Ronin Series 8: What a Ronin Should Protect Before Results

To start with the conclusion, the thing you should protect first in your life as a Ronin is not the results, but your "ability to keep going."
Passing or failing is important. But if you break down before that, it becomes difficult to even reach the results.

When you are a Ronin,
"Results are everything"
"It's meaningless if you don't pass"
There are many moments when you think like that.

I was the same.

If you chase results too much, your heart will wear down first.

If you are too conscious of results,
you start to feel as if the outcome of your day is your own value.
• I didn't make progress today
• I couldn't understand
• I couldn't concentrate

Just because of that,
"Today was a bad day"
is how you judge it.

But in a Ronin's life,
results don't come every single day.
If you use results as your standard, the number of days you can't evaluate positively will increase.

What you should protect first is "not breaking down"

What is truly important for a Ronin is
not to stop completely along the way.

To that end, what you should protect is:
• Being able to sleep
• Being able to eat
• Having the capacity to return to studying

These are all modest things, but
if these collapse, it takes time to recover.

A story about pushing myself too hard

I used to think,
"If I rest now, I lose"
"I should be able to do more"
and I kept blaming myself.

But as a result,
sitting at my desk became painful in itself.

Looking back now,
I think I was wearing myself down while trying to protect the results.

Changing the standard of what to protect makes things a little easier

At one point, I changed my standard.

Instead of "Did I get results today?"
I asked, "Did I finish the day without breaking down?"

That was all.

Even if my study volume was low,
even if my feelings were heavy,
if I didn't give up on the day, I called it okay.

Then,
the hurdle to returning to study lowered.

To those who are still anxious (an easier option)

For days when you still feel anxious, wondering "Is this okay?"
please just be conscious of this one thing.

Whether you can use yourself today for tomorrow as well.

If you can use yourself, that is enough.
A Ronin's life is also a game of leaving yourself in a state that you can pass on to tomorrow.

Summary

What a Ronin should protect first is,
• More than results
• More than ideals
• More than evaluations

is the self that can keep going.

Results will follow at the end.
Before that, it is far more important that you do not break down.

It is okay if today ends heavily.
The fact that you are continuing as a Ronin has real meaning.