I consider myself quite wise, so it was nice to read a book that broadened my thinking and provided much food for thought. For instance, I have been impressed by how Japanese people devote their lifetimes to mastering one craft, which is inextricably linked to their ikigai. However, this book introduces the readers to impactful people who are making a difference via their portfolio of passions. Passions as a plural noun. It heartened me to learn that dividing my time among various interests may not be a waste of my life energy - if I judiciously combine them into something that matters to me.

Next is the observation that successful individuals often have passions that serve as lifelong obsessions. The authors themselves spent 10 years interviewing people and extracting their insights for the purpose of this book. Sure, I have stuck at my marriage for ten years, but I have otherwise rarely persevered at something that requires long-term commitment. I think it’s because the novelty and dopamine that come with shiny new ventures grip me by the heart and make me pause all other pursuits. I get bored quite easily, and nope, I don’t know how to fix it or whether I should embrace this quirkiness.

I also derived much value in reading about how 3 dyslexics coped with their condition. I learnt that they distilled complex ideas into simple, bold concepts. This goes against my conditioning as an ex-GP tutor, in which my value is judged in terms of whether I can handle multi-faceted, interdisciplinary issues. But I think I am embracing this kind of thinking very fast. So, instead of giving my dyslexic student emcees a script to read for next week’s Spelling Bee, I asked them to remember key words because I wanted them to speak from their hearts. Keep things short and sweet, nice and simple so that they would relax and let their natural personalities shine through their deer-caught-in-headlights facade. I will tell you whether I succeeded in doing so next week.

If I were to examine myself, I think the thing that really matters to me is promoting Kumamoto as a tourist destination because I lived there for two years and married one of its citizens. I hope that Kumamoto gets a larger share of the tourism pie. But because I don’t live there now and seldom get news about its development, it’s hard for me to blog about Kumamoto consistently. I need to think about how to fuel this passion.