Don’t Blame Your Slump for What You Haven’t Done

Lately, I haven’t been feeling quite myself.

There’s so much that needs to be done, yet my hands just won’t move.
Even when I do get started, the results are sloppy—details missed, corners cut.

The other day, Sanae Takaichi, who was recently elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party, was criticized for saying, “I will work hard.”
If you are to carry the weight of Japan on your shoulders, that kind of resolve is exactly what’s required.
Still, saying it aloud was perhaps a political mistake.

The late Prime Minister Abe publicly acknowledged his illness,
but he never used it as an excuse.
That, I think, was the difference—and a remarkable one.
His ability to push himself, no matter what, deserves genuine respect.

I, too, must find ways to push myself forward.
My responsibilities may not compare to those of national leaders,
but when I think of each patient’s life,
I realize I must study harder, raise the quality of my diagnoses,
and contribute—however modestly—to the progress of medicine.

Too much work has piled up.
It reminds me of school days, of unfinished homework and looming exams.
Still, I can’t blame it on some vague sense of malaise.
The only way is to tackle each task carefully, one by one.

Time passes quickly.
No one will wait for me.