In Japan, April marks the beginning of a new fiscal year—a time when many people start over in new workplaces. It is a different kind of “new beginning” from the New Year, quieter but no less significant.
Some time ago, the term “highly sensitive person” became something of a trend. It refers to individuals with a particularly strong sensitivity and responsiveness to their surroundings, and it is often said that about one in five people falls into this category.
Yet, things are not so simple. Some people may not appear sensitive at all but actually are, while others who seem sensitive may not be so in reality. Sensitivity, like many human traits, does not have a clear boundary. Rather, it exists along a continuum—a kind of gradient.
Moreover, what one is sensitive to differs from person to person. For that reason, it is difficult, if not impossible, to define precisely who is sensitive and to what degree.
With the start of the new fiscal year, many people begin life in new workplaces. Quite a number of new faces have joined my own workplace as well. Some have changed jobs, each for their own reasons.
Looking back on my own career, I realize that I have rarely moved positions out of a strong personal desire. That said, neither have I been entirely carried along against my will. In the end, I have simply managed to keep going.
Perhaps those in charge believe that I am placed where I fit best. At the same time, they must also know that there are always others who might be more capable. Human ability, too, exists on a gradient, without clear lines of division. Whether someone is “well-suited” for a role is not a fixed judgment, but something that depends on context.
Talent and temperament cannot be neatly defined. That is precisely why a stumble or two should not be cause for discouragement. One can simply pause, reconsider, and move forward in a different way.
This applies not only to those embarking on a new chapter, but also to someone like myself. Even now, I would like to begin this new fiscal year with that same quiet sense of resolve.
A new start does not belong only to the young.
