Routine over motivation.

How was your day today?

I participated in a charity bowling tournament for work this afternoon.

It had been a while since I last bowled; I think it was the first time this year.

Since it had been so long, I started the tournament wondering how I would do.

Once it began, my first game was truly in top form.

Out of ten frames, I got a spare or a strike eight times.

And I ended up with a score of 195, which is my personal best.

After the first game ended, my name was called as being in first place during the interim results announcement.

I was surprised, as that had never happened to me in bowling before.

What I focus on when bowling is concentration.

As much as possible, once I have the ball, I start walking from the same position.

Then, I start with my left foot and follow a flow where I release the ball on my fifth step with my left foot forward.

As for my gaze, when I start walking, I stare intently at the spot on the pins where I want to hit.

Then, around the third step, I shift my gaze from the pins to the triangular marks on the lane in front of me.

And when I release the ball from my hand, I try to make as little sound as possible.

I release it as close to the ground as I can.

Because of that, sometimes the ball hits the ground while still in my hand and bounces.

However, that is the routine I use when throwing.

Other than that, I only slightly shift my standing position left or right depending on where I am aiming.

And if someone in the surrounding lanes is about to throw, I wait for them to finish before I start walking.

Because when that person is in my field of vision, I simply cannot throw with maximum concentration.

I feel that being able to reach the point of throwing using the exact same movements helps draw out concentration and leads to stability.

And when my name was called during the interim results announcement, I felt a sense of exhilaration.

It was my first time, and I was happy.

However, I felt that this exhilaration might interfere with my concentration.

So, I tried to erase the feeling by thinking, 'I want to aim for a new personal best here!', but it didn't go away easily.

As a result, my score for the second game was 137.

Since my score dropped in the second game compared to the first, I was worried that someone might have taken first place, but

at the results announcement, I found out I had won.

It was an unexpected victory, and I was extremely happy.

The emcee suddenly passed the mic to me, saying something like, 'Now, we'd like to hear a few words from the winner,' and without thinking, I just blurted something out.

I felt that I want to be able to say something witty or make a solid impression in moments like these.

As for my speech, it might have been at the level of leaving five pins standing.

However, there was a prize, and I gratefully accepted it.

The prize was a toaster oven, and since it seemed to be a product provided by our own company, I felt for a split second like I had just taken it back, but I thought it made for an interesting story, so it was fine.

Also, I had a souvenir to take home, so in that sense, I thought it was nice to have won it.

And so, I went home looking forward to telling my family that I had won.

As expected, when I told them I won, my wife was very happy for me.

This time, I wrote on the theme that 'routines create a state of concentration.'

Even if you don't have the motivation for work or chores, I believe that by having your own routine, you can enter a state of concentration.

Once you enter a state of focus, I think you can get work done regardless of how you feel about it.

So, that was the story about how happy I was when I won.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow, too!