Doodle

 

Get what you need, even if it’s not fun.
必要なものを手に入れよう。たとえ楽しくなくても。

 

People say, “English is fun”. But this was never the case for me.

When I was a kid, I didn’t like studying English. But I did it anyway and got a perfect score on an exam. Because I had to. When I went to the United States, learning English was a real pain in the neck for me. But I worked on it and became good enough to communicate. Because I had to.

When we learn a new skill, the skill itself does not necessarily have to be fun. Public speaking. Chopping something with a knife. Adobe Photoshop. Plumbing.

We learn a skill when we need to use it and get the outcome we want. And we successfully acquire a skill if we want it so badly and keep learning no matter what happens. It doesn’t matter if it’s fun or not.

 

 

Your calling doesn’t always call you.
あなたの使命があなたを呼ぶとは限らない。

 

If someone says “this is how to find your calling” without listening to you, the person is lying. Or they just talk about their way to find their calling. Most likely, it’s different from yours. And there’s no quick fix.

Face your true self. Or find someone who helps you do so. Dig deeply into yourself. When you think is enough, delve more deeply into.

Quite often, no matter how hard we work on, our true self refuses to be found. It might take a lifetime. But that’s okay. This is our life. No need to compare it with others.

 

 

Embrace changes in relationships.
人間関係の変化を受け入れよう。

 

Either intentionally or unintentionally, people keep changing. People come and go. So do you. That’s the law of the universe.

Today someone might unfriend you on Facebook. Or ignore your post on their timeline. Or unfollow you on Twitter. Or delete your contact information from their address book.

But that’s okay. You don’t need to be offended. You would see them again when they really matter to you. Or you really matter to them. Just keep moving forward.

 

 

Avoid brainwashers.
洗脳を仕掛けるものを避けよう。

 

I spent more than 50k dollars for self-development programs. The majority of them are a con. That’s what I learned.

There are millions of people and companies that try to brainwash us in this world. They say, use this. Eat this. Read this. Believe this. Join a community. Get rich quick. And they try to get paid.

The problem is, while some of them do this with good intensions, the others don’t. We need to distinguish saviors from fakers.

This takes practice. Being deceived is one of the most effective ways to learn how fakers are. But don’t spend too much money. Start small.

Every day, consider every single expenditure as an experiment. Check the cost and the benefit. Be mindful of the outcome of the spending. That tells you the truth.

 

 

Accept contradiction.
矛盾を受け入れよう。

 

We all have contradiction in a sense.

I saw a business person told in public that having a growth mindset is essential to be a leader. It seems that he considers himself as a leader as well.

In short, a growth mindset is a belief that we can develop ourselves at any time. The opposite is a fixed mindset, a belief that all skills and talents are given.

One day, the same business person called someone “born genius”.

Now the question is, what kind of mindset does he have? Probably both. Although he thinks of himself as a leader who has a growth mindset, what he unconsciously says reveals his fixed mindset.

This is nothing special. We do the similar thing all the time. Binge eating while going on diet. Talking about teamwork while bullying someone. Focusing on efficiency while doing ineffective things. You name it.

We just need to find and accept our own contradiction. No need to blame ourselves. Accept it, figure out what we really want to do or be, have a plan and move forward.

Also we need to accept contradiction of others. We have no right to blame them. We human beings are all incomplete. That’s why a growth mindset has an important meaning.