Are you having a hard time every day because your work is not going well?
We have gathered some words here for you to read.
We hope that your tense mind will be eased.
May your suffering become a little lighter.

From the teachings of Master Ryuho Okawa, I would like to share with you some of his teachings on how to proceed smoothly with your work.

Believe In Your Unique Mission

 

Attempting to replace your life with someone else’s only gives rise to suffering.

When you fall into that trap, remember that the right person should be given the right job. Also remember that there is a job somewhere that is appropriate to your abilities. By carrying out that job earnestly, your life will also be fulfilled, and it will also lead to helping others live a happy life.

Humans are like the tools of a carpenter. They perform best work when each tool is used for the right job. Like the tools of the carpenter, all of us have different roles.

Ask yourself what kind of role you have in this lifetime. Then, you will begin to see your mission in this life. Find your calling and within it, make yourself excel in a way which helps you accomplish your mission. Remember, do not try to replace your life with anyone else’s.

 

From "I'm Fine Spirit" by Ryuho Okawa

 

 

If You Find Trouble At Work, Exercise!

 

 

Whether you can continue your work and start with vigor again the next day depends on your physical strength.

Of course, you need both working skills and physical strength but without physical power, you cannot continue working. When you are lacking in physical strength, your decisions will become pessimistic.

You will be pessimistic about relationships with others and think more and more negatively, leading to the feeling that your future in work is dark.

If you are physically strong, you will have a bright outlook on your future. You will think that it is possible to fix relationships and that good things will happen at work and in life.

The causes for difficulties that people face at work might actually include a physical reason. If that is true, the solution would be to first start by improving your physical fitness.

 

From "I'm Fine Spirit" by Ryuho Okawa

 

 

When "you’re kicking your feet but they aren't moving forward," endure the time

 

Promotions and transfers can be triggers for depression, but they are not necessarily all bad in the sense that it can serve as a "fresh start" in one's life.

For example, anyone who continues to do the same job for a long time will be able to do it well, but if they suddenly switch workplaces or given a higher position, they will be temporarily unable to do the job. If a regular employee becomes a manager, he or she cannot suddenly do the job of a manager. So, once you are underwater, you are in a difficult situation.

But you have to think of it as a kind of growth for you. You have to work hard with the goal of "somehow surfacing and getting your head out of the water in about six months.”

Until then, I think it will be really painful.

It will be very painful until your head comes out of the water and you can breathe with a sigh of relief. It will probably feel like you’re running on the sand of a river bed, something that will keep you feeling powerless.

For those who have suddenly and unexpectedly been transferred, promoted, etc., on the job, they will usually feel like they are running on sand for the first six months, as if "you’re kicking your feet, but they aren’t moving forward."

This is a difficult time, but there is no other way but to endure the time anyways.

You are not alone in such a situation. Everyone experiences the same thing. Therefore, do not be defeated by the pain of not being able to work. It will feel very tough for about six months.

You’re being tested now, "Can you stand not being able to work as well as you did before? Will you be able to endure the low self-esteem?" You must endure this period and slowly make a turnaround.

It is not possible to suddenly turn things around in a single stroke, and progress can only be made gradually, but when you cross a certain stage, you may suddenly become able to do it with ease.

It is important to be able to endure the hard times until then.

 

From "Super-Absolute Method for Health" by Ryuho Okawa

 

 

How to deal with the problem of "not getting along with your boss," which is a common problem for confident people

 

 

It seems to me that the majority of people who suffer from an inability to get on with their superiors have excessive pride. They do not agree with their boss's way of doing things or they decide how they should go about achieving a particular result only to find that their boss holds an opposite opinion. Or, perhaps they think that they have done a good job but their boss does not rate it very highly.

People who have had experiences of this kind will tend to feel frustrated. They will not want to work under that person anymore and will express a strong desire to change departments. However, that kind of thinking will do them no good if they expect to survive in the same corporate world.

Of course, luck has a role to play to a certain extent. If you work under a good manager, you will be able to work hard and create real achievements whereas if you do not get on with your manager, you will not be able to do your work so well. This is fate and there is no way of avoiding this in the business world.

As a basic rule, however, you will not be able to achieve success unless you are able to get along with your direct superior and this is a fact. Of course, you may be lucky enough to find another path opening for you, but it will not lead to great success.

One of the hindrances to good relations with your boss is a strong ego.

Check and see if you are too self-centered or too assertive. You need to know that a company does not exist to appreciate the characters of its staff members. Its purpose is to survive as an organization while aiming to develop itself further, and it is not there to permit your personal assertiveness.

The superior that you criticize as being incapable of performing his job well has been put in his post by higher level management.

So what is your opinion of the executives of your company? I do not know what your position is within the company, but your boss has people above him who judge his performance.

For example, if a Section Chief is not very good at his work, the General Manager or Directors should be aware of the fact. And having reached their present rank, these people are in a position of much greater trust than you in the company. If they are happy to leave the Section Chief in his post, it must mean that he has some redeeming features.

 

From "The Unhappiness Syndrome" by Ryuho Okawa

 

 

A young employee's proposal is usually rejected the first time

 

Many superiors will immediately reject your ideas at first, regardless of the quality of your proposal. They may say to you, “This is still your first year here,” or “You've only been working three years with us,” or “Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?” Your superiors may do this if they notice that you have a precocious personality and worry that accepting your input could incite jealousy among your senior colleagues.

Therefore, even if your superior dismisses your idea with a loud “no,” you should not take it to heart. Don't give up, and keep insisting assertively. If you are the most persistent one, then no one will have a reason to complain if your superior decides to accept your idea in the end.

So if you ever find that your opinion is rejected, remember that it could be because immediately accepting an idea from a new employee could invite jealousy from older colleagues who might then harass you.

 

From “Think Big”by Ryuho Okawa

 

 

When you are not sure about changing jobs, stay in your current position

 

 

Put simply, my advice to people who are uncertain whether to change their job is this: “If you cannot make up your mind, stay where you are. If you are in the midst of anxiety, you do not need to make a move yet.” In fact, if you are unable to make up your mind, it means that you do not have a real intention to move and you have yet to come to a decision.

In this case, you should keep making efforts in your current situation for another six months to a year and concentrate on building your inner strength. This may mean that you give your best in your current job, or build up your store of knowledge and information in case you should ultimately decide to move. Or, you could polish your skills and adopt new techniques to be active as a good all-rounder.

When it really is time to move on, you will know. You will feel that you cannot bear to remain in your present job another day and have to find something new, or something will happen that will force you to leave whether you like it or not. It may be that a “Bodhisattva” appears in the form of your superior and you find it impossible to work under him, thereby making your mind up for you. Somebody may appear to make your life difficult in this way, but actually this is something to be grateful for. Yet another case may be that you are under so much pressure from your family that you are left with no option but to leave your present job. Either way, something will happen to drive you into making up your mind to change jobs.

Therefore, when deciding whether or not you should change jobs, it is essential that you look carefully at your current situation to see whether you feel a strong desire to do so welling up from within, or whether you are being driven into a corner by some outside force where you have no choice but to change jobs.

Then once you have made your decision, act upon it swiftly. Stand up bravely and embark on your new career. While you are still undecided, it is best to stay in your current situation, but once you have made up your mind, you must be brave, allowing yourself no further doubts, and move on to the new path wholeheartedly.

With regard to the kind of job you move to, I can only say that you should not expect too much from it. Do not think of it as some wonderful paradise where you will be able to find true happiness. If you do, you are sure to have regrets. Whatever kind of job it is, you must do your best to exercise your abilities, and do your utmost to make a success of it without blaming your environment. It is only when you decide to make an effort on your own that a path will open for you.

So, do not expect that only good things to come out of it, or that you will be paid a little more. Rather, consider whether you can carve out your path on your own at the new job, and whether you are truly determined to do so.

 

From "The Unhappiness Syndrome" by Ryuho Okawa

 

 

Find the meaning of having been born into this world through your work

 

When you look quietly inside yourself, if you feel a sense of passion and calling for your work and a feeling welling up saying that you've been born to do this work, then this work is, indeed, the work that's suited to you. You're very likely to succeed if this is true for you.

On the other hand, if your current job is one that you're itching to leave, you won't become very successful in it even if you force yourself to keep going. Also, some people who are working in jobs they aren't suited to already know what kind of job is perfect for them. If this is the case with you, it's clear that you're not in the job you belong in, and you should consider a career change. But please bear in mind that there are also people who dislike working in the first place, and these people have very little chance at succeeding, no matter what they do. Society contains a certain percentage of such people.

In the end, to advance one step up in your work capability, first you're required to feel passionate about your work. That means feeling deeply that this work will bring your calling to fruition, fulfill the destiny you were born with. If you have thoughts that say, “Through this work I can be of service to the world; I can do something for the world in repayment. Through my work I will accomplish self-realization and live in devotion to other people and the world,” then, you will steadily become more capable in your work.

But if this is not the way you're able to think about your work, and instead, you think of it basically as a temporary job, you won't become highly capable. If you think, “I'm not interested in getting better at my work; but I want to get a higher salary every year. I'll be happiest if I'll get a raise every year, even if I don't become highly capable at what I do,” there is almost no possibility for you to become capable in your work. Feeling passionate about your work means that through your occupation, you're able to let the meaning of your birth into this world come to fruition.

It's important to feel in your heart that through your current work, you're contributing something to the world.

It can be called your sense of mission. There is a huge difference between people with a sense of mission in their work and people without one. Those without a sense of mission who are trying to get through the world making easy gains won't understand you, even if you lecture them. In response, there is not much you can say to people like that other than, “You'll have to judge the results for yourself at the conclusion of your life.” What's important, first, is to feel passionate about your work. Through your work, you must try to find the meaning of having been born into this world, of living this life, which lies behind the passion you feel for your work.

 

From “The Laws of Happiness” by Ryuho Okawa