Recently, I explained how mental works with an example of Kitsuki City, where I moved last month. Today, I will introduce another mental work: why an imbalance of our mental duality can lead to investment failure.
How to change our current situation
Sometimes, we want to change our current situation. Many stressful things may exhaust us.
When we are honest with ourselves, we sometimes realize we have not wanted to live like this. That makes us want to rebuild our lives.
However, we sometimes don’t dare to sacrifice. We might have put a lot of effort into investments in the past. Every past hard work might be to make our future better. We don’t want to make them in vain. That makes us stagnate in the same situation.
In such a case, looking at ourselves objectively might help. It gives us the balance of our mental duality. This might give us the confidence to stop unbeneficial activities.
Looking at mental duality objectively
If we look at ourselves objectively, we sometimes realize how biased we perceive our situation. We often overestimate the sacrifice and underestimate new opportunities, and vice versa.
The imbalance of our mental duality causes them.
Mental duality is an inner system in which we have at least two contradictory aspects of values. For example, we sometimes want to be active, but we sometimes want to rest. Despite their contradictions, the balance of these contradictions keeps us healthy mentally and physically. This system is our duality.
In other words, the imbalance of our mental duality can cause the overestimation of the sacrifice.
Let’s look at an example. Looking at another person’s situation would make it easier to understand.
The case of Kitsuki City’s failure
I will use the case of Kitsuki City this time, too. After I moved here, I noticed this city had failed to use its individuality.
Perhaps an inferiority complex caused it. This city wanted to be like the successful cities around it while ignoring its individuality.
That made this city continue to fail.
The endless failure
First, as the neighboring cities grew, they wanted to be like them. This city rushed to build new rents when several global companies decided to build factories in this area. That caused the rent market to collapse in this area.
Then, as many villages in this prefecture succeeded in tourism by creating specialty products, they wanted to be like them.
However, an inferiority complex made this city want to be the best as soon as possible. That made this city behave like Kyoto, the most successful city for tourism in this country. This city might have thought it could not be successful like Kyoto, even if it used individuality.
This city started to spend a lot of money to build a great castle and a beautiful street like Kyoto. However, it was only in appearance. That made the city fail in tourism.
This city might have envied other areas’ success and wanted to be greater than other cities. Ironically, that kept this city failing. This city didn’t have such qualities to be a capital. This city has had good individuality. Ignoring its individuality and imitating the strongest has made this city stagnate.
The imbalance of the city’s mental duality
In my opinion, the imbalance of its mental duality caused these continuous failures.
In this city’s case, the problem was that it remained unbalanced in its duality. Behaving like the strongest might be inevitable. No one knows without making mistakes. However, this city didn’t modify its direction of life after the failure.
This city overestimated the sacrifice. That prevented them from modifying their way.
For example, this city might have to admit that it had failed. If it admits failure, people around it will make fun of it. However, being ridiculed is only temporary. It might be better than making losses continuously without accepting failure.
This city invested a lot of money in useless rents and tourist buildings. If it admits those investments were in vain, the people who had followed this city might get angry. However, apologies are also temporary. Rebuilding a new future might be better.
The value of sacrifice
If we see this city objectively, we can understand the value of sacrifice. It certainly hurts, but it allows the city to rebuild the future. This city might have overestimated the sacrifice.
However, from the perspective of this city, they cannot. They believe the huge investments in the past will pay off if they wait.
Investment requires waiting, but investing is an activity we know how long to wait.
On the other hand, this city doesn’t know how long to wait now. In other words, it is already not an investment. However, this city believes it is still an investment.
That made them spend a lot of money just to keep the current situation. Naturally, the more time passes, the more they despair.
Evaluating the value of sacrifice correctly
This perspective allows us to understand the value of sacrifice appropriately.
We can retreat as soon as we know it is not working. Such lightness is also one aspect. Sticking to one thing is not the only value.
In investment, people call this cutting loss. It is a necessary art to invest.
Investment is not always successful. Sometimes, cutting the loss of huge investments of the past is necessary, no matter how tearful it is.
If we regain the balance of mental duality, we often understand that sacrifice will not hurt us. On the contrary, we will frequently feel that it is a cheap cost to get our ideal lives.
Conclusion
That is why looking at ourselves objectively often gives us the confidence to stop unbeneficial activities.
The imbalance of our mental duality can create stagnation.
This perspective might help us to change our current situation and rebuild our lives.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
