Lessons I’m Taking Home From Japan

I have spent the last month in Japan. There are 3 life lessons from my time there that I wanted to share with you. I hope they are of benefit to you.

Lesson 1: Embrace Silence.

The Japanese people are known for being quiet. Everywhere you go this is evident – whether it’s in restaurants, public transport, tourist destinations, etc.

In our western culture we spend so much time filling gaps with noise and distractions. The TV and our phones make it easy to never need to be alone with our thoughts. We do anything to avoid the silence.

I think this is because most of us are afraid to be alone with our own thoughts. Why is this? Our thoughts can’t hurt us unless we attach meaning to them. 

Ironically the more we observer our thoughts, the less power they have over us.

I think of thoughts as akin to our heart beat. Thoughts just pop up one after the other, just like our heart beats one pump after another.

The thoughts don’t have to define us, we can just let them arise and then dissolve.

It’s our actions that we should define who we are, not our thoughts. By embracing silence we can gradually become more comfortable with our own thoughts and ultimately ourselves.

How to do this? Meditation is the obvious answer but it’s also about being conscious of not just filling gaps with noise. Be ok with being in silence. Be ok with not being distracted by your phone every moment of every day.

Lesson 2: Accept your body as it is. 

The Japanese Onsens are everywhere. These are large public baths (with men and women divided), usually filled with naturally warm mineral rich spring water.

It is a requirement of entry to go in naked and the Japanese seem very comfortable with their bodies.

In western culture being completed naked with strangers is not a common event. 

It struck me during one of these naked bathing sessions that I have spent decades being uncomfortable with my body (I turned 40 last week).

What a waste of energy to not be ok with our bodies…. when they are still (even with the onset of AI) the most complex and incredible machines on the planet.

Right now your body is performing a thousand different processes you aren’t even aware of. It deserves our awe… not our condemnation. 

I resolved in that moment to become comfortable with who I am. To accept my body how it is.

As long as I am exercising regularly and eating well – why shouldn’t I be ok with my body just the way it is? 

Focus on being active and feeding your body the food that makes it perform at its best (think super foods)… the rest is out of your control.

I have a mantra at the moment that I tell myself multiple times a day, whenever I think of it, I invite you to adopt it if you too don’t feel great about your body. 

It is: “My body is perfect just as it is”

The mantra is true. I can walk. I can lift things. I can breathe. I can smell. I can hug my loved ones. Perfect is an understatement!

Let’s try it for 30 days and see if we can change our perception of ourselves. It’s never too late to accept and love ourselves.

Lesson 3: Being organised makes life run smoother

We are all trying to fit so much into one day, I fell like we just run around all day trying to get everything done. It can be so tempting to repeat the same tasks everyday without thinking about how we can perform those tasks more efficiently.

The Japanese are famous for their level of organisation.

You see this playing out at busy restaurants, on public transport and at tourist destinations. 

The trains run on time. Busy restaurants don’t have long wait times. Tourist destinations have 100,000s of people visit every day.

It all seems to run like clockwork because there are great systems in place.

Having systems in place for how repetitive tasks are performed can make your life run so much smoother. It allows you to be more efficient with your time and devote less energy to daily tasks. 

What does this look like in practice? Well it depends on your individual circumstances.

Start by being aware as you perform the same tasks you do over and over again and ask yourself “is there a way I can perform this task more efficiently?”

In my own life there’s a ton of examples I can give you:

• Watering system for the chickens that fills up automatically each time it rains
• Using prefilled template responses for common questions we get via email
• Cooking extra to freeze for future meals
• Taking business calls whilst weeding the garden or driving in the car
• Creating an ongoing to-do list on my phone 

What are the actions you will take based on the lessons above?