Why Overthinking Doesn't Resonate (Is "Let's Think" a Showa-Era Concept?)

Five years ago, I wrote an article like this.

Why is it that my content
is so sharply divided into "love" and "hate"?

On a day when that question suddenly popped into my head,
I went out into the city alone to scout.

What kind of things are "popular" in the world right now?
I went to a large bookstore to look for clues.

The first thing that caught my eye
was a "watercolor painting kit."

However, it didn't require any paints or brushes.
On paper slightly larger than a postcard,
something resembling paint was already applied,
and by simply tracing it with a brush dampened with water,
a beautiful watercolor painting was completed in an instant.

A kit that lets you "feel like you've painted a watercolor" without failing.

I see, I thought, this is a tool that provides
a "sense of accomplishment."

When you think about it,
this is true for cooking, music,
hobbies, and everything else.

The ingredients, seasonings, and recipes are all provided,
and if you just follow the steps as they are,
you can make professional-tasting food "at home."

No failure. No effort.
Yet, there is a sense of achievement.

Such designs exist in many fields today.

A "sense" of having exercised.
A "sense" of being organized.
A "sense" of having achieved something.

It doesn't have to be the essence.
But people want to "feel" like they've done it.

Perhaps such "experiences" hold
great value in today's society.

When I thought that,
“Ah, this is the reason why my messages are being avoided,”
it strangely made perfect sense.

I am surely saying,
“Let's think about it,”
“Let's broaden our perspectives,”
“Let's go ahead and fail.”

I want to deliver not a sense of accomplishment,
but a sense of depth.

But honestly,
it wouldn't be strange at all
if people vaguely found it 'a hassle'.

Of course,
there are probably people who feel,
“That's complicated,”
“You're overcomplicating things,”
“Aren't you overthinking this too much?”

Even so,
it is precisely within that 'overthinking'
that I have found the contours of myself.

That is exactly why I am still writing today.

Lately, I've been wanting to write pieces that are fun to read,
the kind where you think,
“Oh, I just happened to hear something good.”

But still,
I also have this lingering desire
to go beyond the period with people
who can enjoy the idea that 'thinking is interesting' together with me.

It's okay to be complicated, isn't it?
Because for me, that's what's fun.

That's what I thought about on an afternoon at the bookstore.

And now, reading this over again, I felt like I got to know myself a little better, thinking,
Oh, I see, so this is what I was thinking about back then.
I felt like I got to know myself a little better.

It had momentum and charm,
it was a little sulky,
but I must have really wanted to get the message across.

Even now, five years later, "overthinking" is still
at my core, but
the way I deliver my words has
changed slightly with my age.

It might be similar to the feeling
of finding an old photograph in a desk drawer.

So that a lingering impression
gently remains with the reader.
What I "want to convey" has not changed.

Well, people don't really
change that easily, do they?