Do What I Want - Tips for Living Your Life

October 2021, the second anniversary of WOMENCANFLY.Co!

In this milestone month, WCF's founder, Kimi, appeared as a guest on the podcast "Do What I Want - Tips for Living Your Life" by Hayapi

You can listen to the episode on Spotify where Kimi appears in Vol. 87. (in Japanese) or read this article. In the interview, Kim was able to talk about her experiences, the struggles she went through before coming to Australia, and how she started WOMENCANFLY.

Following the first half, here is the second half.

If you haven't read the first half yet, you can read it here (first half article).

Podcast「Do What I Want」by Hayapi

Vol.87 of "Do What I Want" with Kimi Aizawa (Transcript)

Whatever choice a woman makes is the right choice but I would like to increase their number of choices.

Hayapi: There are many barriers to being a woman, aren't there? Age, marriage, and so on. I think there are certain things you have to do at your certain age. I want people to rethink about what they really want to get married or have children.

Kimi: I agree. That's why it's important not to be depressed by the words of opposition, but to ask questions about it yourself. Do I really want to get married? If you really do, then you should get married. If you really want to have a baby, it might not good timing to go to study abroad. I use all the opinions from others, to ask myself to find out what I really want to do.

Hayapi: I think that's really true.

Kimi: It's difficult, though. I get a lot of questions from other females who want to go study abroad, and I try to answer them as much as I can without making them regret. At the same time, I feel the importance of saying a few words, because I know that there are times when people need a push. In my case, when it came to why I finally decided to come, I followed my feelings of excitement.　

Hayapi: I think that feeling is really important. I want people to follow their feeling of excitement.

Kimi: At that time, there was a movie called "The Greatest Showman", and if you've seen it, you know that there is a song in it called "A Million Dreams". In the song, the lyrics say that  lying in bed and not being able to sleep because the things you want to do keep popping into your head and keeping you awake. At that time, I couldn't make a decision because I was thinking about what I would do if I couldn't have a baby, or if I would have to break up with my boyfriend at that time, but I was really excited about going abroad. When I heard that song,I couldn't stop thinking about where I wanted to work and what I wanted to do when I went abroad. It was the night I decided to choose the one that excited me. You should see the lyrics of that song. I recommend it!

Hayapi: I really like this song too and was listening to it the other day, but I'll try listening to it again while looking at the lyrics. Recently, "From Now On" (from The Greatest Showman") was a hit song for me and I was listening to it a lot. It's a song about starting from now. Follow your excitement and make your own choices.

Kimi: Choosing for yourself. I'm sure there are a lot of women out there, since you're interviewing them, but whatever choice they make, it's good if they're happy with it. That's what I've come to believe every year. Any way of life is great. I think it's important to take control of your own life.　

Hayapi: I am 100% AGREE!　There are many things I want to ask you, but I have two questions for those of you who have come to this podcast. For you, what does it mean to live life on your own ?

Kimi: Living life on your own means taking charge of your own life. You are the captain of your life. There is no right or wrong answer. It really doesn't matter what kind of life you live, as long as you think "This is it! and you are taking responsibility for your life, then I think that is the best way to be happy.

Hayapi: Is there anything that you are consciously doing for the life that you are steering yourself to?

Kimi: I always try to find a reason in myself. Even if I don't like something, I don't blame the environment or others. If I do that, nothing will change, it's a waste of time and I won't grow. Even if something goes wrong, I think about what I can do or what I need to fix. I always think about that. Also, when I was recently asked from other students "What should I do to be myself?" I thought  that it is also important to know exactly what you like and what you don't like, what you are good at and what you are not good at. If you write it down on a piece of paper, you can help with others if you are good at it, and if you know what you are not good at, you can ask others for help right away. I've come to realise that everyone has different strength and weakness. For example, I like working an environment where I can work hard, proactive and improving. I am comfortable working in a way where I am constantly improving and doing my best, then I know that I am not comfortable working in a place where people are lazy or not improving even a little. It's a maze if you just use words to describe who you are. If you start thinking about it, you won't have an answer right away, so it might be a good idea to write down what you are good at, what you can do, and what you can keep doing for hours. I've been consciously trying to spend time writing lately.　

Hayapi: I like to write on paper too, writing is important, isn't it?

Kimi: It's very important.

Hayapi: Don't just think about it, use your hands, and look at it.

Kimi: Do you write every day?

Hayapi: I'm working on the journal now.

Kimi: Great job!　I know I should do that every day, but I haven't been able to. I recommend writing a letter to your future self when you are worried about something. I highly recommend it. For example, when you have an event and you don't know if you will get sponsors, you write all the things you are worried about now, such as you are worried about if you can get sponsors for your event etc, you should write down everything. By that time, the event will be over, and there will be some results. What's surprising is that the person I was then and the person I am now are in completely different places when you read the letter again. I was surprised at that. I was at such a low point in my life, and now I realise that I had been struggling with something like this. Once I got the feeling that I am doing so well now, and that I am totally fine, I can now predict that I will be fine in three months' time, even when I feel depressed next time.

Hayapi: I think it's really good to write down your worries. When we don't even know what's bothering us, writing it down on a piece of paper makes us realise again that we now thinking this way. As Kimi said, I would like to start writing letters to my future self.

Kimi: I really admire that you keep a journal every day, it's nice to be able to look back.　

Hayapi: At first, it was just a diary, and I used it that way. I started writing it based on my gratitude journal and to see my thoughts. If I wasn't feeling good at the time, write that down too. Doing so, gave me a chance to get to know myself, so I guess it's a relief to have a journal.

Kimi: That's great. We run online seminars called "IKIGAI Workshop" at WOMENCANFLY, where we ask people to write down what they like, what they are good at, what the world needs, and what the world will pay for. In the 60 minutes of the workshop, we focus on writing down what they like and what they are good at. The best part is that they don't often get to write down what they like and what they're good at, so I think it's good for them to take the time for themselves.
The next event will be the sixth (as of October 2021). When I hear what people like and what they are good at, it makes me feel happy too. When you send out a positive message of gratitude to someone, it comes back to you in a positive way.
It's not easy for Japanese people to write about what they like and what they think they are good at. They would ask us, "Is it okay to write this? " - I'm good at drawing pictures, or I always finish my reports by the deadline, or other simple things.- "Isn't that great!" I feel that way, just listening to them makes me happy every time.

Hayapi: In the example, Japanese people are too humble to express their own strengths. Even if you say you can draw a picture, you might think that someone else can draw better. In the end, we compare ourselves to others, and I think it's hard to honestly admit that we can do something. But I think it's important to admit that to yourself. For me to admit it to myself is the driving force to take the next step. It's important to tell myself that it's okay to try. If you admit to yourself that you're good at drawing, then you can think about drawing something like this or designing something like this, then move forward.

Kimi: That's right. When you look at your friends, you can find many good things about them. Maybe it's a Japanese thing, or maybe people are too humble, but it's hard to write down yourself. If it were my friend, I would want to say, "You're really good at that! It's easier to find the goodness in others, so it would be nice if we could feel that way about ourselves as well.

Hayapi: We can see the good in people, but we can't find it easily in ourselves. I think we tend to put off taking time for ourselves. We put our surroundings first. We tend to prioritise having fun or going out to eat, and it's hard to find time for ourselves again in their normal lives, but I think it's good to participate in these IKIGAI workshops and face yourself. One more thing. Do you have a favourite quote or a word that you cherish?

Kimi: The words of Dr. Hideki Yukawa, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics, "To live for a day, I want to be better than I was yesterday. " I really like this. Wanting to take a step forward or grow even a little is a goal, but it's not an easy one. But there is a day, and there may be people who have died on that day, and there are many accidents and natural disasters, so you never know what might happen, but just being healthy and alive is enough. Rather than focusing on the negative, I would like to think that there is something I can do today that is a little bit better than yesterday, or that I can see one more laugh than yesterday. It's a quart that reminds me that I want to be one step ahead of yesterday.

Hayapi: I've never heard of it before. It's good.

Kimi:It's so simple. It's true that we live for a day, so we have 24 hours more than yesterday, don't we? It's okay to watch a movie. It could be watching a movie or taking a 5-minute walk to see flowers. I like the phrase that I want to make some kind of progress.　

Hayapi: If I were to connect with Kimi-san, would you prefer Instagram?

Kimi:It would be happy if you could sign up for our newsletter through our website or Instagram. 

Hayapi: Is there a seminar soon?

Kimi: We have IKIGAI workshop. The reason we do it in English is because we're overseas!　When I was in Japan, I didn't have a chance to speak in English, so I couldn't improve. But when I went to an English school, all I heard was "What did you do on weekends? It became a negative cycle that I couldn't improve if I didn't have any opportunities to speak English, so I wanted to create some opportunity to use English and benefit themselves. We hope this event will give you a chance to think about what your IKIGAI( life purpose) is, and also hope that people who want to have a chance to speak English. It's a small group event with a maximum of six people, so please check it out.

Hayapi: That's good. I think the best way to learn English is to learn about something you are interested in with speaking English, so it is good to be able to learn English that way. I think it will give us a chance to grow as well.

Kimi: I hope so.

Hayapi: Is that IKIGAI workshop also from Instagram?

Kimi:There is an application page in the link overview on Instagram, so please have a look.

Hayapi: I understand. Thank you, Kimi-san. It was fun.

Kimi　Me too!

A Million Dreams", the original song from the movie "The Greatest Showman", is a song that gives you a positive feeling just by listening to it, as Kimiyo decided to go abroad following the excitement she felt while listening to it.

So let's take control of my life! You are the captain!

Podcast内でご紹介したIKIGAIワークショップ

Also, the above online seminar for December has been scheduled!

Date and time:

Thursday, December 9th, 7pm - 8:15pm (Japan time) Sydney 9pm-10:15pm

Location: Zoom

Fee: Free

Capacity:8 people

The seminar will be held in English, but you don't need to be fluent in English, WCF members will support you, so let's find your IKIGAI together!

You can apply from this link (↓). IKIGAI WORKSHOP〜英語で学ぼう〜 Learn how to find your strength with IKIGAI workshop by James www.eventbrite.com.au

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via our Instagram. We will keep you updated with the latest information.