Hello.
Don't be choosy about what you do.
This is a phrase that I have taken to heart as a reminder to myself that I tend to think "I want to do this, I want to do that" or "I don't want to do that".
The idea behind it is that there is something to be learned from anything, as long as you set your own standards and don't deviate from your main goal in life or your moral standards.
So I've always tried to find the fun in the work I've been asked to do, and when I've had to do something that didn't conform to my own beliefs, I've taken responsibility for it by submitting my resignation and walking away, rather than being selfish.
There was an incident a long time ago that made me think about whether this stance of not being picky about work applies to all career stages.
It wasn't a job, it was a conversation over a drink.
Not a second of my career is wasted.
I was the youngest member of a community that had been together for more than 10 years, and as usual, I was the organiser.
As I started to call out to people individually, one of the leaders of the group said to me, "Why don't you stop inviting ________? I was told.
I was a little surprised, because he doesn't usually say things like this that might alienate people.
I was a little surprised. I asked him jokingly, "Why would you say that?
he responded "You know, Kono-kun, I'm almost at the end of my career. I want to make the most of every drinking session and have a good time. I know it's not mature, but I'd like to have a drink with my close friends. I know it's a bit immature, but I'm hoping people will understand.
I see. So that's how it is. I was a little over 30 at the time, but I understood it in my head.
A "change of mind" in the middle of the career
As time went by and I reached the stage in my career where I could objectively be called "middle" in terms of age, appearance and social standing, I came into contact with various advice, comments and books from my seniors, and someone introduced me to a new book titled "Career Design for Working People" (PHP Institute) by Professor Toshihiro Kanai of Kobe University.
Career Design for Working People (PHP Shinsho)
The book is written by a renowned scholar, but the content is very practical and I was impressed by many parts of it.
One of the most interesting sentences in the book was: "People who are in their forties or fifties and still have a good work ethic are often selfish. It's not just selfishness, it's aspirational selfishness. I'm not saying that it's good not to be selfish, or that selfishness is good, so it's difficult to write without being misunderstood, but a career without bad selfishness seems to me to be an important thing.
You have to be patient and persevere. This is not in itself worthwhile.
It is worthwhile to persevere in order to achieve one's goals, but to persevere not to achieve one's goals is "bad gaman".
Bad Gaman and Meaningful Gaman
In the early stages of your career, it can be difficult to distinguish between bad and meaningful perseverance. If you ask a senior colleague for advice, more than 80% of those who take you seriously will tell you to "try three years first", which is well-founded advice.
On the other hand, I now have a sense of why the person in the previous example, who is also at the turning point of his career stage, said that he would cherish even one drink.
He must have decided that sharing a table with someone he didn't like was "bad gaman".
As we move through the stages of our careers and lives, if we are to spend the same amount of time, we must choose what is meaningful at that time, what we can offer value to, and invest our time, the most precious resource of all.
That's what I've been thinking about this?
