Never be lazy in what matters to you.
自分にとって大事なことには手を抜かない。
“Why don’t you speak more in English?”
About 10 years ago, my American colleague asked me while we were drinking beer at the bar in Kuala Lumpur. “I don’t like speaking in front of people”, I said.
That was not true. I lied to him. I just didn’t want to make any mistakes when I speak English — my second language. That feeling paralyzed me and prevented me from speaking English at that time.
I still feel scared when I speak or write English because of the fear of making mistakes. Even now. Because there are people who judge someone by the accuracy in using English (or whatever) language.
And I hate mistakes although I almost always make some kind of mistakes. When someone kindly points out my mistakes, I always feel ashamed and inferior after thanking for their kindness.
Is it a perfectionism? Probably.
The good thing is though, it forces me to learn English as if I were six years old. I just want to be better. Much much better. I can never get lazy.