What can we learn from Japanese culture regarding our American pursuits?

Appreciating simplicity, sensibility,space and other lessons from my trip to Japan.

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” - Ernest Hemingway

---

This article is a part of my series called “Weekly Agenda” where I encourage not only thinking, but provide action items for you to implement into your business practice. These articles are sent out most Mondays. Find more here.

---

I recently visited Kyoto and Tokyo with Origins of Spirit, a joint venture from Bailee Bruce and Deanna Reed. When preparing for my trip to Japan, our retreat leaders prepared us a document with tips on how to best adjust to the culture.

In my research I found an article about kaizen that a lot of these tips aligned with, but two in particular stuck out to me.

Kaizen: The Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement.As a philosophy, kaizen promotes a mindset where small incremental changes create an impact over time.

Japanese people strive for excellence in all that they do, and giving a tip after a service would almost be seen as an insult.

We were advised not to tip at restaurants or when receiving a service. The idea that the worker would only be at the top of their game in order to receive money, rather than the honor to serve, would go against a majority of the people in Japan.

This is such a large contrast to America, where every interaction with a service is immediately prompted with a suggestion of a tip. These are often on an iPad screen, with an awkward non-acknowledgement from the person flipping it your way. We are so accustomed to poor service, but also many of us know how the average person in the service industry is not paid a livable wage. This fact leaves it up to the customer to ensure that even a rude barista gets 15% on top of the expensive latte and $1 upcharge for alternative milk. As a customer, a former waitress, and a business owner I hold all of these points of view and I recognize the issue is complex.

The idea of excellence in all that you do, is not inherently a Japanese idea, but they do seem to embody it very well- the kaizen. Ideally the barista would be paid a living wage and would not feel resentful for showing up to work every day. Maybe the consumer would appreciate the process of making tea or coffee and would be understanding of the energy it takes to crank them out all morning. If we all embody our own excellence, we could be more respectful of others and then when things do go awry, you will know its not for lack of trying.

The second stand out tip for our trip was to bring plastic bags for trash and our own shopping bags.

Public trash cans are few and far between in even the biggest cities in Japan.

This piggy-backs on the idea of excellence, and that there is a responsibility for yourself that requires you to take care of your trash when you are done with it. It is expected of you to carry your trash in your bag until you get home. I am sure this results in less trash overall. When you carry the responsibility for an empty water bottle or snack wrapper, you will be more cautious with almost everything you buy. You have to plan ahead to eat at home or bring a bag big enough for your day. 

In the week+ I was in Kyoto / Tokyo, I saw one piece of trash on the street. It was 5 am, I was jet-lagged and taking a walk, and happened upon an empty soda can. The litter was such a stark contrast to the clean and empty streets, it made me feel unsettled. I picked it up and carried it in my bag until I was able to recycle it.

I couldn’t help but think of a montage of public trash cans I’ve seen all over the US overflowing with garbage. Sticky, gooey, rotten… no wonder the rest of the world thinks we are disgusting and entitled; we behave like toddlers. I thought a lot about these differences in my return flight home, and the experience of Tokyo airport in comparison to the Houston airport was symbolic for me.

---

“When you’re living in a very quiet place, when you’re remembering, when you’re savoring an image, when you’re allowing your mind to calmly leap from one thought to another, that’s a poem.” - Naomi Shihab Nye

While in Japan, I read a book about 17th century poet, Matsuo Bashō. Haiku (or hokku) is a very specific type of poetry, one that requires a lot of space for the poet and for the reader. Most of Bashō’s poems are about his life in Japan and the ideas are rooted in observation of the natural world, as well as Zen philosophy.

These themes of stillness and the simple pattern of his poetry reminded me of a concept I heard of few years ago, yutori.

Yutori: The Japanese concept of spaciousness. The idea of having enough time and space to live with peace of mind and enjoy life without unnecessary pressures.

There is no question when walking down the streets of Kyoto that yutori is in effect. The design is minimal, there are pockets of green spaces near every busy space, it’s clean and everyone is so quiet and polite. I felt like I was living inside of one of Bashō’s famous haikus. 17 syllables, with space to think and breathe. A poem is held by the feelings around it, more than the words inside of it. You don’t have to explain it, you don’t have to paraphrase it, you just hold it and it holds you in return.

The kaizen, and devotion to excellence often comes before dedicating the yutori, or the space for peace. This showed up all over during my time in Japan, in poetry, a break for tea, riding the subway, on a hike, and when shopping and dining. As a business owner, it has me meditating on what I can do- not only keep in my own excellence, and space in my life, but to provide space for others. There is a responsibility when offering a service and/or a product, to maximize your utility and for the customer trade of resources to be worthwhile. This might not be the best tactic in our capitalistic society, but I believe it better for the collective.

Weekly Agenda, 18/52

April 29, 2024

Is your business, or creative pursuit, sensible for you?

The cliche of the American CEO, void of empathy and running on empty is not an attractive goal for most people, even the ones who are in that position. How did they get there? Check in with yourself periodically and slow down where you see necessary. Before you can audit your business practices, take a look at how you are running the business of your daily life.

01. Write out your current daily routine and take notice of the lack of time between appointments and tasks.

Notice the areas of your day that cause stress just when thinking about them. For me, the 10 minute drive to drop my kids off at school is a huge mental load. If I only allocate 10-15 minutes for the load up and the drive, I end up frustrated and feeling resentful. When I am intentional on leaving the house 30 minutes before, we can take the city streets instead of the highway, listen to Taylor Swift and sometimes we even sneak in a drive-thru car wash. It requires more effort on me up front, but I am much happier with the extra time. I know that my boys will remember our mornings and I am responsible for how these memories are made.

02. Write out your dream day and take notice of how it differs from your current day.

Are there any places you can modify your schedule? Maybe you can block out time away from your desk for lunch, or one day a week leave a few minutes early. A lot of employers are open to hybrid work schedules, or people shifting their 8 hour work day. It never hurts to ask.

If you are self-employed, or taking care of young children, the schedules might seem more flexible, but in reality have the same chains of a standard job. Where can you simplify, or delegate?

03. Pinpoint who is in the way of your own excellence and peace with your days.

Once when I was a child, I was lamenting about my little sister getting what she wanted over me. My papa said “Beanie, the squeakiest wheel is going to always the grease”. This was my first lesson in giving my power away. Of course, in this instance the grease was my Grandmother’s attention, but I thought I was being “good”, by never speaking up for what I wanted. This has been a lesson that I have had to learn time and time again. The worst relationships will get most of your attention and the clients that can emotionally manipulate you will get your billing hours. You will never win with this cycle! (I am speaking to myself as well) You might not be able to remove these people from your life, but acknowledging the behavior and distancing yourself from it will recover your sense of self and allow you to put that energy into a better place.

04. Schedule 90 minutes of focused time, followed by 30 minutes of defocused time.

Scientists say that optimal human focus ends at about 90 minutes. Centering your day around a 90 minute block in the morning and a 90 minute block in the afternoon followed by 30 minutes of defocus work has been gaining attention because of high-level achievers and Andrew Huberman’s work. Using the 90 minutes for 1 task, or project, will keep you focused and give you time to get into flow. The 30 minute defocus follow-up can be used for answering any calls, texts, emails that popped up in that time, or to knock things off of your todo list. Because you have pinpointed your “squeaky wheels” above, you will not allow them to disturb you during these focus times. In the grand timeline of humanity, the telephone has been around like 3 minutes, the text can wait.

05. Add time in nature, movement and meditation to your day.

10 minutes, or 2 hours, spending some time outside will add peace to your day. Taking 5 minutes to meditate in your car before walking into work will reset you. Going on a walk, or to the gym before writing always gets rid of those imposter syndrome whispers for me.

Hiking up Mt. Kurama, the birth place of Reiki and home to the King of the Tengu.

Would love to hear any changes you want to make in your daily life, as well as if you’ve travelled to Japan.

Love, Britta

Ps: Please read or listen to Your Life Is A Poem - On Being with Naomi Shihab Nye. Naomi goes over her poem Kindness, and when a student in Japan taught her about yutori.

Right now, IN-ORBIT is free to all readers. Please show support by liking, commenting on this Substack post, as well as our Instagram posts that speak to you. Your interaction shows me that what I am doing is worthwhile, and can help inspire future writings. Thank you for reading.

My name is Britta Newton-Tarron and I have been working in social media marketing since 2012. Years freelancing in design and marketing led me to start my own boutique creative agency, which I paused at the end of last year. This new project, IN-ORBIT is my avenue to discuss all things branding and marketing with curiosity. We will navigate together how crafting a brand is writing your own mythology. We will stay in tune with the seasons as we rotate in our orbit, and you can learn how to harness your own gravitational pull.