When did "doing your best" come to mean gritting your teeth?

Hello. I am Tokuri Hoshiya, representative of SESHEN, an acupuncture and massage clinic in Yoyogi-Uehara.

I often tell my clients the following:

"Please do not try too hard."

Many people feel confused or uncomfortable with these words. Some even feel a sense of resistance.

I think that is understandable.

Many people have lived by rules such as:

• "You have no value unless you try hard"

• "You are only rewarded if you try hard"

They have lived within such rules.

Believing in those rules, they have worked hard to get this far. That is why, when told "you don't have to try so hard," it is not so much that they don't understand, but rather that they would be troubled if they did understand.

What was all that effort for? Was that suffering all in vain?

Because such questions arise.

However, this is a very important point, so I will dare to say it clearly.

You do not need to try hard to be rewarded.

This is not about morale or indulgence. In fact, there are many cases where the result remains the same whether you try hard or not.

"It goes well because I tried hard"
"It goes wrong because I didn't try hard"

Such simple cause-and-effect relationships hardly exist in reality.

Then, what makes the difference?

It is very simple.

Where are you focusing your energy? That is all it is.

When people continue to pour effort into a direction that isn't enjoyable,
they burn out before seeing any results.
Energy dries up, and you can't keep going.

Conversely,
'It's fun,' 'I didn't realize how much time had passed'—
in directions where you have that feeling, energy flows without needing to force it.

In this state, people naturally focus, absorb, and improve.
This isn't about willpower; it's how the brain works.

When trying to master something,
many people try to 'do their best'.

But in reality, the brain has
overwhelmingly higher learning efficiency
when it is enjoying itself rather than gritting its teeth.

If I had known this in my student days,
I would have learned things much more easily and quickly.

But if you're realizing it now, that's fine.
It's just a matter of choosing again from here.

That is why I want to ask you this.

• What are the things you can pour your energy into without feeling miserable?

• What are the things that make you tired, but that you don't dislike?

• What kind of time leaves you with a sense of fulfillment after it's over?

That is where you should use your energy.

Even without forcing yourself to get motivated,
even without needing to pump yourself up,
there is always a direction that naturally moves forward.

Especially at the start of the year,
we tend to push ourselves, thinking 'I'll do my best this year,' but
if you try too hard at the start of the year, that year is likely to become a 'year of constant struggle'.

That is why I want to make a proposal.

Let's make 2026 a year where we don't 'do our best'.

Relax,
look at the direction,
and let your energy flow toward what is fun.

Just by doing that, reality changes in surprising ways.

Because,
your Charm Center™️ will begin to activate.

Not 'doing your best' does not mean being lazy.
It means taking responsibility
for how you use your own energy.

When you do that, energy is poured into your Charm Center™, and
it begins to move naturally.

I hope you will nurture that feeling this year.

That is all from the field.

When Did “Doing Your Best” Become Clenching Your Teeth?

I often say this to my clients:

“Please, don’t try so hard.”

For many people, this sentence feels uncomfortable.
Some even feel resistance toward it.

That’s understandable.

Most of us were raised under a rule like this:

• You must try hard to be worthy

• Effort is what makes you valuable

You believed in that rule and pushed yourself all this way.
So when someone says, “You don’t have to try so hard,”
it’s not that you don’t understand—it’s that understanding would be inconvenient.

If effort wasn’t necessary,
what was all that struggle for?
Was the pain meaningless?

These questions naturally arise.

But this point matters, so I’ll say it clearly:

You don’t need to try hard in order to be rewarded.

This isn’t spiritual idealism or indulgence.
In reality, there are many cases where results don’t change—
whether you strain yourself or not.

“Trying hard leads to success.”
“Not trying hard leads to failure.”

That kind of simple cause-and-effect rarely exists.

So what actually makes the difference?

It’s very simple.

Where your energy is directed.

When people keep pouring energy into something they don’t enjoy,
they burn out before results appear.
Energy dries up.

On the other hand, when something feels engaging—
when time passes without noticing—
effort isn’t required for energy to flow.

In those moments, people naturally focus, absorb, and improve.
This isn’t mindset talk.
It’s how the brain works.

When learning a skill, many people think, “I need to try harder.”
But the brain actually learns far more efficiently
when it’s enjoying the process than when it’s forcing itself.

If we had known this in school,
learning would have been much easier and faster.

But knowing it now is enough.
You can choose differently from here.

That’s why I want you to shift the question from
“What should I try hard at?”
to
“Where does my energy flow without resistance?”

• What can you invest energy in without feeling crushed?

• What tires you but doesn’t feel wrong?

• What leaves you quietly fulfilled afterward?

That’s where your energy belongs.

You don’t need to motivate yourself forcefully.
You don’t need to reset your willpower.
There is always a direction that moves naturally.

Especially at the beginning of a year,
people tend to decide, “This year, I’ll work harder.”

But when you start a year by pushing yourself,
that year often becomes one long stretch of strain.

So here’s my proposal:

Make 2026 a year where you don’t try so hard.

Relax your grip.
Check your direction.
Let your energy flow toward what feels alive.

That alone can change your reality dramatically.

Because this is when your Charm Nexus™ begins to activate.

Not trying hard is not laziness.
It’s taking responsibility for how you use your energy.

When you do that, energy naturally gathers at your Charm Nexus™—
and begins to move.

I hope you cultivate that sensation this year.

That’s all from the field.

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