Buttocks Stuck on the Stump
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Tun kun yu zhu mu, the buttocks stuck on the stump, is from the first line of the Kun hexagram in the Book of Changes: the buttocks are stuck on a stump, one retreats into a deep valley, and for three years sees no people. The core proposition is path dependence, that over-reliance on a fixed position, method, or past experience which has stopped working locks a person or organization in place until isolation sets in. The key qualification is that the stump feels comfortable, which is exactly why leaving it takes deliberate effort.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Stump inventory: name the methods, positions, and relationships that once worked but no longer do. - Comfort exit: deliberately leave the familiar but rigid position rather than adjusting posture on it. - Reset review: periodically re-estimate the path from zero instead of from current commitments.
Anchor fast decisions
A stump supports the body without effort, so staying costs nothing while the surroundings move on, and the longer one sits the harder a move becomes. Past success supplies the justification for staying, which is why dependence on a single familiar method turns a refuge into a trap, and the isolation arrives slowly enough to feel normal.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikisource.orghttps://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%91%A8%E6%98%93/%E5%9B%B0verified
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