Laozi’s Eternal Cycles as the Antidote to Modern Anxiety

FOMO—the fear of missing out—and the anxiety it breeds have become dominant emotions for many of us. Whether it’s crypto, gold, AI, or the swirl of financial and geopolitical tensions, we chase the next big thing while secretly fearing that our lives are built on shifting sand.

In response to this unease, many of us try to outrun uncertainty with sheer speed. New AI models drop one after another. Chips advance relentlessly. Fresh narratives eclipse old ones in ever-shorter cycles.

But there is a wiser path. More than two thousand years ago, Laozi taught us to recognise that the world moves in cycles—an unchanging law of the universe he called 常 (cháng, the constant). Whoever truly grasps this law gains 明 (míng, clear insight or wisdom). With 明, anxiety dissolves. We stop fighting the natural order and, in doing so, protect ourselves from every harm.

Indeed, there has never been a better time to revisit Laozi.

The passage reads:  

夫物芸芸，各复归其根。归根曰静，是谓复命。复命曰常，知常曰明。

Pinyin:

Fú wù yún yún, gè fù guī qí gēn. Guī gēn yuē jìng, shì wèi fù mìng. Fù mìng yuē cháng, zhī cháng yuē míng.

In plain English:  

“Of all the teeming things, each returns to its root. Returning to the root is stillness; this is called fulfilling one’s mandate. Fulfilling the mandate is the constant. Understanding the constant is wisdom.”

After emptying his mind and sinking into absolute quiet, Laozi’s heart became like a clear mirror, calmly reflecting the ceaseless motion of all things. From that stillness he distilled the universe’s fundamental rhythm: everything rises, peaks, declines, and returns. His message is simple yet profound—align your actions with these cycles. Resist them, and you suffer. Flow with them, and you remain unharmed.

Laozi’s insight applies equally to individuals, industries, and nations. Let’s examine each level to see how this ancient wisdom quiets our unease, sharpens our vision, and keeps us clear of unnecessary trouble.

We all sense the natural cycles in our own lives—periods of expansion followed by contraction.

In expansion we pour energy outward, building wealth, skills, and impact (both literal and figurative). In contraction we turn inward to reflect, recover, and reorganise. Force expansion during a contraction phase and you invite burnout or injury. Quit during an expansion phase and you forfeit golden opportunities. Both mistakes violate the universal law.

When exhaustion sets in—mental, physical, emotional—that is the signal to rest. Push harder and you break. Conversely, when a new cycle quietly begins and you ignore the early signs, you miss the chance to grow.

The key is clear vision. Only when we see the rhythm clearly can we form our own judgments instead of following the herd. We stop chasing trends at their peak and learn to ride the wave at its natural rise.

Every industry follows the same arc: birth, growth, flourishing, decline, transformation—or disappearance. No sector lasts forever.

Consider the century-long cycle of gasoline-powered vehicles. Henry Ford’s Model T launched the era in 1908. After more than a hundred years of dominance, the industry has entered its declining phase as electric vehicles take center stage. EVs, powered by whatever source—fossil fuels, solar, wind, or even waste—use fewer parts yet far greater intelligence. They are still in their nascent stage. Charging infrastructure, battery range, and speed will all improve; nothing can halt their global flourishing.

The same eternal pattern governs bitcoin, gold, AI data centres, and advanced chips. Understanding it has never been more urgent. Laozi urges us to stay clear-eyed: never go all-in on a peaking industry, and never despair over one that seems stalled. Both errors lead to regret.

Nations, too, revolve through cycles—from poverty and weakness to wealth and power, and back again.

Laozi’s counsel is practical: when a nation stands at the height of its power, it must resist the urge to impose its will coercively, to dictate terms, or to rely on military muscle—because the wheel will turn, and one day it will need the goodwill of others. When a nation is weak and poor, it must reflect deeply, innovate relentlessly, and plan for the long ascent—knowing that its time of strength will eventually arrive.

Today the United States is the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nation. Yet it acts as though its dominance is permanent. At the time of writing (early March 2026), the current Trump administration has imposed tariffs on nearly everyone, pressured foreign leaders, eyed territorial gains, and borrowed at unprecedented scale. These moves may feel strong in the moment, but they accelerate and intensify the inevitable decline.

By contrast, nations that are currently weak and poor need not despair—if they are actively rebuilding. Look at China. In the early 1980s it was poor and fragile. Forty years of disciplined development and strategic planning have produced a world-class high-tech sector. Most telling: in 2025, China was the only major economy that refused to yield to sweeping U.S. tariffs, continuing to lead global manufacturing. The cycle turns for those who understand it.

知常—understanding the constant—is not passive fatalism. It is active alignment with the grand trend.

This wisdom frees us from obsessing over short-term wins and losses. It stops us from fighting emerging forces and from desperately chasing fading ones. When you cease struggling against the current, no temporary storm can truly destroy you.

All that is required is patient observation and honest learning—so you can recognise exactly where you, your industry, and your society stand in the great cycle, and which new forces are quietly gathering strength.

In a world spinning faster than ever, Laozi’s ancient mirror still reflects the truth with perfect clarity: everything returns to its root. Understand that, and you walk in wisdom.

If you like this article, you’ll love the full e-course, Aligning with the Dao: Laozi’s Wisdom for Modern Anxiety and Achievement. It distills Laozi’s teachings into four practical lessons: embracing cycles, clearing mental dust, releasing excessive grasping, and persisting wisely to finish strong. Explore the full program to gain calmer decisions, less stress, sharper timing, and true accomplishment. 

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