慎终如始则无败事

Shèn zhōng rú shǐ zé wú bài shì
Careful at the end as at the start — then no failures
💧 道德修养与处世

📜 原文 Original Text

「民之从事,常于几成而败之。慎终如始,则无败事。是以圣人欲不欲,不贵难得之货;学不学,复众人之所过。以辅万物之自然而不敢为。」 ——《道德经》第六十四章
— Daodejing, Chapter 64 · 📖 阅读原文全文

📖 释义 Annotation

「慎终如始则无败事」是老子对做事态度的最高要求。人们做事常常在快要成功的时候失败——如果结束时能像开始时一样谨慎,就不会有失败。老子还指出圣人的独特之处:追求别人不追求的,学习别人不学习的,以此来辅助万物的自然发展。

People often fail when close to success. If the end is approached with the same care as the beginning, there will be no failures. The sage pursues what others don't, learns what others don't, to assist the natural development of all things.

💡 当代启示 Modern Application

项目管理中最常见的失败模式就是「虎头蛇尾」。启动时热情高涨,收尾时草率了事。越是接近成功,越要保持开始时的谨慎和专注。

The most common failure pattern in project management is starting strong but finishing weak. The closer to success, the more careful and focused one should be.

🔗 相关成语 Related Idioms

📚 延伸阅读 Further Reading