I face surgery as a surgeon, data and hypotheses as a medical researcher, and my own limits as a triathlete, continually pushing myself forward.
At first glance, these may seem like completely different worlds, but within me they are connected by a single axis.
That axis is this:
“Not letting my abilities end with serving only myself.”
Everyone is born with certain strengths and talents, as well as roles shaped by their environment.
When you seriously commit to fully expressing those gifts, something curious happens.
Even though you are pursuing results, the question of “how great am I?” gradually fades away.
When a surgery goes well, when research moves forward, when I achieve a goal in a race—
none of these are ever the result of my efforts alone.
They are the outcome of accumulated work, the support of others, the environment, and timing—
many elements overlapping at once.
When you truly understand this,
there is no longer a need to boast by comparison with others, nor a need to feel anxious.
You can simply, calmly focus on “fulfilling the role entrusted to you today with everything you have.”
Training, research, and surgery are, at their core, the same.
They are all practical answers to the question of how one uses their share of ability within society.
In nature, no living thing survives on its own.
Everything influences and supports everything else.
Human beings are no different.
One person’s effort becomes another person’s progress,
and one’s actions can unexpectedly become a source of strength for someone else.
There is no need to strain under the belief that
“I must accomplish something great.”
Simply, in the field you have been given,
do not cut corners, act with integrity, keep learning, and keep refining yourself.
By maintaining this posture,
decisions become surprisingly simple,
and even in difficult situations, you can keep moving forward.
For me, self-discipline and self-cultivation are not about displaying myself.
They are about continually aligning my abilities with my role.
Not about making myself look bigger than I am,
but about using myself fully and correctly.
This is what I continue to learn every day, in both my professional work and my training.