[yǔ qí] lín yuān xiàn yú，bù rú tuì ér jié wǎng。《hàn shū · dǒng zhòng shū zhuàn 》
Rather than approaching the edge [of the waters] admiring the fish, it’s better to take a step back, and prepare to cast a net over the waters [and catch the fish].
This axiom was utilized as an illustration from 董仲舒, a government official and a scholar, who cautioned the ruler of his opportunity that in the event that he needed to deal with the nation well, it was essential to do as such in a principled and institutional way.
An understanding of this notice comes to us in two sections: the goal and the methods. Imperative as it is to have a reasonable target at the top of the priority list, it is similarly critical to have the way to approach accomplishing that goal, keeping in mind that it turn into an insignificant fancy. It reminds us to once in a while make a stride over from focusing excessively on our objectives, and update our ways to deal with achieve our most prompt goal.
Source : https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2014/06/01/chinese-proverbs/
