Why We Keep Fighting for "Someone Else" Even When It Hurts

5 Days with My Boss and Lake Ashino

Sometimes, I think human beings make absolutely no sense.

We fake smiles and listen to people we can’t even stand.
We carve out our own time to do things we don’t even want to do, just telling ourselves, “Well, if it helps them, I guess I have to.”
We have no idea if we’ll ever get anything in return.
Honestly, most of the time, we don’t.
And yet, people still desperately try to give something to others, struggling to get something back in the process.

Why do we keep showing up?
Even when it hurts, even when we’re suffocating, even when all we want to do is run away.
Who are we working for?
Why do we push ourselves so hard for someone else?

I just spent five chaotic, non-stop days working with my boss.
And then, standing there looking at the quiet surface of Lake Ashino in Kanagawa (which is also a holy site for Evangelion fans, by the way), I stopped and just thought about all of this.

And I realized what that core driving force is. It’s our capacity for gratitude.

We are standing here today because of countless blessings we’ve received.

Genuinely scolded when we needed it, allowed to take the lessons we wanted.
Given a safe home. Supported endlessly by people who never opposed my dreams and who still watch over me right now.

Actually feeling the weight of that—realizing that you are on the receiving end of daily compassion and unconditional love.
I think that is the very reason we keep pushing through the pain.
It’s the reason we keep going.

A life of just “taking” gets boring fast.
Eventually, you get sick of it.
And the second you are thrown into an environment where you can’t “take” anymore, you freeze.
You won’t be able to take a single step forward.

That’s why, starting now, while I’m still 23, I want to be someone who feels the true value of the things given to me for free.
I want to be deeply grateful for them, and I want to be someone who actually gives back.
It can be through visible “results,” or just everyday “actions.”
It could just be living earnestly, staying humble, and refusing to let arrogance take over.

In the end, sure, I’m fighting for myself.
To become who I want to be. But I can’t build the materials or the environment for that completely alone.
I absolutely need the support of others.

There is absolutely no downside to saying “thank you” too much in this world. Voicing your gratitude doesn’t lower your worth.
So why not just smile as big as you can and tell people exactly how you feel?

Lake Ashino gave me the time to return to my roots—to rethink human connection, sensitivity, and the raw power of gratitude.

I guess I need to thank this quiet place, too.

Who is the person you want to say “thank you” to today?
Don’t just tell me in the comments. Today, I want you to actually open your mouth and say it out loud to the person right in front of you.