Alright, sisters and brothers! Settle down, because today we’re diving into a topic that’s HUGELY important, one that can instantly impact your bank balance and life satisfaction – Following the Trend (顺势, Shùnshì) or Going Against the Trend (逆势, Nìshì)?
Don’t let these simple terms fool you; they hide countless pitfalls and countless opportunities. Do you often hear “Go with the flow,” making you feel like following the crowd is the way to go? But then you also hear “Only by swimming upstream can you see different scenery”? Is your brain in a jumble? How on earth do you choose?!
As your One-Move Instant-Solve Blogger, today I’m going to completely tear down that mental barrier for you! I’ll tell you how the real life winners and financial masters play the games of “Shunshi” and “Nishi,” instead of bumping around like headless chickens!
First, we need to understand: What exactly are “Shunshi” and “Nishi”?
In simple, blunt terms:
- 顺势 (Shùnshì – Following the Trend): This means going along with major trends, chasing market hot spots, and following paths that most people recognize and approve of. Think of the real estate boom a few years back, the internet startup wave, short video live streaming sales, the new energy sector rush… If it’s something most people think is good, and everyone’s flocking to it, that’s Shunshi. When you jump in, you’re acting in Shunshi.
- 逆势 (Nìshì – Going Against the Trend): This means taking the path less traveled, doing things others think are impossible or don’t understand, entering niche or unpopular industries, sticking to your minority interests, or even challenging existing rules. For example, when everyone was all-in on the internet, you focused on manufacturing; when people chased traffic, you stuck to high-quality content; when everyone thought AI would replace everything, you dove deep into traditional crafts or emotional connections that AI can’t (yet) replicate.
Okay, definitions clear. So, the question is – Should you Shunshi or Nishi?
The answer is: There’s no absolute “should”! It’s all about “when” and “how”! And, never be fooled by the surface appearance of “Shun” or “Ni”! There’s a deep science behind it, and it’s where the vast majority of people fall into traps!
Let’s first analyze why most people who “Shunshi” end up becoming “leeks” (韭菜 – a term for people easily swayed and exploited).
Look, when a “trend” rises, like short video live streaming. Initially, only a few people enter; they are the first wave of Shunshi players, enjoying enormous dividends: platform support, cheap traffic, little competition. They made tons of money with relative ease.
Then, news like “Look how XXX got famous with live streaming!” spread, and more and more people swarmed in. At this point, the “trend” seems stronger, livelier. Countless training courses teach you how to do live streaming, countless MCNs recruit streamers. You think: This is definitely the big wave! Gotta catch it! So you join.
When you entered, did you find:
- Traffic became ridiculously expensive, and paying for traffic felt like throwing money into the ocean.
- Competition was so intense that you live-streamed for half a day and barely anyone watched.
- Platform rules kept changing, getting stricter and stricter.
- Others had already created templates, and your content was highly homogenized.
- Profits became thinner and thinner, maybe even less than working a factory job.
Congratulations, you successfully lived yourself into sacrifice fodder for “Nishi” in the late stage of “Shunshi.” What did you go against? You went against the “early-stage low-cost high-dividend” trend, using high costs to chase a “pseudo-Shunshi” where the dividend period was over and competition was white-hot.
This is the first big trap of “Shunshi” as understood by most people: mistaking an “already mature or even بدأ to decline, obvious trend” for a “rising trend with high potential dividends.” When a trend is visible to everyone and easily entered, it’s often no longer in its dividend period, but a battlefield of intense competition.
So, is “Nishi” definitely good? Will it always lead to a rags-to-riches story?
Of course not! Blindly going against the trend is even more likely to lead to failure!
Think about it, there can be many reasons why something is “Nishi”:
- Timing is off: Your idea is too far ahead of its time; the market simply isn’t ready to accept it. You’re like a prophet shouting in the wilderness, and no one understands. By the time you’re out of resources, the market only belatedly catches up.
- The direction is simply wrong: The direction itself is based on a false need or is fundamentally unfeasible. You’re going against human nature, against the rules, and you end up being just “stubborn,” wasting time and money.
- The barrier to entry is too high: The reason this field is niche or unpopular might be because it requires extreme specialization, significant capital, or thick resource layers. You have nothing and just charge in with pure passion, and you’ll break your head in minutes.
- Going against the wrong thing: You’re not going against a pseudo-trend, but against truly robust and rule-abiding infrastructure or human needs. Like insisting on using cash against the mobile payment trend, or insisting on lying flat against the trend of continuous learning (this type of Nishi is against societal development trends, not discussing personal freedom of choice). This kind of Nishi is seeking death.
This is the first big trap of “Nishi” as understood by most people: confusing a “future trend with huge potential opportunities but extremely high barriers” with a “pseudo-opportunity that is simply unworkable or mistimed.” Blindly going against the trend makes you a martyr admiring yourself in solitude.
Okay, I’ve set the stage enough. Now it’s time to reveal my “One-Move Instant-Solve!!!”
Listen up, everyone! The real masters, the truly enlightened ones, they don’t play a simple game of “Shunshi” or “Nishi.” They play the game of – the underlying logic of the “trend” and their “self’s” unique value!
This is the move: “Don’t just look where the crowd is! Masters look at the underlying logic of the trend and find their own unique value, then decide whether to leverage the trend (Shunshi), break the mold against the trend (Nishi), or blend Shunshi with Nishi and vice versa! “
How do you actually do it? Follow these three steps:
Step One: Understand the Underlying Logic of the “Trend” (This is the key to true Shunshi!)
Don’t just look at what’s popular on the surface; ask yourself:
- Why did this “trend” emerge? What’s its root cause? Is it a technological breakthrough? Policy guidance? Demographic shifts? An unmet human need?
- What stage is this “trend” in? Is it just budding (big dividends, also high risk)? Rapidly developing (competition increasing, still many opportunities)? Highly prosperous (competition white-hot, near the end of the dividend period)? Starting to decline (sunset industry, unless there’s major innovation)?
- What is the core driving force of this “trend”? How long will it last? Is it a short-term hype or a long-term transformation?
- Who are the biggest beneficiaries of this “trend”? Early entrants? Platform providers? Those who control core technology/resources? Traffic players? Or those providing ancillary services?
By understanding the underlying logic, you can judge whether an obvious “Shunshi” is a real opportunity. For example, the underlying logic of short video is capturing users’ fragmented time, algorithmic recommendation, and human curiosity/desire for expression. This underlying logic is very robust. But live-streaming sales in the later stages? Many core drivers became “low-price subsidies + platform monopoly,” which isn’t something every player can handle. Seeing this clearly will prevent you from jumping in at the wrong time.
Step Two: Anchor “Self’s” Unique Value (This is the confidence for true Nishi!)
Most people Shunshi because they lack unique value, so they can only follow the crowd, doing standardized, highly repetitive tasks. And most people fail at Nishi because they overestimate their unique value, or simply lack the unique value needed to succeed against the trend.
What is your unique value?
- Do you have scarce skills that others don’t? (Like a top programmer, scientist, designer, expert in a niche field…)
- Do you have exclusive resources that others don’t? (Like capital, network, information asymmetry…)
- Do you have a unique perspective or insight that others don’t? (Can you see market needs, technological integration points, user pain points that others haven’t discovered?)
- Do you have personal traits that others cannot replicate? (Like extreme patience, extraordinary resilience, unique aesthetic taste, strong charisma…)
Nishi is never about brute force; it’s about your “unique and high-value” weapon. If you lack irreplaceable value, going against the trend is like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot. But if you do have it, even in a field nobody favors, you can create a “trend” of your own.
Step Three: Strategy Selection: Leveraging the Trend vs. Breaking the Mold vs. Blending Shunshi & Nishi
When you simultaneously understand “the underlying logic of the trend” and “the self’s unique value,” you can make smart choices:
- 顺势借力 (Leveraging the Trend): If you find a trend with healthy underlying logic, in its early or mid-stage, and your skills/resources perfectly fit this trend (you have unique advantages to stand out within the Shunshi, not just become average), then dive in boldly! This is called “High-position Shunshi, Smart Entry.” It’s leveraging external forces for the quickest takeoff. For example, if you’re a top content creator and catch the short video wave, that’s leveraging the trend for double the result with half the effort.
- 逆势破局 (Breaking the Mold Against the Trend): If you find a field that is Nishi (like a sunset industry, or something nobody favors), but with your unique value (like exclusive technology, a disruptive model, a deep insight into the future) you can solve problems in this field that others can’t, or you can foresee its future explosion, and you’re prepared for long-term investment, high risk, and pressure, then resolutely go Nishi! This is called “Low-position Nishi, Pioneering a New Path.” This often comes with huge risks, but can also bring immense rewards – it’s your chance to dominate a unique space. Like when Steve Jobs returned to Apple when Microsoft was at its peak, going against the trend to launch the iMac, disrupting personal computer design.
- 顺中带逆 / 逆中求顺 (Blending & Adapting):
- 顺中带逆 (Blending Nishi within Shunshi): Within a large Shunshi track, find a small niche nobody noticed, and deep-dive into it with your unique value, forming your local monopoly. For example, in the live-streaming sales surge, others sell popular items, while you exclusively sell a niche, high-quality product with cultural depth, explaining it with your unique personal charm. You’re following the live-streaming “trend” (顺势), but in what you sell and how you sell it, you’re going against (逆) the homogenized methods.
- 逆中求顺 (Seeking Shunshi within Nishi): You went against the trend doing something people didn’t understand, but after doing it, you found it naturally aligned with a “trend” that was just budding or about to explode. Thus, the result of your “Nishi” hitched a ride on another “Shunshi” express train. For example, you went against the traffic chasing mindset and spent five years meticulously writing a high-quality book. As a result, you caught the “trend” of the country heavily supporting the cultural industry and short video platforms promoting knowledge streamers. Your book and knowledge content suddenly became treasures.
Key Takeaway!!! The core isn’t “Shun” or “Ni” itself, but whether you have –
- Acute Insight: Able to see both the surface and underlying logic of a “trend,” distinguishing between real and fake.
- Clear Self-Awareness: Able to accurately assess your unique value and limitations.
- Strong Execution + Patience: Both the rapid iteration of Shunshi and the long-term persistence of Nishi require superb ability to implement.
My Personal Experience:
When I was younger, I also chased a few “obvious Shunshi” trends. I saw what others did successfully and rushed in to learn and do it. The result was often by the time I entered, the dividends were gone, and what remained were tough battles I simply couldn’t win, wasting time and enthusiasm.
Later, I got smarter. I started spending time researching what lay beneath the surface, digging into my true interests and where my abilities lay. Sometimes when everyone was疯抢 (frantically chasing) a new concept, I would stop and think: What real need does this thing solve? Is the barrier to entry really low? Will it quickly be replaced by the next thing? Conversely, for some things that seemed “less profitable” or “a bit outdated,” if I found they solved a deep pain point for a specific group, or they highly matched a unique skill I had accumulated over years, I would 오히려 (on the contrary) spend time trying them.
I found that when I made choices based on understanding the essence of the “trend” combined with “my unique value,” my success rate significantly increased, and the process felt more under control, less anxious. Sometimes it was Shunshi for takeoff, sometimes Nishi found a blue ocean, and more often it was doing differentiated things that were uniquely mine, not just following the crowd, while aligning with the broader environment.
To sum it up, everyone:
Stop asking the fatal question, “Should I Shunshi or Nishi?” Ask yourself instead: “Do I truly understand this ‘trend’? What stage is it in? What is my unique value? Can I find a place within this ‘trend,’ or do I need to create my own ‘trend’?” Am I prepared to bear the corresponding risks and invest the necessary effort?”
Once you’ve deeply thought about these questions, your choice will naturally become clear.
Remember my “One-Move Instant-Solve”: Understand the underlying logic, see yourself clearly, and then make the combination play that’s best for YOU!
Let’s encourage each other! I hope this post wasn’t so boring it put you to sleep, but instead gave you some inspiration!
I’m your One-Move Instant-Solve Blogger, see you next time! mua~ 💋