It is okay for 'painful' and 'funny' to exist at the same time

Hello, I am Mitsunori Kimura, an expert in Smile Engineering. Please see this article for more on "Smile Engineering."

In the business world,
you will face moments many times where things cannot be resolved with just nice words.

System implementation is not progressing as expected.
You are caught between the exhaustion of the front lines and the gap with the ideal.
Unexpected troubles make you feel like your heart is about to break.

At such times,
"If this painful period passes, a day will come when I can smile again,"
"It is tough now, but there is a smile waiting after I overcome this,"
by thinking things like this, you might try to view the pain negatively
and struggle desperately, right?

Recently, I have been trying to think: "Even in the midst of pain, can't we set the pain aside and smile at the same time? In other words, can't fun exist simultaneously within the pain?" I am trying to think this way.

The coexistence of negative and positive, also proven by the latest brain science

In October 2025, an interesting paper on humor, language, and mixed emotions was published in the Nature-affiliated academic journal 'Communications Biology'.

Recently, it has become easy to
obtain and organize information from overseas, such as papers in English and other languages.
It is a convenient world.

Now, in the research that became this paper,
when reading pun-like humorous sentences containing negative words,
they investigated how the human brain processes "negative emotions" and "fun" with what time lag, using EEG and representational similarity analysis.

Until now, positive emotions and negative emotions have tended to be seen like a seesaw.

When you are having fun, the pain goes down.
When you are in pain, the fun disappears.

Thinking that way, a smile looks like a "state where suffering has disappeared."

However, what this research shows is
a more profound picture of human emotions.

When exposed to humor containing negative words,
a negative reaction first arises in the brain.

After that, a reaction of fun is born a little later.
And what is important is that the fun that came later does not simply erase the negative reaction that was there first.

The research shows that while negative emotions remain, fun is superimposed on them, and there is a time when both exist simultaneously.

In other words, the human brain can simultaneously hold
"painful" and "funny"
"suffering" and "laughable"
"heavy" and "a little fun"
.

This seems to show that what I have been thinking about recently is correct in terms of brain science.

Puns are small experiments in rearranging emotions

By the way, the subject of this research is humor containing negative words, that is, expressions that are enjoyed by shifting the meaning of words.

I believe that there is also a sense of fun in puns.

Puns are not just 'dad jokes.'
Of course, they can fall flat.
The atmosphere in the room might freeze for a moment.

Even so, puns have a mysterious power.

By shifting the sound of words and reconnecting their meanings,
taking you to a slightly different place from the expected context,
the moment a pun is spoken, the brain makes a small movement.

'Wait, what was that?'
'Is that what you meant?'
'That's silly, but I laughed a little.'

This small shift softens the room.
It creates just a little bit of breathing room in a heavy atmosphere.

And it brings humanity back to meetings that have become rigid with nothing but correctness.

I think of puns as a stretch for the brain.
And at the same time, I think of them as a small experiment in rearranging emotions.

Difficulties are not just things to be erased

This insight has very significant implications for the 'Smile Engineering' I advocate.
very significant implications.

When we face difficulties or troubles,
we think of them as'things that should be removed as soon as possible'.

Of course, things that should be improved must be improved.
The burden on the front lines should be reduced.
Inefficient tasks should be changed.
Systems that cause people suffering should not be left alone.

However, at the same time, if we only see difficulties as 'things to be erased,'
we may overlook something important.

It is precisely because there is a difficult situation that people innovate.
It is precisely because there is a tough workplace that people seriously try to change the system.
It is precisely because things do not go as planned that people talk to each other and share wisdom.

And when a little humor or
a little ability to find things interesting is added to that, the workplace changes.

Don't just end with 'That's tough.'
Think, 'Then, what can we do to make it even a little easier?'
While saying, 'This is quite tough,'
look forward by saying, 'But it would be interesting if we could change this part.'

I believe this feeling is very important.

Smiles are not something that only emerge after suffering has disappeared

When we think of smiles, we tend to imagine a state where there are no problems.

No anxiety.
No worries.
No busyness.
No trouble.

Of course, that is the ideal.

However, in the reality of work, management, nursing care, and welfare settings, problems almost never disappear completely.

There are people.
There are emotions.
There are systems.
There are budgets.
There is a shortage of personnel.
There are the feelings of families.
There are local circumstances.

Therefore, if you try to wait until everything is perfect before you smile,
you may never be able to smile.

What is important is not to pretend that the pain does not exist.
It is to find meaning in it even while carrying the pain,
to find something interesting in it, and to move forward.

If the brain can hold "painful" and "interesting" at the same time,
I believe that we, too, are allowed to smile while we struggle.

It is okay to move forward while experiencing conflict.
It is okay to take on challenges while feeling lost.
It is okay to find a little bit of fun while carrying anxiety.

DX is a mechanism to turn on-site pain into smiles

Utilizing digitalization to transform a company is called DX (Digital Transformation).

DX is not simply about installing systems.
It is not about using AI, going paperless,
or collecting data.

Of course, those things are important.
However, that alone is not enough.

DX is an initiative to make on-site pain visible and to gradually turn it into smiles through the power of people and the power of systems.

There is too much paperwork, so there is no time to look at the users.
There is too much double entry, so the staff is exhausted.
Information sharing is slow, so responses are always reactive.
Managers cannot grasp the numbers and are always feeling anxious.

We must not pretend that these on-site pains do not exist.

Rather, we should carefully observe that pain.
Visualize where the bottlenecks are.
Analyze which tasks are tiring people out.
Think about where to create space so that people can work in a human way.

We use ICT for that.
We use AI.
We use data.
We use management engineering.

However, what is ultimately important is the human heart.

"It's tough, but it seems like we can change it."
"It was painful, but it has become a little easier."
"I am now able to face the users more than before."
"I have become able to feel the meaning of this work once again."

I believe that change is the true result of DX.

Creating deep smiles

My philosophy is to
contribute to building a society where everyone can continue to smile
.

The smiles I refer to here are not just expressions of cheerfulness.

They are not smiles that come from ignorance of suffering.
They are not smiles from those who have constantly avoided hardship.
They are not smiles found only in places where there are no problems.

Rather, there are smiles that are born precisely because one knows suffering.
There are smiles that are born precisely because one moved forward while struggling.
There are smiles that are born after people support each other, innovate, and change systems.

I believe these are smiles with depth.

What Smile Engineering aims for is not simply to make people laugh for a moment.
It is to observe the pain in the field, draw out people's strengths, organize organizational structures, and create a state where one can continue to smile.

To achieve this, it is necessary not only to eliminate difficulties but also to have the power to find meaning within them.
And sometimes, it also requires the power to soften the atmosphere with a little humor, like a pun.

Summary

Management, DX, nursing care, welfare, and community development are not easy.

There are times when things do not go as planned.
There are times when words do not reach others.
There are times when efforts do not immediately lead to results.

Even so, it does not mean you are not allowed to smile there.

In fact, the ability to smile in such moments might be the true strength of humanity.

It's painful.
But, it's a little interesting.
It's suffering.
But, something seems likely to change.
It's tough.
But, there is surely a smile ahead.

In this way, people can move forward while holding seemingly opposite emotions at the same time.

The steep path in front of you is by no means a dead end.
There is a view that can only be seen after pushing open that heavy door.

And when we see that view, I believe a smile with irreplaceable depth is born within us.

So, it is okay to smile while struggling today as well.
It is okay to move forward while grappling with conflict.
It is okay to find a little bit of interest within the pain.

I believe that the accumulation of those small smiles will change the field, change the organization, and gradually make society warmer.

Thank you for reading until the end.

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