Uchikura & Co., LLC

Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight

The Japanese proverb “七転び八起き” (nanakorobi yaoki) is commonly translated as “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”

 

It teaches perseverance. Life will not always go as planned. We may fail in business, lose an opportunity, make a poor decision, or face circumstances beyond our control. What matters is not how many times we fall, but whether we are willing to get back up and try again.

 

Failure is not always evidence that we should stop. Sometimes it shows us what must be changed. Each setback can teach us something about our weaknesses, our assumptions, and the direction we should take next.

 

However, this proverb presents an interesting mathematical problem.

 

If you fall seven times, you can only stand up seven times. You must be standing before the first fall. Therefore, it is mathematically impossible to fall seven times and stand up eight times.

 

Perhaps the eighth time represents something more than physically getting back on your feet. It may represent beginning life already standing, or rising one additional time in preparation for the next challenge.

 

In other words, do not merely recover from failure. Stand up before failure arrives. Be ready to face the next difficulty.

 

Mathematically, you cannot stand up eight times after falling only seven times.

 

But wisdom is not always about mathematics.