Wu-wei

What activities do you lose yourself in?

I lose myself in writing. There is a word for this state of “losing oneself” in an activity: wu-wei (woo-way). Wu-wei comes from Daoism, or Tatoism, which is a group of philosophical traditions that developed thousands of years ago in China.

Wu-wei directly translates to “not act”. Today, we use it to refer to a state in which one is doing something well but is on autopilot. Another common term for this phenomenon is “in the zone.”

It would seem as if the technical definition strays far from use of the term today. However, the New World Encyclopedia describes wu-wei as “‘acting naturally’ (Xiaogan 41). Indeed, wu-wei is to act naturally, so as not to interfere with the natural order of things. Doing your best is acting naturally, and doing your best without thinking about it is wu-wei.