Collection: OVERWORK

Are you feeling okay? I know that your mind and body are in pain.
First of all, please read the words written here.
They will surely heal your mind.
Please don't be too hard on yourself, and think first about protecting your precious life.

From the teachings of Master Ryuho Okawa, I have selected a prescription for the mind that is necessary to relieve fatigue.

Live a better life, not a perfect life

 

 

What is important is trying to live a better life, not a perfect life. You must tell this to your mind.

However, by saying this I am not suggesting that you can study half-heartedly or work in a disorderly fashion.

When I say, “You do not have to live a complete or perfect life,” some people may take too lenient an attitude believing that it is alright if their work is not the best they can do and act on that assumption, only to be reprimanded by their boss afterward. They may then get depressed and feel the urge to commit suicide.

So, to prevent this from happening I would like to make it quite clear that I am not recommending that one studies or works in a lax manner.

But if any of you are suffering remorse in your soul, severely blaming yourself for some reason to the extent that you are unable to sleep at nights, I want to tell you that you should not strive just for perfection.

Eighty percent perfection is fine; somehow try to get through this difficult time. It is important to choose a better life, rather than a complete and perfect life, a life without fault or blemish.

While you are aiming to develop spiritually toward Buddha or God, you are not a Buddha or God Himself. As long as you live in this world, you cannot avoid making mistakes every day and experience suffering. So you should aim to live a better life.

While we humans are the children of Buddha and God, we are imperfect, awkward creatures in this world. We should know this and accept ourselves as struggling to live. You are allowed to be like that since you are currently undergoing soul training and are studying in the school of the soul. It is important that you bear your imperfection and nurture a forgiving heart.

 

From "The Laws of Great Enlightenment" by Ryuho Okawa

 

 

Giving yourself a reasonable break is also a form of wisdom

 

The most common specific cause of a slump is overwork (overexertion). Therefore, when you are about to fall into a slump, it is necessary to think about "how long you can last with your current physical, mental, and intellectual strength," and review your action plan and schedule for the week or month ahead.

If, as a result, you feel that it is too much for you, there is nothing you can do but to take a moderate break. If you think, "This schedule is a little dangerous for my current physical condition," you should take a moderate break in advance.

Sometimes you may have to work sleepless nights, but it is important to take reasonable breaks in order to keep a good job for a long time. You can make up for the time off with another day of work.

It is better to land, refuel, check the aircraft, and fly up again than to fly low and then wobble along, just above the ground.

Know that "giving yourself a reasonable break is also a form of wisdom."

 

From "The Art of Influence" by Ryuho Okawa

 

 

Live a Life of Preparation

 

 

Many of today's problems actually come from physical and mental fatigue.

If there was no fatigue, 80% of our worries would disappear. I believe that the majority of our troubles consist of fatigue. If so, the prevention of fatigue is a very powerful force in the prevention of worries.

The best way to prevent fatigue is to try to avoid it. To do this, do not try to solve a large difficult problem all at once, but rather divide it into smaller pieces and put them away one by one. It is also important to rest well before exhaustion sets in. It is important to rest well.

There are numerous people who say, "I'm so poor mentally that I can't rest because I can't be lenient to myself." Such people push themselves until the very last minute. However, the secret to a long life and to continue working for a long time is to devise a way to "rest your body as early as possible once you have reached a certain point."

Also, if you are a busy person who has work that must be done, you need to devise a way to modulate your work. It may be important to give all your energy to every task, but this is not a method that will last for long. I think it is important to devise a way to "focus on the most important things and let the less important things go easily.

In short, the question is how to create margin. If you think about it, you can come up with any number of ways to create leeway. What lies at the foundation of this is to try to prepare in advance. It all comes down to "living a life of preparation."

 

From "the heart of work" by Ryuho Okawa