The Scenery Only Those Who Carry Burdens Can See—People Grow in Proportion to What They Carry.

The essence that changes your life. Chapter 1

How will I live my life?

People will not follow you based on ability alone.

Life is made up of choices.

Humanity is polished through the way we live each day.

So, what is it that makes a person grow significantly?

I believe it is "carrying a burden."

People do not grow significantly just by staying in a comfortable place.

They do not grow significantly just by staying in a safe place, either.

As long as you are only thinking about yourself, there is scenery you cannot see.

Carrying the expectations of others.

Carrying the future of an organization.

Carrying the responsibility for failure.

Standing at the front, even while harboring the desire to run away.

At that moment, people begin to change, little by little.

This time, I want to write about "carrying a burden."

I became a department manager at 33

33 years old.

Only four months had passed since I became a manager.

That was when I was appointed as a department manager.

Around me were people who had been managers for years.

I could not say that my experience, track record, or popularity were sufficient.

Honestly, I was surprised myself.

Was I really the right person for this?

That is what I thought.

The people around me must have thought so even more.

Why is he the department manager?

Even if it wasn't spoken aloud, that atmosphere was painfully clear.

People drifted away.

There were few people I could consult with.

It felt as if every word I said was being put to the test.

If I made a decision, I was watched.

If I hesitated, I was seen through.

If I made a mistake, I was blamed.

I was in the midst of such tension.

I was lonely.

It wasn't just once or twice that I wanted to run away.

It was too soon for me.

There were nights when I thought that.

But the option of running away simply did not exist.

This is because it was no longer just a problem for me alone.

I did not want to betray their expectations.

Since I was entrusted with this, I have no choice but to do it.

There are people who chose me.

There is a boss who believed in me.

There are people who decided to entrust this to me.

I wanted to prove that their judgment was not wrong.

That is what supported me back then.

It was not because I was expected to do well that I worked hard.

I worked hard because I did not want to betray their expectations.

This difference is significant.

Expectations are sometimes heavy.

They are painful.

They are frightening.

There are times when you want to run away.

But expectations have the power to lift a person to the next level.

If it were only for my own sake, I could run away.

I can't do this anymore.

This isn't for me.

I might have been able to say that and step down.

However, when you carry someone's expectations, you cannot easily run away.

That person believed in me.

That person entrusted me with this.

That person bet on me.

When I think that, I am able to hold my ground.

Carrying a burden is not something only strong people can do.

I do not want to betray the person who believed in me.

That feeling can sometimes push you forward.

My body was at its limit.

Back then, I worked harder than anyone else.

I went to the office early in the morning and worked until late at night.

Even when I got home, I could only think about work.

Every day, I only slept for about three hours.

When morning came, I would wake up with intense nausea.

Will I be able to go to work today?

There were mornings when I thought just that.

My body was at its limit.

Looking back now, it was by no means a good way to work.

I also think it should not be turned into a heartwarming story.

It is not a way of working I would recommend to others.

I should have relied on others more.

I should have solved things through systems more.

I should have admitted my limits sooner.

There are parts of me that think that.

But at that time, I didn't know any other way.

I was clumsy.

I was immature.

I didn't even understand the difference between carrying a burden and bottling it all up.

Even so, I never thought about quitting.

I didn't even think about taking a break.

That is because I wasn't the only one suffering.

The entire organization was suffering.

Someone had to stand at the front.

And I was the one entrusted with that role.

I wanted to change an organization that had no hope.

The organization at that time had no hope.

It won't change anyway.

It's useless to say anything.

Working hard won't be rewarded.

That kind of atmosphere covered the entire organization.

An organization that people have given up on quietly withers away.

Voices fade away.

Challenges cease to exist.

People start avoiding responsibility.

Fearing failure, no one steps forward anymore.

I thought to myself.

I want to change this organization.

No,

I must change it.

It wasn't confidence that I could do it.

It was the realization that I had no choice but to do it myself.

That was my resolve.

So, I went to the front lines more than anyone else.

I listened to more people than anyone else.

When a problem arose, I was the first to step forward.

Before blaming the person who made a mistake,

I decided I would go first.

That was what I had decided.

I don't know if it was the right thing to do.

I think there were better ways to do it.

However, I knew one thing for sure.

If the leader is behind, the organization will not move forward.

Because there is someone standing in front, the atmosphere changes little by little.

Because there is someone who does not run away, people begin to look up little by little.

The moment an organization changes

Little by little, the organization began to change.

At first, it was just one person.

Then two.

Three.

Before I knew it, the number of allies had increased little by little.

I will do it with you.

I will do it too.

Let's give it a try.

Words like those began to be heard.

I saw the moment an organization changes for the first time.

It was not something that changed all at once with a loud command.

It was not something that changed in a single meeting.

It was not something that changed with polished documents.

It was the accumulation of small daily actions.

Someone steps forward.

Someone takes on the responsibility.

Someone faces it without running away.

Seeing that, someone else steps forward just a little.

It was a chain reaction.

At that moment, I became convinced of something.

People do not change through words alone.

They are not moved by logic alone.

People change by watching how others live.

When you see someone truly carrying a burden,

people's hearts begin to stir, little by little.

Carrying a burden is not something glamorous.

I like the word "carry."

But carrying a burden is not something glamorous.

It is painful.

It is frightening.

It is lonely.

If you make the wrong decision, you cause trouble for many people.

A single word from you can hurt someone.

Your decisions can change someone's future.

That is why I hesitate again and again.

I struggle with things over and over again.

That is still true even now.

Those who carry burdens are not always filled with confidence.

If anything, they are filled with anxiety.

They know what it is to be afraid.

They know the weight of responsibility.

Even so, they simply do not run away.

I was not able to carry these burdens because I was strong.

I carried them because I did not want to run away.

I stood at the front because I did not want to betray expectations.

Responsibility is not something that is forced upon you by someone else.

In the end, I believe it is something you take on yourself.

People grow in proportion to what they carry.

Looking back, my life has changed whenever I have taken on responsibility.

No, to be more precise,

it has changed whenever I have taken on someone else's expectations.

I am entrusting this to you because it is you.

Those words made me happy.

At the same time, they scared me.

But more than that, I did not want to betray those expectations.

That accumulation is what makes me who I am today.

What was it that helped me grow the most in my life?

It was not my ability.

It was not success either.

It was not even a major failure.

It was the responsibility I carried.

It was the expectations entrusted to me.

People do not grow by taking the easy path.

People grow in proportion to what they carry.

And that view,

can only be seen by those who carry the burden.

Even so, I stand at the front.

I am not a strong person.

I still get lost even now.

I still suffer even now.

I still make the wrong decisions even now.

There are days when I want to run away.

There are times when I truly wish someone else would take my place.

Even so, I stand at the front.

If someone has to do it, I will do it.

If someone has to carry the burden, I will be the one to carry it.

That is the way of life I have chosen.

Of course, from now on, I want to carry it together with my companions rather than bearing it all alone.

Relying on others.

Delegating tasks.

Supporting one another.

I believe that is also a strength necessary for those who carry burdens.

However, the one thing I never want to change is not running away in the end.

Someday,

"I was able to overcome it because you stood at the front back then."

If I can live a life where people say that to me,

I know of no greater success than that.

That is why I want to continue standing at the front.

Not because I am strong.

And not because I never waver.

But because I do not want to run away from the life I decided to carry.

── Flow Thinker R.