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“Be lazy.”
Shigeru Mizuki
Translated for this article from “怠け者になりなさい,” one of Shigeru Mizuki’s seven principles of happiness. This is not an official English translation.
You planned to take it easy. Then the laundry became cleaning, cleaning became shopping, and sitting down brought a new question: “Have I forgotten something?”
Even on a day off, there seems to be a very diligent manager inside your head.
Here is my own everyday reflection on Mizuki’s words.
Rest does not need a performance review
A fulfilling day off can quietly turn into a list of assignments: finish a book, exercise, tidy the room, prepare for next week.
None of these is wrong. But not completing them does not make your day a failure.
An unproductive hour does not automatically deserve the name “wasted.”
Stop supervising your quiet moments
Drink tea. Watch the view from a window. Listen to music without planning what comes next.
You do not have to justify every pause as preparation for working harder later.
“I feel tired” or “I want some quiet” can be enough reason to remove one thing from your schedule.
Choose one thing not to do
Responsibilities do not disappear. Still, something can often wait.
Choose one nonurgent task to postpone—and resist immediately filling the space with another.
That is how I would like to carry these words into today.
Offer your hardworking self a chair.
“Come on. Sit down for a while.”
You do not have to earn every moment of your day off.
Quotation source: J-CAST News: Shigeru Mizuki’s seven principles of happiness (Japanese).