[[Notes]] - Topics: [[Productivity]] - Title: 8 simple Japanese habits that will make your life so much better!! - People: [[Samurai Matcha]] - Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04wZNnjdURE --- ## Summary - CLEAN THE TOILET. It's a humbling ritual that helps you clean and purify your mind, spirit, and your space. - [[Everyone becomes humble when they clean the toilet]]. - The continual practice of cleaning helps you better identify DEFECTS - helps you make incremental improvements across many aspects of your life and your space. - STAY ORGANIZED. [[Organization eliminates the clutter of things and the chaos of the mind]]. - Practice GRACIOUSNESS in all things. [[Itadakimasu]]. [[Okage sama]]. [[Knowing that you're content will bring peace to your heart]]. - [[Act like an owner]]. Perform small gestures to help others. - To start forming habits, start small. Keep saying everyday, "Let's just do it for only today". Overtime, it will become your habit and your future. ## Notes ### 1. Clean the toilet - In Japan, it is said that cleaning the toilet is a great habit that will make your life successful. - Both the founder of Honda and the founder of Panasonic have said that cleaning toilets was really important, and contributed to their success - Cleaning the toilet, which most people DISLIKE, also helps clean and purify your mind. The exercise of cleaning and mind-clearing results of cleaning, can also provide you with interesting perspectives, like [[Cleaning up crap]]. - Perhaps the importance resides in the exercise of doing and ENDURING something you dislike, but you know is IMPORTANT to endure and to do. This helps develop INTERNAL DISCIPLINE while improving your EXTERNAL environment. - There's a superstitious belief that cleaning the toilet will bring you LUCK. Perhaps it is through the purification of your mind and the development of self discipline that will allow you to CREATE YOUR OWN LUCK as you'd be more OPEN TO OPPORTUNITIES and you'd be more likely to take ADVANTAGE of them and to FULFILL them. ### 2. Humble yourself - Cleaning the toilet will keep you humble. (See: [[Cleaning up crap]]). - "[[Everyone becomes humble when they clean the toilet]]. And your humbleness is reflected in your work relationships" - Hidesaburo Kagiyama (Founder of Yellow Hat). ### 3. Organize your room - By cleaning the toilet, and focusing on details, you will become more AWARE of DEFECTS and dirt. - You then become more aware of garbage, resulting in you cleaning and organizing more. The compounded effects of this effort results in a cleaner and more organized living space over time. - By cleaning your toilets in the MORNING, it will feel nice to USE a CLEAN TOILET throughout the day. This SMALL ACTION is a way that you can TAKE CARE of yourself and those around you in a BIG WAY that matters (when nature calls). ### 4. Organize your shoes - [[Organization eliminates the clutter of things and the chaos of the mind]]. It can start by something as simple as organizing your shoes. - Small habits can be connected to positive self affirmations. ### 5. Improve your posture - There is an ancient Japanese way of thinking - [[Correcting the posture of the body, can also correct the thinking of the mind]]. ### 6. Itadakimasu - [[Itadakimasu]] is something Japanese people say before they eat (or they chant within their hearts). - Directly translated to English, Itadakimasu means "Thank you for the meal". - It is the everyday way for Japanese people to REFLECT and show GRATITUDE towards everyone involved in the meal, including those who served the food, those who prepared the food, and those who farmed the food. - It also shows gratitude for life. The life of each living ingredient that you are about to consume in order to benefit your own life. ### 7. Put your chair back after use - This small gesture is a reflection of the Japanese way of being accustomed to thinking of other people's feelings. - If you put the chair back on the train, it'll be easier for the cleaning staff. If you put the chair back at the restaurant, the servers and cleaners at the restaurant will be thankful. - Performing these small gestures to help someone else can help you feel happier - to [[Act like an owner]]. ### 8. Ware tada taruwo shiru - "Ware tada taruwo shiru" is a Zen phrase. It means, [[Knowing that you're content will bring peace to your heart]]. - If you look at what you don't have, you will feel dissatisfied. When you look at what you already have, you will appreciate it more. - [[Focus on what you have, not what you don't have]]. ### 9. Okage sama - On the surface, [[Okage sama]] means "thanks to you". It's a response to the conversational, "How are you doing?" question. - The deeper meaning is to show gratitude to not only the person in front of you, but to others around them - even though you've never met them. - The complete translation would mean, "I'm good, because there are many people who always support me". ### 10. Going to bed and waking up early - It is a simple habit that can positively affect your life. - The Japanese have long valued this habit. In the past, they worshipped the sun every morning. They would start the day by saying "Thank you for always looking over us".