Finally, the line can be read as a simple method: choose one trait to polish, apply steady practice, and measure progress over time. For instance, someone working on honesty might begin with small, concrete commitments—accurate reporting at work, direct conversations instead of evasions—and gradually take on harder situations where truth carries a cost.
Over time, those repetitions make integrity feel less like effort and more like identity. That is the quiet power of the metaphor: jade does not become radiant by wishing, but by sustained contact with disciplined care, until what was rough becomes enduringly bright. [...]