saint, the first thing he did was to give up smoking. In order to give up smoking addiction completely, he smashed the hookah, burned the tobacco leaves and destroyed all the smoking utensils, leaving no way out for himself. It can be said that cross the rubicon and eliminate future troubles.
This is certainly not the courage of ordinary people. Because Zeng Guofan has tenacious perseverance, he quit smoking at once without any repetition.
Second, keep a diary. Zeng Guofan has the habit of keeping a diary. In the past, his diaries were all running accounts and meaningless. Since he swore, he began to reflect on his behavior in his diary every day.
At the same time, he will publish his diary regularly and circulate it to his subordinates and relatives and friends.
This is not to say that Zeng Guofan is showing off himself. On the contrary, he passed it on to his relatives and friends, putting a spell on himself, letting people around him supervise him and make him better. This kind of courage is really human.
Although Zeng Guofan has unusual perseverance and courage, he is actually a person with heavy habits like us. Because of heavy habits, change is not a simple matter.
Then we might as well learn how he struggled with himself and achieved the goal of "governing himself".
Zeng Guofan was once very obsessed with going to the execution ground to watch beheading. Because he lived near the execution ground after becoming an official in Beijing, it also provided convenience for him. Every time he beheads, he must be the first person to go to the execution ground to see it.
After swearing to be a saint, I seldom go to see the decapitation. Once, because he killed a famous Jiang Yang thief, a friend came to ask him to go with him.
He couldn't resist the temptation and went with him. Darling, on the way, he began an ideological struggle inside.
But a few friends are full of enthusiasm, chatting happily and striding forward. Isn't it awkward to turn back halfway?
At this time, the two little people in his heart kept fighting and tearing for n minutes, and finally the idea of learning the way of sages prevailed. So he found a reason to return to China and began to reflect on himself.
You see, Zeng Guofan is just like us. In the face of temptation, it is just a choice of ideas!
In addition, Zeng Guofan is still a very "lewd" person. He likes to see beautiful women. In order to have a look at his friend's concubines, he even tried to cheat and force his friend to show them to him.
But later, he even regarded sleeping with his wife as lust and severely blamed himself.
As can be seen from the above things, Zeng Guofan's changes were all after he decided to be holy. From the day he made up his mind, he made many rules for himself. By practicing them step by step in his life, he later made amazing changes and achievements.
Aspirations, that is, Buddhist wishes, are the beginning of a person's rapid growth. Aspiring is like making a blueprint, which is the basis for building a house in the future. If you want to achieve something, make up your mind quickly!