"My three provinces and my body" is a very good sentence in the Analects, and in history, all those who can achieve great things have often reflected and adjusted their behavior. The one we want to talk about today is Zeng Guofan during the Qing Dynasty.
This habit of reflecting on himself Zeng Guofan has been since he was a child, and his teacher once found that when he reviewed Zeng Guofan's diary, he found that all the contents in it were reflecting on his own faults, others were parents and teachers who hated iron and steel, and this was his own daily mention of himself. Even his number was taken by himself, called Di Sheng. When you look at this name, you only know that it is the meaning of washing yourself again!
Zeng Guofan, who has been so self-disciplined since he was a child, if he doesn't grow up, he will be sorry for the diary that scolds him every day! Later, after Zeng Guofan became an adult, he was as strict as ever in the official arena, not only that, but even his daily life had his own set of rules.
In ancient times, it was normal for a man among the common people to have three wives and four concubines, let alone people in the official arena. Once, Zeng Guofan attended a banquet, which was not very formal, that is, everyone gathered to eat and drink, so many officials brought their wives or concubines to attend. At this banquet, Zeng Guofan saw that the concubine brought by one of his colleagues was very good-looking, and he felt very envious at that time, thinking of the wife in his family, he could not help but feel a little lost for a while.
However, after the banquet, it was time for Zeng Guofan to reflect on himself every day, and he began to recall his envy of his colleagues at the banquet, and felt that he was very undeserved, although his wife did not have the beautiful concubines of his colleagues, but he had been following him for many years without abandonment, and he had never had the intention of abandoning him, and he had seen other people's concubines when he had the idea of hating her, which was really undeserved!
So in order to spur himself not to make the same mistake again, he recorded the original mental journey of that day. In his diary, he also recorded that reflecting on his age is not small, but spending a lot of good time with his wife and children, and knowing that his health is not very good, but he is not restrained, which is not filial piety.
Don't you understand this logic very well, wasn't it the biggest filial piety without a queen at that time? What's wrong with having fun with your wife? Anyway, Zeng Guofan also formulated some rules and regulations to restrain himself from indulging in gentle townships. The specific implementation is also very simple and crude: every day to learn until you can't move! This matter sounds simple, but it reflects Zeng Guofan's determination to change his own faults, how can it not be a big deal according to his personality?