Striving to Overcome Yourself

June 30, 2025

 I was 18 years old when I first clearly recognized the concept of “striving to overcome yourself.” Up until high school, I was just drifting along, and it was when I decided to move to the United States that I started believing in my own possibilities and got serious about making efforts. From that moment onward, I feel that I have been working to exceed my past self. That commitment is connected to this type of striving and has become a coordinate axis of our company.  Not long ago, I asked our staff at one of our Beer Bash events how we could continue in our efforts to overcome ourselves.

• Set goals that exceed your current limits

It takes courage to set goals that your present self cannot surpass. However, there can be no personal growth if you cannot exceed the limitations of your current self. By establishing goals that you may not be able to reach, rather than ones that can be easily attained, you will push yourself forward with a sense of urgency.

• Build on your efforts day by day

In the world of baseball, the real thing that even a great star like Ichiro Suzuki actually does is to practice on a daily basis. Rather than just practicing, of course, the more capable the player is, the more they will recognize what they are practicing for, always being aware of the objectives and significance of their practice as they build on their efforts. In order to actualize your future self, you must constantly be checking whether you are realizing your full potential, and build on your efforts accordingly.

• Enjoy the act of striving itself

The results of your efforts are important, but the actual process of striving is also essential to growth. Working half-heartedly often leaves a vaguely uneasy feeling, but after concentrating fully on a task, even for hours, for some reason, there is a feeling of refreshment. Effort is undertaken for the benefit of customers and colleagues, but even more so for yourself. Effort is a wonderful thing, not just for what it brings about, but for its own sake. We should have confidence that we are people who can keep working hard at things, and seek to enjoy the process itself.

• When you think you may suffer setbacks on your own, engage others

It can be really tough to persevere all by yourself. Instead of exercising on your own, for example, you may be able to work harder by joining a fitness class. That would be a great way to be part of a group that shares the same objectives. Something to be aware of, though, is that there are people in the world who approach things half-heartedly no matter what. You should not allow yourself to be distracted by such people, instead having the willpower and courage to go your own way.

• Be committed to results, but don’t be obsessed with them

As a professional, you are always required by your customers and supervisors to deliver results, and it is natural for those results to form the basis for performance evaluations. That is why we must be fully committed to achieving our goals. Still, no matter how hard we try, there are times when the results of our efforts simply don’t measure up. In such cases, rather than getting agitated, we should thoroughly review what happened, asking ourselves, “Was that truly the best possible approach? Was there nothing else that could have been done?” The point is to focus on thinking through any possible improvements.  As noted in a previous post entitled "Deep Digging,” worrying about things causes extra stress. We should separate our thinking from our emotions, rationally thinking through the relevant factors.

As I listened to the excellent suggestions made by our staff and the various innovations they had come up with, I was impressed with how they are applying themselves day by day. The final thing that came to mind as I took it all in was, “striving to overcome, no matter what.” Especially in our company’s line of work, as we interact with various clients and colleagues, we often encounter difficult problems that we have to solve, one after another. Great work cannot be accomplished with an ordinary mindset. Work should generally be enjoyable, but there are times when things feel tiresome and overwhelming. What is absolutely needed at such times is the inner strength of “striving to overcome myself”. It is only through the process of these efforts that people can grow. I want our staff members to contribute to our company and our customers, becoming mature members of society – individuals who continually strive to overcome themselves.