"Mr. Iwasu, I've been feeling a bit worried lately because things aren't going well at work. I wonder if I should change jobs."
A woman in her twenties who frequents the counter said this.
I see. That's a problem.
The more I listened to their concerns, the more I realized that their current situation was so different from my own life that I didn't feel there was anything I could say.
Then, later, while I was on the subway going home, a certain word suddenly came to my mind.
"It's better to think that your work will fail anyway."
This is what economist Ken Kusunoki says in his book "Absolute Pessimism."
When I look at social media every day, the people who post on it seem to shine brightly.
I get energized by it and want to work hard. But the reality is that it's nowhere near that sparkle.
I get depressed when I think I'm no good.
People like this are better off thinking, "Work is going to fail anyway."
If failure is a given, you can continue working calmly without being hurt when you actually fail.
When things happen to go well, the joy is heightened.
Therefore, if you keep your basic attitude of pessimism, things will often go well.
That is what I suggest.
When I saw this, I thought, I see.
I've been working for over 20 years now. I've had a lot of fun, but I've also made a lot of mistakes. I get angry a lot, and that often makes me feel down.
When I experience such emotional ups and downs.
I once felt a little better when I realized that "we get angry at people because we have expectations of them."
If you don't have any expectations, you won't get angry. So, without any expectations, just do what you have to do. If it works out, you're lucky.
Now that I think about it, this is pessimism at its finest.
But in reality, things aren't that simple. Sometimes, unexpected things happen and we get angry. We're human.
When something incredibly shocking happens, it's impossible to calmly say, "It's only natural that bad things happen to me. After all, despair is the basis of life."
If I could say, the job that suits me would be not sommelier, but monk.
However, there are times when I feel like I am getting a little closer to being a Buddhist monk.
For example, after running the store for 13 years, I've gotten to the point where things like this don't make me angry.
- A drunk customer breaks a wine glass
- Locked himself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out
- He keeps asking the woman next to him at the counter even though she doesn't want to
After all, experience makes people stronger. After experiencing "Hmm" a few times, you can give up on the expectation that "the business will end peacefully" and realize that "the worst case scenario might happen." Then you can prepare yourself.
For example, when a drunk person comes in. Since there are ranks in the wine glass, Bokumo chooses a player from the second or third string and places him/her as far away from the person as possible.
And then I accept that it's going to break today, but it's a consumable item so it can't be helped. This way, I don't get angry at all.
If someone has locked themselves in the bathroom, the only thing they can do is ask their companion to do something about it. Of course, if that doesn't work, I also consider getting the police involved (I've actually been there).
There are people who persistently invite people even though they don't want to. There used to be occasional cases like that, but now they're almost nonexistent. But I wonder if the recovery from COVID will see a resurgence in the activities of such people.
Ah, what should I do if I think this guy is being too persistent? I think there are various ways to do this depending on the store, but I have a secret strategy. Uhi. I'll write about this another time.
So, at Bokumo, there is now a sense of ease that, even if things develop in a pessimistic direction, it is within expectations.
However, I don't think this is based on pessimism, but rather that as people gain more experience and learn how to deal with situations, they are no longer particularly anxious.
In fact, if we adopt an "absolute pessimistic" mindset and act in any situation, not just inside Bokumo, we may be able to avoid suffering emotional damage even if a huge misfortune befalls us.
But...
In my case, if I get into the habit of always starting out pessimistic, I feel like every day will be dark.
For example, when you're feeling a bit down at home.
Just opening the front door and letting the sunlight in makes me feel optimistic, thinking, "Oh well, I'll do my best today too."
The day when there were no customers and Bokumo was empty. The day when Bokumo Wine didn't receive any orders for wine.
"Oh well, let's move on and try harder next time," I say out loud.
It's really tough when you get into a pessimistic mood and think, "Oh, it didn't work."
However, if you consciously become optimistic and believe that everything will work out, you will naturally find the strength to do so.
I feel like using that power and thinking hard to come up with ways to make things work is what suits me.
It's true that always remaining pessimistic may be the secret to staying calm.
However, in my case, I think it's better for me to blend in some optimism and deliberately cause a little stir for now.
So, what was the answer to the original question, "Should I change jobs?"
This pessimistic thought I had while riding the subway. It's not very helpful in deciding whether or not I should change jobs.
I can't tell her, "Even if you think you made a mistake in choosing the company, it's only natural if you're pessimistic," or "Even if you change jobs, it's not guaranteed that things will go well." If I told her something like that, she would surely lose motivation to work.
And then you mix optimism into that? ... I don't understand it at all. Ah, I'm so useless.
But maybe there's something I can do to help.
a!
There's a professional among my classmates from college!
There is a reliable girl called B who works as a career counselor.
When I contacted them, they said they would be happy to meet with me if Iwasu introduced them.
What a blessing.
A professional in the field can show you how to find specific clues.
After all, the most important thing to have is friends.
It might be helpful to think about how to approach life, whether pessimistic or optimistic, from time to time.
But more importantly, I want to have someone I can trust.
Thank you, B-chan, for staying in touch with me for over 20 years since college!
