#164 When you imagine someone's happy face, work becomes fun
Excitement is not just for yourself
When do you feel excited?
I've been thinking about that lately, and it suddenly occurred to me. In my case, the core of my excitement is often the image of someone else enjoying themselves.
Gaining something for myself, being praised, or standing out. Of course, there is joy in those things too.
But more than that,
I think that person will be happy,
If we have this space, everyone will look like they're having fun,
If I can create this kind of time, they will have a great expression on their face.
When I imagine things like that, energy naturally wells up from within me.
Why preparing for fun is enjoyable
This is easier to understand if you think about play rather than work.
When planning a trip. When making plans to play sports with everyone. When deciding which board game to bring along to play.
It's not that the preparation itself is fun, but rather that it's fun because I can imagine the 'everyone enjoying themselves' that lies ahead.
If we go to this place, they will surely be happy. With this group, this game will surely get everyone excited. If I set it up this way, conversation will naturally emerge.
The time spent imagining things like that feels almost like I'm already half-enjoying the event itself.
Work also changes when you can imagine someone's future
Work might be the same way.
If you just complete tasks, work becomes a chore. If you only chase numbers, a sense of obligation becomes strong. If you only solve problems, it can sometimes become painful.
However, when you can see the face of the person on the other side, the way you view your work changes a little.
The customer feels at ease.
Your colleagues can start moving forward.
The team can feel that it was worth doing.
Someone feels a little more energized.
When you can imagine such a future, work is no longer just a task.
It changes from 'I have to do this' to 'I hope it turns out like this.'
In that moment, a little bit of excitement is born within your work.
Doing things for someone else does not mean erasing yourself
However, there is something to be careful about here.
Wanting someone to be happy is different from determining your own worth based on someone else's reaction.
It is nice if the other person is happy.
But just because there was no reaction, it does not mean your own value has decreased.
What is important is not controlling the other person's reaction, but whether you were able to cherish what you wanted to cherish.
You act by imagining someone enjoying themselves.
For that purpose, you think in your own way.
You prepare.
You innovate.
That is not being swayed by others.
Rather, it is closer to giving shape to the wishes within yourself.
Work where you can imagine a happy face is work you want to continue
Perhaps whether work is enjoyable or not is not determined solely by the content of the work.
Whose expression can you imagine beyond that work?
What kind of time do you want to create?
Whose strength do you want to be?
When you can see that, you can sometimes move forward even with difficult work.
Of course, you cannot be excited every single day.
There are tedious tasks.
There are times when things do not go well.
There are times when you feel down because you do not get results.
Even so, you can strangely return to work where you can imagine a future where someone is happy.
What is it that excites me?
The answer to that might lie not only in "what I want to do,"
but also in "whose happy face would make me happy."
When you imagine someone's happy face, work becomes a little more fun.
And I believe that such imagination is the gateway
to incorporating your own voice into your work.