Change is one of the core ideas and goals of BaZi.

Admittedly, that was not it’s original core idea and goal. In the olden days, the sages prioritised KNOWING more than they prioritised CHANGING. To know was all powerful. But do change, ah, that unfortunately was not put into the equation because well, we’re all mortal after all right? Fate at the hands of the Gods/Universe and all that.

Today, the mindset is different. What is the purposes of knowing? It is so that we can be changing. (okay, that’s bad English but it rhymes in a way).

But there is a phase in between knowing and changing, and that is accepting.

To know what to do, is not the same as to accept what you must do. And in order to do something, you must first accept that it needs to be done.

Know. Accept. Change.

In the old days, and even with some old practitioners, the equation stops at Accept.

Personally, I hate the phrase ‘Accept Fate’. What is this? Some fricking Greek tragedy? Go see Clash of the Titans if you want Greek tragedy.

Accept Fate or Ying Meng is the purview of the ball-less and gutless. It is for people who don’t want to do what it takes to take control of their life. It is for people who are pushed, not those who chose to jump. It is an excuse for not doing something and letting the universe kick you in the balls.

Now let’s talk about Change.

Change is hard.

In Animal Farm, it is said: “”All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”

So could be said about change. All Change is Hard. But Certain Types of Change are Harder than Others.

It is easy (in comparative terms) to ask a person who is a workaholic to take a vacation. It is hard to get a lazy person to CHOSE to be hardworking. It is easy to make a rich person frugal. It is hard to make a stingy person generous.It is easy to ask a person who is financially responsible to allow themselves some indulgence. It is hard to ask a financially irresponsible person to become responsible.

Getting Eating God detailed centric types to let go of the little details is easier than it is to get an irresponsible Rob Wealth scatterbrain type to be cautious and careful with the details.

Which is why Resource structures (both IR and DR) often present the greatest challenge when it comes to enabling them to implement change in their life. Because you are essentially asking them to go from a state of contentment, comfort and ease, to a state of discomfort, pressure and difficulty.

Similarly, change is hard to implement for Jia 甲 Wood people because they are used to doing things one way and a change in thinking involves essentially self-mutilation. How to Train Your Jia Wood would be a very tedious and boring movie indeed or something that would be over in 5 minutes since it would essentially just entail, chopping down the tree. Yet, for these people, change is a necessity since Wood needs to be pruned and trimmed, in order to grow the right way.

Change. It’s a bitch, ain’t it?