Stop waiting for luck.
幸運を待つのは止めよう。
Luck is not an event; it’s context. Lucky people are those who believe they’re lucky.
For example, some people feel lucky to have a decent job, but some people think they are not lucky if they don’t have the position of CEO.
Luck is something we make our own. And it’s not something to be measured by other’s criteria. Stop waiting for the ‘luck’ that someone else has defined; create your own yourself.
Turn the tide.
流れを変えよう。
In our life, there is no turning back. Literally. We are getting older minute by minute, and there is no way to reverse time. We only have two options—use time or lose time.
But even if you think you’ve been poorly using your time, there is no need to regret. It’s just another waste of your time.
We can always start anew. Adopt a new belief, and do what we want to do from scratch. There is no turning back, but we can always turn things around.
Be sure you know enough.
十分に知ろう。
Over the weekend, I learned how to use Adobe Photoshop at Lynda.com—quite intensively.
I sometimes used Photoshop in the past, and I thought I knew what the application is for. But I was completely wrong; what I knew about the application was just the tip of the iceberg.
As Goethe once put it, knowing is not enough; we must apply. But before that, we have to be sure whether we know enough about something we need to know. Otherwise, our creative capability would be quite limited than what it can be.
Be silent.
静かにしよう。
When your mind gets noisy—it’s often inevitable—you never get a good idea.
Each one of us needs to learn how to quiet our mind, no matter how old we are now, because it will benefit us for the rest of our lives. That will help us avoid making impulsive (and most of the time, stupid) decisions in our lives. That will helps us distinguish what we can change from what we cannot change.
Try to have a silent mind whenever possible. Don’t get upset easily—that’s a monkey in our mind.
Be what you are.
自分でいよう。
We are our worst critics; we tend to judge ourselves too harshly—or avoid getting a fair evaluation.
The former can lead us to killing ourselves. If you have a tendency to do this, remember that you are better than you think you are.
The latter may be a bit more problematic. People who do this live in a fantasy world, and don’t embrace what they actually are. Probably we should let them alone—until they notice that they need to live in a real world.
