Dear Reader,

Happy new year! I hope you had a wonderful time with loved ones this holiday season. I personally got to spend a lot of time with family this winter, which I’m very grateful for.

I took it for granted when I was younger, but every year I feel I’m able to enjoy it with new appreciation.

Should we have a new year's resolution?

I always have conflicting thoughts about new year’s resolutions.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for goal-setting and challenging ourselves to new things in pursuit of health, happiness, and wellbeing. But setting a resolution has often felt like an exercise in finding what’s wrong with myself, and identifying a part of me that needs to change.

Is there something wrong with me?

If you’re generally a self-confident person, engaging in constructive self-criticism is usually productive. But someone who is self-doubting may struggle a bit more. So what’s the balance?

Well, like most of my thoughts I’ve turned to nature for some insight.

I've kind of come to see resolutions like this:

Plants need water, clean air, sun, nutrient-rich soil, wind, etc. to thrive. A plant is not “bad” if they are struggling because they are missing something.

Humans also need some things to thrive— nutritious food, exercise, rest, meaningful connections with loved ones, to build a foundation of health. But we also may need other things to thrive in professionally, spiritually, creatively, etc.

So we go look for what we need!

Instead of approaching resolutions with the perspective of what is lacking about myself and how to fix it, I’ve come to approach it by considering what I am missing, or what I might need more of, to thrive.

This helps me focus on action, rather than outcome.

For example,

• “I will thrive better if I cook at home more often. I will look for a meal kit I can try for a month, to at least become more familiar with cooking.”
• “I would feel more confident in my skin if I exercised more often. I know I struggle with accountability, so I will look for a personal trainer to help guide me in the beginning.”
• “I would feel more energized if I slept more regular hours. I get tempted by my phone easily, so I will try buying an e-reader so I can read before sleeping instead of looking at my phone.”

In essence, it’s not that different from traditional resolutions— but the perspective of giving myself what I need rather than fixing what is wrong has helped me feel more at ease about pursuing my personal endeavors rather than pulled along by a sense of shame or guilt.

If anything, I hope this perspective makes the pursuit of health and wellbeing a bit more joyful for someone.

What are your thoughts on new year’s resolutions?

Do you have any— why or why not?

Warmly,

Kaki

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A challenging start: Ishikawa earthquake and Haneda flight crash

I want to acknowledge that Japan as a whole had a challenging start to 2024, first with the earthquake in Ishikawa which has killed over 100 people, and then the crash between a commercial flight and Coast Guard airplane at Haneda airport which had killed 5 Coast Guard members.

For a country with incredible safety standards, tragedies like these are always shocking and saddening. My thoughts go out to all of the families impacted, and my gratitude goes out to all first-responders supporting them.

Thankfully all 379 passengers had made it out of the commercial airplane, thanks to advanced aviation technology, a well-trained and brave cabin crew, and a relatively calm passenger group. I believe partial credit is due to a culture that leans toward collectivism, especially in times of crisis (I believe this also helped contain covid-19 in Japan in 2020 when the virus first emerged).

I also came across an interesting comment in the NYT, which I thought was worth sharing, and an insight I also agree with:

In the scope of my personal mission to make personal health and wellbeing accessible to everyone, I think that public safety is vital— it’s not always within our control, but I hope 2024 brings improved changes to our laws, systems, and culture to help make it a reality for everyone.

Thank you for joining me in my little corner of the Internet. Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, healthy, and happy rest of the year.

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