Bruce lee was one of the most influential figures of his century. He had his own philosophy about life. His one of the saying be like water is very popular
But, what does it really mean when Bruce said to be like water. There are many different interpretations of what it means to be like water and I will try to explain some of the most popular explanations here:
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
Be Fearless to explore the new you
One of the most important characteristics of water is its fluidity. When you spill the water, it will not wait to see what’s ahead. It just moves on filling every crack and spreading all over. Water is not afraid to explore until it finds its way to the bottom.
Water has no plan. It simply spreads wherever it can.
One of the biggest problems we have is we waste way much time on planning rather than taking action. In other words, it can also be called procrastination. We want to perfectly plan what to do five steps ahead. Instead what we really should be doing is to take the first step and then another and then another.
Don’t try to plan every second of your life. Have a definite goal and then take actions step by step to reach that goal.
Whether you want to start a side hustle or switch your careers, don’t overthink about all the problems and what may go wrong. Just flow like water.
The same way water is not afraid to venture into the unknown cracks and spaces, learn to simply flow and explore.
Be Adaptable to Change
Another great property of water is that it adapts to its environment
. It is formless and shapeless. You put water into a cup, it adapts to the shape of the cup. You put it into a bottle, it adapts to the bottle.
In life, most people act rigidly. They don’t want to change. They live within a system where they don’t want to change.
The meaning of life is that it is to be lived, and it is not to be traded and conceptualized and squeezed into a pattern of systems.”
“Life is full of obstacles and barriers that are gonna stop you from reaching your goal. If you face a situation that you are unfamiliar with, try to adapt. Trying to adapt will be hard, very hard at first. But once you master the art of adaptability, you will have nothing to fear.
Being like water means you never stay in a fixed position.
You change with the change. You constantly improve yourself based on the situation you face.
Many people want to learn Bruce Lee’s original art but in reality, they can’t. Why? Because he was constantly changing. According to Dan Inosanto, one of Lee’s best friends, Bruce would change the curriculum almost every month.
He was constantly experimenting and figuring out how to express himself better through martial arts. Instead of being fixed and rigid to our set of beliefs, we should evolve with the circumstances that we face.
Be gentle, yet powerful
This is another great property of water. It is so gentle yet it can
pierce through rocks if provided with enough pressure.
“Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water, my friend.”
Here, power doesn’t mean having great muscles or being in the top position.
It means to be strong enough to break through life’s struggles and challenges.
In the meantime, you should be gentle enough to respect and be grateful for this beautiful life and to others too.
The Bottom Line
Bruce Lee’s, “be like water, my friend” simply means to be flexible in both mind and body. It’s about not being rigid and stubborn about your beliefs, practices, understanding, and instead, about being open-minded and able to change and adapt to the circumstances we are put into.
If we can just understand the properties of this amazing element, we can live a beautiful and better life.
