1
00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:06,320
Lao Tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher 
who is known as the founder of Taoism. He  

2
00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:11,760
wrote a small book called the Tao Te Ching — 
one of the wisest and most timeless books ever  

3
00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:18,160
written. It’s a collection of short verses 
that speak about the Tao, or “The Way.” 

4
00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:25,360
What is this “Way”? It’s the natural flow of 
life — the same force that changes the seasons,  

5
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:31,600
opens a flower in spring, or carries a 
river gently downhill. Taoism is about  

6
00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:38,480
learning how to live in tune with that 
way, that flow — the flow of the universe. 

7
00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:43,760
Taoism reminds us of a very simple rule 
- peace doesn’t come from trying to  

8
00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:50,880
control everything. It comes from letting go, 
softening, and trusting life a little more.  

9
00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:57,520
But in today’s world, that can feel hard. Life 
moves fast. Our days are full of noise, pressure,  

10
00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:03,920
and endless to-do lists. We get caught up 
in trying to keep up — and in the process,  

11
00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:09,280
we lose touch with ourselves.
That’s why we need Taoist habits.  

12
00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:15,440
These aren’t strict rules or rigid routines. 
They’re small, gentle practices that help you  

13
00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:22,240
come back to yourself. They slow you down. 
They help you breathe. They remind you to  

14
00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:29,920
be present — to listen, not just to the 
outside world, but to the quiet inside. 

15
00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:35,840
In this video, we’ll explore 7 simple Taoist 
habits that won’t ask you to do more — they’ll  

16
00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:46,160
help you slow down, let go of the noise, and come 
back to what really matters… back to yourself.

17
00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:53,760
1. Begin the Day in Stillness
Lao Tzu says “To the mind that  

18
00:01:53,760 --> 00:02:00,800
is still, the whole universe surrenders.”
In Taoist thought, how you begin your day  

19
00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:08,640
is how you begin your life — again. Each morning 
is a quiet invitation to return to yourself before  

20
00:02:08,640 --> 00:02:18,560
the noise begins. And the most powerful way to 
begin is by doing nothing. Just sit. Breathe.  

21
00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:27,840
Be still. No phone. No list. No need to fix 
or plan anything. Give yourself five or ten  

22
00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:36,400
minutes of silence — not as a task, but as a way 
of remembering what it feels like to simply exist. 

23
00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:43,280
Most of us wake up and immediately reach for our 
phones, check messages, start planning the day,  

24
00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:50,240
feeling stressed before we even leave the bed. 
That quick jump into action makes it hard to  

25
00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:56,800
stay present. It sends a message to the mind that 
this moment isn’t enough — that we need to hurry  

26
00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:06,400
somewhere else. But the Tao reminds us: the only 
place we truly need to be is here. When we sit in  

27
00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:13,040
silence, we’re not avoiding life — we’re allowing 
ourselves to meet it fully, without distractions. 

28
00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:19,520
A few minutes of morning stillness helps you enter 
the day gently. You feel your breath, watch your  

29
00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:26,960
thoughts come and go, notice your body waking up. 
Maybe you hear the birds outside, distant traffic,  

30
00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:34,400
or just the quiet hum of the world beginning 
again. There’s no goal here — nothing to achieve.  

31
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:41,760
You just sit, and in doing that, you 
remember that life isn’t something to  

32
00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:48,960
chase. It’s something to flow with.
When you start your day in silence,  

33
00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:54,880
you give yourself a bit of space — before 
the world comes in. You’re not rushing.  

34
00:03:54,880 --> 00:04:02,080
You’re not reacting. You’re just there, 
quietly waking up and as the day goes on,  

35
00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:10,080
you carry that stillness with you. You don’t 
get thrown off as easily. You can pause,  

36
00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:19,920
take a breath, and respond more calmly. Even when 
things don’t go your way, you’re not as shaken. 

37
00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:26,720
It’s like moving through the day the way water 
flows — gently, without forcing anything. You  

38
00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:32,800
trust that life will take you where you 
need to go. And there’s no need to rush.

39
00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:41,280
2. Act without struggle
According to Lao Tzu “The Tao never does anything,  

40
00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:48,160
yet through it, all things are done.”
In Taoism, there's a gentle principle  

41
00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:55,520
called Wu Wei. It means “effortless 
action” — not forcing, not fighting,  

42
00:04:55,520 --> 00:05:02,800
but moving with the natural flow of things. It’s 
how water flows around a stone — no struggle,  

43
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:09,440
no resistance, yet it still moves forward.
In daily life, this means noticing when  

44
00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:14,880
you're pushing too hard. When you're rushing 
to get things done, or trying to control every  

45
00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:21,680
little outcome. Taoists remind us: you don’t 
need to force your way through the world. 

46
00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:27,760
Instead, pause. Breathe.
Let things settle before you  

47
00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:34,960
act. If your mind is spinning, take a short walk. 
If you're unsure, wait a little longer. Let your  

48
00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:42,800
response come from stillness, not stress.
You can practice Wu Wei in simple ways: 

49
00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:50,080
When cooking, let it be slow and mindful.
When speaking, leave space for silence. 

50
00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:56,720
When walking, feel each step.
When making a choice, ask: What feels  

51
00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:04,240
natural? What feels like the next gentle step?
This habit shows you that not everything needs  

52
00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:10,080
to be fixed right now. Sometimes, things 
sort themselves out when you stop trying  

53
00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:17,040
so hard. And sometimes, answers come only 
when you’re quiet enough to hear them. 

54
00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:23,520
When you start living with Wu Wei, something 
changes inside you. You don’t feel the need  

55
00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:30,080
to control everything anymore. You begin 
to notice—life already knows how to move,  

56
00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:34,160
just like your breath or how the 
seasons change. It all happens  

57
00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:42,480
on its own. You don’t have to push so hard.
You stop feeling like it’s all on you. That  

58
00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:49,920
heavy weight on your shoulders starts to lighten. 
You feel more balanced. Maybe not peaceful all the  

59
00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:58,480
time, but definitely less rushed, less anxious.
You don’t jump to react to every little thing.  

60
00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:05,040
Instead, you wait. You let things 
settle. You move when it feels right,  

61
00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:14,240
not just when your mind says now. And slowly, 
life stops feeling like a constant struggle. 

62
00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:20,320
It begins to feel softer. More 
natural. Like you’re walking with life,  

63
00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:30,160
not against it. One step at a time, it 
gets easier. Less force. More quiet flow.

64
00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,600
3. Turn Ordinary Acts into Rituals

65
00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:42,640
In the words of Lao Tzu “Nature does not 
hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” 

66
00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:50,800
We live in a world that tells us to move fast. 
Eat fast. Work fast. Reply fast. Even rest gets  

67
00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:58,160
scheduled. The message is clear: get through the 
small stuff so you can reach the “real” life — the  

68
00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:06,400
big moments, the achievements, the payoff.
But here’s the quiet truth: most of life  

69
00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:12,480
is the small stuff. If we rush through 
it, we rush through most of our life. 

70
00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:17,920
Think about your mornings. How often do you 
make tea or coffee while scrolling your phone,  

71
00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:23,680
half-aware of what you're doing? How many 
meals are eaten in front of a screen? How  

72
00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:28,880
many times have you washed dishes just to 
“clear them,” without once feeling the warm  

73
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:36,880
water on your hands? We treat daily tasks like 
obstacles — things to get done and move past.  

74
00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:44,160
But when everything becomes something to “get 
over with,” we never actually arrive anywhere. 

75
00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:52,240
Taoism turns this around. It says: don’t 
rush past your life. Meet it where it is.  

76
00:08:52,240 --> 00:09:01,040
The sacred isn’t hiding in a future achievement 
— it’s right here. In steam rising from a cup.  

77
00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:07,280
In the sound of chopping vegetables. In 
the simple act of folding a shirt. When  

78
00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:12,560
Taoist teachers talk about living in harmony 
with the Way, they’re talking about how you  

79
00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:20,400
place a bowl on a table. How you breathe while 
sweeping the floor. Presence is the practice. 

80
00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:27,280
To live in the spirit of Taoism is to stop 
rushing. Life isn’t a race to be won — it’s  

81
00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:35,680
a rhythm to be felt and it can be felt if you 
turn your ordinary tasks into small rituals. 

82
00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:42,880
So next time you make tea, treat it like a 
small meditation. Heat the water and wait  

83
00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:52,800
without distraction. Watch the steam rise. 
Pour it slowly. Hold the cup with both hands.  

84
00:09:52,800 --> 00:10:01,760
Sip — not while checking your phone, not 
while multitasking — just sit and drink. 

85
00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:07,680
When cooking, be with the food. 
Before turning on music or a podcast,  

86
00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:14,800
pause. Smell the garlic. Listen to the 
rhythm of the knife. Stir slowly. Let the  

87
00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:22,160
process itself calm you — not just the result.
Even cleaning can feel grounding when done with  

88
00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:27,520
attention. While washing dishes, notice the 
temperature of the water, the weight of each  

89
00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:33,520
plate, the motion of your hands. When you 
sweep the floor, match your breath to the  

90
00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:41,360
movement. Let it become a rhythm, not a rush.
Transitions can become pauses too. Before moving  

91
00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:48,240
from one task to the next, take a breath. Let 
one thing end fully before beginning another.  

92
00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:53,920
It only takes a moment, but that 
moment can shift the pace of your day. 

93
00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:59,680
If you're not sure this really makes a 
difference, try this small comparison: 

94
00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:06,640
Rushed version: You boil water while checking 
messages. You drink fast. You barely taste it.  

95
00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:16,000
You move on. Ten minutes gone. Nothing felt.
Ritual version: You wait. You listen. You hold.  

96
00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:25,760
You sip. For two minutes, you’re fully there. Your 
breath slows. Your mind softens. You move into the  

97
00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:31,200
next thing less tense.
Now ask yourself: 

98
00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:37,040
Which kind of day would I rather 
live — not once, but 300 times? 

99
00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:44,640
When this habit settles into you,you stop 
waiting for weekends or vacations to feel alive. 

100
00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:52,080
You stop postponing peace.
You start finding it — in the sink, the stove,  

101
00:11:52,080 --> 00:12:00,800
the kettle, the broom… Everywhere around you.
Taoism reminds us: life isn’t somewhere else. 

102
00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:06,000
It’s here, in the ordinary.
Always has been. 

103
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:11,200
We just have to stop rushing 
long enough to feel it.

104
00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:19,760
4. Follow Your Breath During the Day
Lao Tzu once wrote “Returning is the motion  

105
00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:27,120
of the Tao. Yielding is the way of the Tao.”
Sometimes, in the middle of the day,  

106
00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:33,920
you’ll notice you’re not really here. Your 
mind is scattered. Your body feels tense.  

107
00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:40,240
You’re lost in thought or pulled in different 
directions. That’s the moment to come back to  

108
00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:48,560
something that’s always with you: your breath.
You don’t have to force it or fix it. Just  

109
00:12:48,560 --> 00:13:05,760
notice it. Inhale… exhale. That quiet rise and 
fall. Feel the air move in and out. That’s all. 

110
00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:11,520
The Taoists saw the breath as more than just 
oxygen. They called it the rhythm of the  

111
00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:20,560
Tao inside you. A subtle tide — always flowing, 
always present. So when you return to your breath,  

112
00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:30,000
you’re not just calming yourself… you’re coming 
home. Back into the flow. Back into presence. 

113
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:36,080
You can do this anytime — standing in line, 
stuck in traffic, walking to your next meeting.  

114
00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:42,640
Even in the middle of a conversation, you can 
quietly tune in to your breath. As you breathe  

115
00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:50,560
you’ll feel your shoulders softening, your jaw 
unclenching, and your thoughts slowing down. 

116
00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:56,000
Taoism teaches: you don’t need to 
escape the world to feel peace. You  

117
00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:03,040
just need to return to what’s already 
here. And your breath is always here.

118
00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:10,720
5. Spend Time in Nature
To quote Lao Tzu “Be still  

119
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:17,520
like a mountain and flow like a great river”.
One of the simplest ways to reconnect with the  

120
00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:24,240
Tao is to step outside. Taoism teaches 
that nature is not separate from us;  

121
00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:33,840
it is us. The trees, the rivers, the wind, the 
sky — they move in harmony without force. They  

122
00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:42,240
don’t rush or overthink. They just are. And when 
you spend time in nature, even for a few minutes,  

123
00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:48,160
you begin to remember that same rhythm.
You don’t need a forest or a mountain.  

124
00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:53,840
It can be as simple as standing barefoot 
on grass, sitting quietly under a tree,  

125
00:14:53,840 --> 00:15:00,480
or watching clouds drift across the sky. You’re 
not trying to do anything. You’re just letting  

126
00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:07,920
the natural world hold you — letting its 
calm, unhurried presence soften your mind. 

127
00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:14,320
Most of us spend our days surrounded by 
screens, noise, traffic, and pressure.  

128
00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:18,640
It’s easy to lose touch with the part 
of us that feels whole without needing  

129
00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:26,000
to prove or perform. But nature doesn’t 
ask anything of you. It doesn't judge.  

130
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:34,640
It simply invites you to slow down, 
to listen, to breathe — to return. 

131
00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:41,280
When you sit with a tree, you’re reminded that 
growth takes time and doesn’t need to be loud.  

132
00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,840
When you watch the clouds, you see how 
thoughts and emotions can come and go,  

133
00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:50,880
without needing to hold on to them. When 
you walk by a stream or feel the wind,  

134
00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:58,880
you begin to understand what it means to flow — 
to move through life with less struggle or effort. 

135
00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:05,360
The Tao is always showing itself through nature. 
Through the changing seasons, through sunlight  

136
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:15,680
and rain, through stillness and movement. It 
teaches balance without ever speaking a word. 

137
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:22,800
Spending time in nature is not a luxury — 
it’s a return. A quiet way of remembering  

138
00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:29,760
who you are beneath the noise. Even a few 
minutes a day is enough. Let the sky remind  

139
00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:36,960
you to open up. Let the ground remind you to 
stay rooted. Let the trees teach you patience.  

140
00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:46,560
You don’t have to figure everything out. You just 
have to be present. Nature takes care of the rest.

141
00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:54,880
6. Let Go of the Need to Control
Lao Tzu considers that “Life is a  

142
00:16:54,880 --> 00:17:00,080
series of natural and spontaneous 
changes. Don’t resist them — that  

143
00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:09,840
only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality.”
There’s a quiet tension many of us carry — the  

144
00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:16,560
need to control everything. We want things to go 
as planned. We want people to act how we expect.  

145
00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:21,600
We want life to follow the picture we’ve 
made in our heads. But life doesn’t always  

146
00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:28,160
listen. And when things go differently, 
we feel anxious, upset, even helpless. 

147
00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:34,400
But what if real strength isn’t about 
control? What if it’s about letting go? 

148
00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:41,360
Taoism teaches us to put our trust in life. 
Think of a river. It doesn’t move in straight  

149
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:48,880
lines. It curves, it flows fast, it slows 
down. Sometimes it even overflows. If you  

150
00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:55,120
try to force the river to go your way, you’ll 
wear yourself out. But if you move with it,  

151
00:17:55,120 --> 00:18:02,160
you find a different kind of power — 
the strength to bend without breaking. 

152
00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:09,440
Letting go starts in small moments. A plan 
changes. Someone lets you down. Something doesn’t  

153
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:17,440
go how you thought it would. Pause. Take a deep 
breath. Notice how your body wants to tense up,  

154
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:25,440
to fix things, to hold tight. And instead, 
say softly to yourself: “Let it flow.” 

155
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:33,120
It’s not always easy. Many of us were taught that 
being in control means being safe. But this need  

156
00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:40,880
to control often comes from fear — fear of the 
unknown, fear of failure, fear of getting hurt.  

157
00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:47,840
So we try to plan everything, avoid all mistakes, 
and protect ourselves from anything uncertain. 

158
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:53,280
But the truth is — most things are not in 
our control. The weather. Other people.  

159
00:18:53,280 --> 00:19:00,560
The past. Even many of our own thoughts and 
feelings. Life is too big to micromanage. 

160
00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:08,240
But what is in our hands is how we respond…
We can tense up and fight every change,  

161
00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:15,840
or we can pause, breathe, and move with it.
When we start letting go, something shifts.  

162
00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:22,320
We stop being thrown off by every delay or 
mistake. Life still brings ups and downs,  

163
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:27,920
but we stop adding our own stress to it and we 
will start to trust that life doesn’t have to go  

164
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:34,400
exactly as we imagined for us to be okay.
Like bamboo in the wind — we bend,  

165
00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:42,480
but we don’t break. We stay rooted, even 
as we move with whatever the moment brings.

166
00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:48,720
7. End the Day in Release
In our final quote from Lao  

167
00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:57,440
Tzu for this video, he says “To hold, 
you must first open your hand. Let go” 

168
00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:02,560
Before sleep, just sit quietly 
and ask yourself gently: 

169
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:06,880
What did I resist today?
Where did I flow? 

170
00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:11,040
What can I let go of now?
No need to overthink. Let  

171
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:16,480
the answers rise naturally. Maybe you 
held onto stress in a conversation.  

172
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:22,640
Maybe you went with the flow when things didn’t go 
your way. Maybe there’s a grudge, an expectation,  

173
00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:29,360
or a thought that’s still clinging.
As you breathe out, imagine releasing it.  

174
00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:38,240
Not pushing it away, just loosening your grip. 
Like leaves floating downstream — let it go. 

175
00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:45,280
In Taoism, life is not a straight 
line. It’s a cycle — effort and rest,  

176
00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:51,280
doing and being, light and dark. 
Just as the day fades into night,  

177
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:56,800
we too must let go of the day to 
make space for what comes next. 

178
00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:03,040
Most of us carry our days into our sleep. 
Our minds keep spinning, replaying moments,  

179
00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:12,400
clinging to what we should’ve said or done. But 
reflection is not rumination — it’s awareness.  

180
00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:20,880
And release is not forgetfulness — it’s trust.
This small ritual helps us return to balance.  

181
00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:28,560
It tells the body: "You’ve done enough." It tells 
the heart: "You are safe to rest." And it tells  

182
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:36,640
the mind: "You don’t have to hold everything."
The Tao flows best through emptiness — and when  

183
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:43,360
we clear the clutter of the day, we make room 
for something wiser, calmer, and more alive to  

184
00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:54,160
return tomorrow. Let the day go. Trust that 
life continues to flow — even as you sleep. 

185
00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:57,440
If you enjoyed this video, please make 
sure to check out our full philosophies  

186
00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,760
for life playlist and for more videos to 
help you find success and happiness using  

187
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:08,240
beautiful philosophical wisdom, don’t forget 
to subscribe. Thanks so much for watching.