How to avoid Chinese involution?

Last updated on:a year ago

I do hate the word “involution” and the behaviour about involution. I was at the centre of involution and wasted a bunch of time winning the study game against my peers. Once I realized its negative influence, I jump out of involution. I feel relief and do things with higher efficiency.

What is Chinese involution?

I argue that some people are crazy about keep doing without thinking about how to make the process more effective. The last image is ridiculous. Even though the guy were ranking the first in his class, I don’t think he enjoys the progress. He works under high pressure, which is harmful to his health. By the way, it is dangerous for everyone near to him on the way home.

From https://analyzingtrends.com/2020/12/15/the-top-buzzwords-of-2020-in-china/

The pressure to outcompete others begins at an early age. Hence GaoKao is only the beginning. A process of inward over-elaboration in agricultural development a general feeling of defeat, when the purpose of the competition is to eliminate in a zero-sum game a student was seen using his laptop while riding on a bike. Into the real world, the grinding “996” (or in some cases, “007”) work culture awaits – a common practice lauded by some of China’s most prominent figures in technology. The bar keeps rising, it seems, the harder people work. The middle and upper classes aren’t so much looking upward, and they are marked by a deep fear of falling downward.

How to avoid Chinese involution?

  • Try to realize your dreams
  • Make plans, do things effectively
  • Prevent from aiming for doing things better than peers, but you can learn from them.
  • Your jobs or duties are not about to win in the game
  • Research activities are not just an aggressive game, it is a vivid experience to enjoy what you are doing, call for your duty, a guide to the fate

From https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1006391/how-one-obscure-word-captures-urban-chinas-unhappiness

Conclusion

Although we don’t encourage involution, you should also spend your time finishing your task. Use involution as an excuse to avoid doing your job is also negative. I believe that if you are not on Chinese involution, you enjoy the majority of the time of your daily lives.

Reference

[1] ‘Involution’: The anxieties of our time summed up in one word