The Day You Let Go of 'Anyway'

"Anyway, I'm just..."—there are probably few people who haven't whispered these words to themselves.

When trying to voice an opinion at work, "Anyway, they won't listen to me"; on a night hurt by love, "Anyway, I'm not lovable"; if there's little reaction on social media, "Anyway, no one is interested in me."
Before I knew it, it became a habit, shrinking myself down.

However, there is a certain sense of comfort in the phrase "Anyway, I'm just...".
If you give up from the start, you can avoid the pain of trying and failing. In other words, this is likely a defense mechanism to protect the heart. But the cost is far too high. Because for every challenge you stop taking, you close off your own future possibilities.

In psychology, there is a term called "learned helplessness."
When experiences of effort going unrewarded continue, people learn that "nothing I do matters." As a result, they label things they haven't even tried yet as "anyway, it's impossible." Eventually, the habit of giving up before acting takes hold, and "Anyway, I'm just..." becomes a catchphrase.

However, what we must not forget here is that the word "anyway" does not have the power to predict the future.

The future is never set in stone.

It changes significantly more than we think, depending on chance, timing, and encounters with people. In other words, deciding "anyway" is like casting a baseless fortune on yourself.

So, how can we let go of this habit?
You don't need to have perfect confidence. Rather, it is effective to accumulate small actions and give yourself proof by saying, "Oh, I actually did it."
Try voicing an opinion just once in a meeting. Try confessing your feelings, even if you might be rejected. Try posting just one thing on social media. Those small experiences will change "Anyway, I'm just..." into "Maybe even I can."

Also, the moment you think "anyway," it is good to rewrite that phrase just a little bit.

Change "Anyway, I'm not lovable" to "I am not yet loved." Change "Anyway, I can't do it" to "I am not yet able to do it."

With just one word, the despair of a closed future door turns into an open possibility.

We all carry weakness at times and become timid. But even while carrying that weakness, we can take a step toward the future.
The day will surely come when you can quietly rewrite the night you thought "Anyway, I'm just..." into "Even so, I can."

True happiness cannot be measured by numbers.

The warmth of an experience where you took just one step has far greater meaning than a self-evaluation like a number that has shrunk with "anyway."
The numbers lined up on a page and the evaluations of others are fleeting things. But the feeling that "I was able to do it too" remains in the heart like an unextinguished light.
When we find that light, we will finally be able to discard "Anyway, I'm just...".

The previous #SeriesThatCannotBeMeasuredByNumbers was...

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