TITLE: Hold On Just a Little Longer — Things Will Get Better
The phrase I’ve said most often to friends around me this year is: “Things aren’t easy for anyone right now — but just grit your teeth and hold on a little longer, and it will slowly get better.”
This isn’t blind optimism or empty reassurance. I genuinely believe in my heart that once the pandemic passes, the overwhelming pessimism most people feel now will gradually fade — and everything causing stress and frustration will slowly work itself out.
Just like an overcast sky always clears eventually. It’s only ever a matter of time.
But precisely in times like these, we cannot afford to sink into negativity. Let that go on long enough, and even the most grounded person will have their confidence eroded by pessimism.
It won’t just affect your daily life — it will wear down your fortune (运势).
You know that Master Chi’s daily routine is simple: reading destiny charts (格局) for those who seek guidance, reading books, exercising, and spending time with family.
What I’ve felt most deeply during this period is that whenever I pick up my phone and scroll through bleak articles and videos, my own heart grows heavy and suffocated.
But the moment I put the phone down and start exercising — or start talking with my brothers and sisters in the community about future possibilities — my outlook immediately brightens, full of sunshine again.
Compare the two states side by side, and the difference is stark. Which is better? No need to say.
So we must fill ourselves with the nourishment of books, the joy of movement, and the fulfillment of pursuing meaningful work. That’s how people thrive. That’s how things flow.
Now, let me step back and share some thoughts on the bigger picture — just casual conversation, for your reference.
The single biggest thing on everyone’s mind right now is, of course, the pandemic. No need to elaborate on that.
Whether here in Shanghai where I’m living, or in other cities, the overall trend is already moving in a better direction.
So barring any unexpected developments, within a month or two at most, everything will look very different. Life, the economy, and business will all gradually return to what they were.
I also understand that this stop-and-start will inevitably create real disruptions — placing pressure on many people’s livelihoods and careers. But ultimately it is still good news, isn’t it? There’s finally something to look forward to.
Barring the unexpected, the six months after this wave ends will be a rough stretch. I won’t go into specifics, but Master Chi hopes you’ll prepare yourselves — mentally and financially. This is not the time to be reckless or extravagant.
On another note — I’ve been seeing many of my brothers and sisters, cooped up at home, passionately debating the news: Vietnam undercutting our manufacturing, the Bear going all-in on conflict, the Eagle quietly stirring up trouble — one worried headline after another.
Since I can’t be there in person, I’d put a hand on your shoulder and say: relax. Trust in ourselves, and trust in our leadership. Everything will be handled properly.
That’s not just something I say — it’s earned wisdom from years of lived experience.
If you don’t believe me, just flip through the historical record from the founding of our nation to today. You’ll find that roughly every two or three years, a serious problem emerges — every single time. And yet every single time, it got resolved.
This isn’t Ah Q-style self-delusion (a reference to Lu Xun’s famously self-deceiving character). Those who know Master Chi’s writing know I am fundamentally a pragmatic person.
I speak this way because years of conversation with people at the highest levels taught me one principle: the bigger the family, the harder it is to run.
With 1.4 billion people, the world’s second-largest economy, and so many objective challenges — how could the road ever be perfectly smooth?
Forget about the nation for a moment. Even if you’re running a company of a hundred people, or heading a household of five or six — you’ll face endless headaches every single day and messy disputes every few years. That’s completely normal.
Everything we’re seeing today is, at its core, just “familiar problems.” We’ve been through versions of this more times than anyone can count. So take a breath.
Caring about national affairs is admirable. But don’t project yourself too deeply into them — you’ll only generate unnecessary negative emotion.
And if you’re going to inhabit that mindset anyway, why not place yourself in the role of someone with a broad perspective and unshakable resolve? From that vantage point — doesn’t everything suddenly seem manageable? Something that can be overcome?
Remember: the people around you have an enormous influence on you. If everyone in your circle is pessimistic, over time you’ll start feeling like the end of the world is coming.
But put yourself in a different circle — one where people are optimistic — and you’ll discover that so many people are still growing steadily through this environment, still moving toward a bright future.
This is why we must grow alongside optimistic people. That atmosphere alone is worth more than gold. It is what enables you to keep growing upward, without stopping.
Spring: emergence. Summer: growth. Autumn: ripening. Winter: preservation. So goes a life well-lived — how could such a person fail to prosper?