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Or, perhaps today you intend to do nothing more than drink beer and watch cat videos on YouTube.
Every moment of your life is either a test or a celebration.
Your brain exists to help you survive, not to thrive.
You may have noticed that your most glorious life failures did not result from just one problem. Rather, they originate from a “thousand little cuts”—a thousand little ruinous decisions that come together to create a quagmire. If you learn to recognize these infractions before they accumulate, then you can put a stop to them—preventing undesirable circumstances from escalating into situations that are detrimental to your aspirations.
Do you rise from bed with gusto—eager to take on new projects and meet new challenges? Or, do you close your eyes in sorrow—sickened by the thought of spending yet another day at the office?
In the Okinawan language there is not even a word for retirement. Instead there is one word that imbues your entire life, and that word is “Ikigai.” And, roughly translated, it means “the reason for which you wake up in the morning.” For this 102 year old karate master, his Ikigai was carrying-forth his martial art, for this 100-year-old fisherman, it was continuing to catch fish for his family—three times a week… The Institute on Aging actually gave a questionnaire to…these centenarians, and one of the questions was… “what is your Ikigai?” And they all instantly knew why they woke up in the
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If you find yourself returning to one occupation again and again, perhaps this truly is your Ikigai.
I need to go back to my flower exercise from What Color is Your Parachute.
It’s been estimated that (for large corporations) as many as 75% of new hires are mismatched in their careers—assigned to jobs that do not align with their skills or disposition.
The reason that video games succeed in garnering our attention and spurring us to action is because they offer a reliable challenge and reward system.
When the player’s current skill level is low and the task is difficult, then the player experiences anxiety. His mind exits the flow state, and he sulks in frustration.
your work results in some modicum of value to the world (i.e., if you know how to fulfill a need, quench a thirst, alleviate pain, or make people smile) then: You are important. Your product is important. And you provide value to the world.
Goals require action to accomplish.
So, we devise reasons to defer the labor that is required to learn it. Of course, this avoidance strategy applies to other domains too: We don’t know if we’ll like the city we’re considering moving to, so we put off calling the realtor. We don’t know if the girl in our class would ever go on a date with us, so we put off asking for her phone number. We don’t know if our business proposal will result in praise or mockery, so we put off telling anyone about it.
In observing this dichotomy, Dostoevsky concluded that work is “hardest” when it is meaningless. He wrote: It once came into my head that if [someone] desired to reduce a man to nothing, to punish him atrociously … [then one could do so by putting him to work at a task that was completely useless]. Hard labor … presents no interest to the convict; but it has its utility. The convict makes bricks, digs the earth, builds… [And sometimes] even the prisoner takes an interest in what he is doing. He then wishes to work more skillfully, more advantageously. [However, if the prisoner is forced to]
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If you don’t see any genuine value in the fruit of your labor (other than pleasing a parent or a pocketbook), then your mind may exist in a state of perpetual conflict. You will forever be struggling to get your lower brain to follow your orders. You’ll have to keep devising pretenses—little lies used to coax yourself into believing that a life of pointless penny-pinching is a life worth living.
Nothing will grind the gears of motivation more vigorously than the belief that the fruit of your labor has real, lasting, and important value—both to yourself and to others.
When you do, you might notice that they are quick to cite the many challenges that they have encountered throughout their journey. If you ask them if they “like their job,” they might be more apt to describe it as “fulfilling” rather than “fun.” As the American poet Dorothy Parker said: I hate writing, [but] I love having written.
Some comic artists hate drawing, but love telling a story.
Instead, our lives are burdened with a thousand little depravities, a thousand little sins, or a thousand little cuts.
Perhaps you are fortunate enough to be surrounded by goodhearted people—dynamic, intelligent, and generous souls who genuinely wish the best for you.
I am sorry to all of the nontoxic people I have cut out of my life.
Quests are easier to complete when we’re surrounded by like-minded comrades who are willing to march in pursuit of mutually beneficial goals. As the old self-help adage states: We are the sum of the five people closest to us.
Is any man afraid of change? What can take place without change? What then is more pleasing or more suitable to the universal nature? … Can you take a hot bath unless the wood for the fire undergoes a change? And can you be nourished unless the food undergoes a change? And can anything else that is useful be accomplished without change? Do you not see then that for yourself also to change is just the same, and equally necessary for the universal nature?
Sometimes, it is only by digging up the past that we can understand the present.
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Our failures in life are usually the result of a long chain of poor decisions.
What could I have done to handle today’s work situation better?
Allow your mind to devote ten minutes of raw cognitive processing to this single question, and try to avoid thinking about other topics until the timer rings.
Remember, the point of this process is not to punish yourself by merely cataloging your many faults. Rather, it’s about learning to recognize and prepare for future circumstances in which you are prone to recidivism.
But Hansei is not about beating yourself up. Instead, it’s about making your life better by identifying areas that need improvement.
Our minds are laden with psychological triggers—negative emotions that attach themselves to memories like parasites to a host. As we dig up old memories during a session of Hansei, undesirable emotions (like anger, rage, frustration, jealousy, or sorrow) may be concomitantly unearthed.
Most new goals are abandoned soon after they are created.
By invoking this incrementalist strategy, we hope to actualize “tiny victories,” which will in turn coax the mind into accepting that our efforts are yielding fruit.
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
While we will never achieve perfection, there is great value to be garnered in our devotion to its continual pursuit.
Are you too tired to pursue your side projects after your long evening commute?
That would be me.
An ideal workday is one in which you complete all of the objectives that are under your control.
Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.
This is why, with Kaizen, we have stressed the need for a commitment to daily progress.
This is why we study Kaizen. We aim to thrive, not just to survive.
What small step could I take today which may (in the long run) improve my situation?
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.
People are good at recognizing the value of a finished product. But lousy at discerning the number of steps required for its construction.
intuition
Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.
What small step could I take today which may (in the long run) improve my situation?
Richard Powell
My Dad’s name. 🥲
