Memories are unnecessary７
My weapon is reliability. But I can do new things too!!
These are the words of Suga from "Haikyuu."
June 13th was Suga’s birthday.
One hour before the opening of the JUMP SHOP, women wearing Suga goods formed a line, and within about 15 minutes of opening, all the birthday goods were sold out.
Currently, "Haikyuu" goods are increasing in price at a rate faster than the depreciation of the yen.
The rise in prices of "Haikyuu" goods had slowed down since 2021, and in 2022 and 2023, it became rare for the birthday goods of each character to sell out on the same day.
However, with the release of the movie, "Haikyuu" goods started selling explosively, and now the birthday goods of all characters are selling out immediately.
Due to the movie's influence, the prices of items like Kuroo and Kenma, which hadn't sold for very high prices before, have tripled. Moreover, birthday goods of less featured characters like Kita, Suga, and Shirabu have also increased in price by more than three times.
Personally, this week I sold a Kuroo badge, which I bought for 500 yen in 2022, for 9,000 yen.
Most of the buyers of these expensive items are people living abroad.
According to the U.S. employment report last week, the average hourly wage was 35 dollars.
Converting 35 dollars to yen at the current exchange rate, it becomes an hourly wage of 5,500 yen.
For an American earning five times the hourly wage of a Japanese person, a 9,000-yen badge feels like it costs about 1,800 yen to a Japanese person.
Selling to overseas customers on Mercari makes me realize how cheap Japan has become.
“... Really, to be able to lift it from that position. Underhand would have been fine for that.”
“Setters are supposed to set, right? To place the ball in the right position.”
“So?”
“Underhand uses two arms. Overhand uses ten fingers. It’s about supporting it with as many points as possible. Because I'm a setter.”
This is Miyu Atsumu. A jokester and sometimes high-handed, but more sincere and dedicated to spikers than anyone else.
Being on the same team with people who play volleyball like that, what was I doing so half-heartedly... I thought I'd never be called again...
“Even the best in the world will be dragged down if they keep doing the same thing. We haven't even become the best in Japan yet, so what can we become if we just keep protecting yesterday? Try something new today, even if it's just one thing.”
What's the big deal about being second in the nation? Second? Was it third? Either way, it's in the past.
Yesterday is already digested. Many yesterdays have already turned into muscle.
What matters is what you do today.
This is the prologue of Inarizaki High from "Haikyuu"... Memories are unnecessary.
I’m not that type of person.
It’s not like me.
Given my personality, it would be strange if I did that.
I recognize myself as me, and I decide that I am this type of person, with this personality.
So, who exactly is this "me"?
It is you, created by the people, events, and environments you have encountered from birth until today.
This is the "self-image" you give yourself.
What parents, friends, and teachers have said to you, the atmosphere you perceived.
The treatment received from seniors and bosses.
The gazes of people passing by.
From countless such experiences, most people define themselves as a certain kind of person.
I'm not attractive.
I'm tenacious.
I don't want to be thought of as strange.
By limiting ourselves in this way, we maintain our "identity."
It is neither more nor less.
You decide where your comfort zone is, and you feel at ease within it.
This is called the "comfort zone," and just being in it is comforting.
By middle school, groups form within the class.
A-rank students flock with A-rank, B-rank with B-rank, and C-rank with C-rank.
The "comfort zone" feels comfortable, so there is a fear of falling below it.
Similarly, there is also fear of rising above it.
This acts as a barrier to protect your "self-image."
I want to be popular.
I want to increase my income.
I want to stabilize my life.
Even if you think so, your "self-image" gets in the way.
That's why, when you want to level up yourself, you need to elevate your "self-image" as well.
So, what should you do?
The method is to pretend to be the person you aim to be.
Act as if you have already become that person, and live your daily life as such.
By making this a habit, your "self-image" will gradually become the person you aim to be.
This effect is tremendous.
Though I wasn’t conscious of it, I enjoyed living as if I were already the person I wanted to be since high school.
While my friends' future visions were quite ordinary, my future vision was outlandish.
I still hold on to that outlandish future vision and keep leveling up my "self-image" little by little.
The giraffe evolved to its current form by continually breeding long-necked individuals to reach plants that other animals couldn't.
This can be seen as "evolution" or as "optimization of the past."
"Optimization of the past" means eliminating what has failed in the past, reducing options, and optimizing the remaining choices.
In this sense, true "evolution" refers to things like fish coming onto land, penguins diving into the sea instead of the air, and monkeys transitioning from arboreal to terrestrial life.
One monkey living in the trees felt "curious about the ground" and acted on it, which marked the beginning of us humans.
Other monkeys might have thought, "What's it doing?" "There's no food there, it's dangerous," "It should stop."
But the monkey that couldn't help but be curious and boldly descended to the ground became the beginning of us humans.
The goal comes first.
Figure it out as you go along.
Yesterday is already digested.
Many yesterdays have already turned into muscle.
What matters is what you do today.
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