Life is now about direction, not speed!
60 Analects of Confucius that Fill Emptiness and Lightness Chosen by 200,000 People

The book that firmly captured the hearts of middle-aged people who have lived tirelessly, 『Reading the Analects in Your Fifties』, has returned in a revised and expanded edition with even more depth.
Five years since publication, 100 printings, and 200,000 readers' choice prove its significance.

This revised and expanded edition is based on the 50 poems of the Analects of Confucius from the first edition and stories that resonate with people in their fifties, and adds 10 new poems carefully selected from the Analects of Confucius to provide insight into the concerns faced by people in their fifties and the direction they should take going forward.
It was completed in 60 moves, containing 10 concerns (flow, strength, effort, reason, mind, attitude, courtesy, choice, justice, and transition) that people in their fifties are actually facing today.
Like the Analects of Confucius, which has been edited and expanded over time, this book has been reborn as a classic perfectly suited to today's fifty-year-olds.

Why should we read the 2,500-year-old classic, the Analects, now, at the age of fifty? Why does the Analects still resonate with us after all these years? Author Choi Jong-yeop, who gives over 100 humanities lectures annually, has long shared the teachings of Confucius with people.
He says that the Analects are not a classic for special people, but rather a 'skill of wisdom' that ordinary people need to live ordinary lives.

Confucius entered the political arena only after he was over fifty, but he had to wander in a foreign country in his mid-sixties without achieving anything.
Nevertheless, he did not become discouraged, but continued to study hard and quietly walked his own path.
And at the age of seventy, he summed up his life thus:

“My path is one.
“I have walked my path consistently until now, unshaken by the flow of the world (吾道一以貫之).” What is important now at fifty is not a faster speed, but a more accurate direction.
Fifty is the best time to start studying and living consistently.
There is no need to be shaken any longer.
Now, I just need to find the path I want and walk it to the end.
『Reading the Analects at Fifty』 will be the start.

At fifty, many people step down or are pushed out of their organizations.
Even if you hold out until retirement, you will eventually leave around the age of sixty.
Withdrawing from social connections also leads to mental health problems.
They become alienated from the treatment and recognition they have received, and they find themselves in a position where they seek self-esteem and authority.
As social distancing increases, a vicious cycle begins, leading to mental health problems and ultimately, physical health deterioration.
No matter how high life expectancy and health scores are, if they deviate from actual health, they are nothing more than empty numbers.
If there's one thing that people in their fifties have to overcome, it's health.
--- From "The Greatest Crisis to Overcome at Fifty"

Fifty, now I'm thinking about direction.
Leaving behind the breathless competition, I slow down and think about my goals for the second half of my life.
Accepting early retirement at fifty isn't easy, but if you think about it, it's not so fatal that it will ruin your life.
Accepting retirement at age sixty may feel empty and bring about a sense of loss, both big and small, but it's not powerful enough to discourage you from taking on new challenges.
Even if your health is not what it used to be after you are in your fifties or sixties, it is not fatal enough to destroy your hopes for the future.
--- From "Don't rush and don't care about small profits"

If you are blaming someone right now, it is because you want to find the cause in that other person.
If I want to make excuses about who I am now, it means I am weak.
It doesn't matter if it's your parents, siblings, boss, or friends.
If I don't move, the world won't give me anything.
If you only take what is given, you will starve if you do not give.
The same goes for work and income.
If you only do the work given to you, one day you will run out of work.
If you just take what you give, eventually your income will stop.
--- From "At fifty, you must find it in me"

When you turn fifty, you start to look back on your life.
Only then do I realize how difficult it is to live by the principles I have set for myself.
A happy life may not be a special life.
The richest people are not the happiest people.
If you want to become rich and live in the countryside, people who live in the countryside are already happy people.
Ordinary people have a desire to be special, but special people dream of the small happiness of ordinary people.
There are no set answers in life.
But a life of principles, especially the ones you set for yourself
A life that silently adheres to the principles of life will certainly be beautiful and happy.
--- From "A Life of Keeping the Promises I Made"

The quality of a gentleman begins with learning and benevolence, and his literary qualities are revealed in language and etiquette.
The inner self of a human being is not something that is innate, but rather it deepens and becomes stronger depending on what one learns and how one practices it.
So we learn and grow throughout our lives.
A door is not just a decoration; it is completed through words, attitude, and courtesy.
Only when the depth of one's inner self is firmly established and the outward expression harmoniously embraces it can one become a true gentleman.
--- From "A luxury product is one that has good decoration and good foundation"

Cultivating virtue means acknowledging and accepting the life we ​​share as a shared destiny.
It is a way to escape from the loneliness and lonely life of life.
The way to have good neighbors is not in the neighbors, but in me.
The way to meet good people is not in them, but in me.
The way to regain the love of my brothers and sisters is not in them, but in me.
The way to be loved by seniors and customers is not in their hands, but in mine.
The way to change a lonely past into a non-lonely future lies not in the environment, but in my heart.
--- From "Even one virtue is enough"

When you turn sixty, you will definitely look back on your fifties and have regrets.
If only I were 10 years younger, I could start over, but I'll regret not doing it 10 years ago.
We can learn from Confucius how to break this cycle of regret and sorrow that has lasted for thousands of years.
Confucius's teachings were earnest.
It is said that if your heart is sincere, there is nothing you cannot do.
This is a solution we already know.
Maybe it's too ordinary a method.
There might be a better way, but since it's so desperate, I have no choice but to pretend to be fooled and believe it.
So we have to stop now.
We need to stop making excuses and think.
If you make excuses about being busy now and get past the age of fifty, you'll regret whatever you do when you're sixty.
If you pass the age of sixty, you will face the age of seventy, which will bring you regrets again.
Just like that song 2,500 years ago.
--- From "There is no grave without an excuse"

Confucius often said this:
“Except for An Hui, who did not let his anger get the better of him and did not repeat the same mistakes, I have never seen anyone who realized their mistakes and sincerely reflected on them.
Anyone can make mistakes, but if you make a mistake and don't correct it, that's the real mistake.
If you make a mistake, don't hesitate to correct it immediately.
Mistakes usually arise from thinking one is right, and recognizing one's own mistakes is the same as knowing humanity.
“Also, a gentleman is someone who is ashamed of saying things that are difficult to put into action.”
--- From "A person who knows how to accept mistakes"

You should not study without thinking.
Just as homework must be completed even in the face of discomfort, the studies of those in their 50s should primarily focus on adult learning that enhances expertise.
Even if you read just one book, there must be consistency.
You must clearly define the purpose of your study and reading.
It is essential to know 'why' expertise in a certain field is needed.
Because the second half of your life may be determined by it.
--- From "It is dangerous to just think and not learn"

Fifty is never too late to start over again.
Because fifty is still twenty years away from turning seventy.
Because it's no different from 20 years ago when I was looking forward to turning 50 at the age of 30.
Fifty is never too late to be courageous.
Because fifty is our last chance to leave a wonderful life for our children, just like our parents who lived wonderful lives and set an example.
A very good age to start is fifty.
--- From "The Most Appropriate Age to Look Back and Plan"

“Only when winter comes do you realize that pines and cedars wither late.”
This meant that only in difficult times can true, unwavering will and integrity be revealed.
Confucius wanted his disciples to be like Pine and Bai.
I hope that you will have a strong character that will not waver in any environment or crisis, like pine and cedar trees that do not lose their greenness even in the harsh cold of midwinter.
I hope that you will not be a disciple who grows lushly in the summer when growth is good and then withers when winter comes, but a disciple who can stand firm in the face of trials and adversity.
--- From "Pine and Baek Never Wither"

People often ask themselves, 'What is a good life?'
And I want to find the answer, and I want to find it again and again, and I want the right answer that I can be sure of.
But Confucius' answer was concise.

“I just liked the old things and worked hard to get them.”

It is said that he simply studied, organized, applied, and practiced the valuable things created by the ancients and taught them to his disciples.
Hogo (好古), meaning liking old things, means hohak (好學), meaning liking to learn.
The phrase “min-i-gu-ji-ja-ya (敏以求之者)” means someone who seeks it quickly, and it means that he studied it diligently, organized it, applied it, and put it into practice.
It is an autobiography of someone who has lived their entire life in that attitude.
That's all there is to it.
It's not that I became an adult because I was special, but because I loved learning and worked hard to become one.
That was Confucius' answer.

--- From "When you stop learning, life stops"