This series focuses on "resilience," a keyword for surviving the times with flexibility. This is the fifth installment, and we will be talking to economist and Associate Professor at the International University of Japan, Mr.Shinichi Yamaguchi, and General Manager of ITOKI's Advanced Research Division, Kazuhiro Ohashi, about "tips for increasing resilience."
Keep things positive. Keep gratitude at the core of your being!
Ohashi: In order to increase resilience, it is important to first stay positive. However, given the current situation, many people tend to fall into negativity.
Yamaguchi: When we think about the causes of negative thinking, we always come to the question, "What is happiness?" In other words, if you are "happy," you are less likely to fall into negative thinking.
So what is happiness, anyway? Many people may think of "annual income" or "health," but research has shown that being proactive in trying new things and having good relationships with others, such as family and friends, actually increase happiness.
In my research on online flame wars in 2014 and 2016, I found that people who post critical comments online are surprisingly often people with high annual incomes or who hold positions of senior or senior manager level or above. Similarly, research on overbearing complainers has also found that they tend to have high incomes and high social status.
Ohashi:So there are people who have plenty of money, but still feel frustrated.
Yamaguchi: That's right. In other words, they are people who think about things in terms of "criticism" rather than "gratitude."
Even if people have the same annual income, some people feel happy about it, while others think they should earn more. For example, some people feel happy about their family's support, while others think they don't want a family that doesn't fulfill 100% of their wishes.
People who think critically about everything tend to have negative thoughts. Some people may feel lonely because they can't get used to teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic, but I would like to take the plunge and try to be grateful for this new situation, thinking of it as an opportunity to expand my possibilities and reform my repetitive work. If you focus on gratitude in this way, you will naturally think positively.
Ohashi:That's true. I also think imagination is important for resilience. Even when looking at the same thing, there are two possibilities: you can imagine it as positive or negative. Seeing things in a positive light may mean giving your imagination a variety of options.
For example, when faced with a problem, if you can imagine various solutions, such as "This is one way to solve it, but if this solution doesn't work, there's another way," you'll feel better. However, if your imagination isn't working and you think, "This is the only way," or "If this doesn't work, it's all over," you won't be able to "escape" the pressure and you'll end up stressed.
What's more, this "diverse imagination" requires experience and knowledge. If you have little experience, the scope of your imagination will be narrow.
Yamaguchi:That's true. The key is to develop your imagination while gaining diverse experiences.
Ohashi: It's easy to say "diversity," but I think there aren't that many people who can truly think differently. Generally, everyone judges things based on their own experiences, standards, and values, so "birds of a feather flock together." But from now on, I think it's important to imagine diversity in your own mind, tolerate it, accept it, and make use of it.
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The next episode will be the final one in our discussion on resilience.
We will talk about "the thinking of managers who can make good use of the diversity of their members."
What kind of manager can bring happiness in this day and age?
This is a must-see for anyone who feels there are issues regarding diversity!
