It has been more than ten years since I first began experiencing symptoms of an autoimmune disease and chemical sensitivity.
By making changes to what I eat, what I wear, and the environment I live in, my health gradually improved.
These days, I can go about my daily life with very few limitations. But I’m still not well enough to work full-time at full speed.
That said, when I was in my twenties and early thirties, I was able to push myself much harder.
With a great deal of understanding and support from my workplace, I somehow managed to continue working full-time.
My job was an important emotional anchor for me, and I really wanted to keep working, so I tried all sorts of things to make it possible.
But as I continued pushing myself, I gradually became physically and emotionally exhausted.
After taking two leaves of absence, I eventually left the company where I had worked for 12 years in 2024.
For a while, I struggled after losing sight of my goals.
But eventually, I found a new goal and started working toward it, little by little.
That goal is to help people who, for one reason or another, have lost sight of their own goals, just as I once did, find a new goal and a reason to hope for the future.
As a way of doing this, I chose to explore online courses.
Why?
Because even people like me, who are sensitive to smells or whose health can be unpredictable, can participate from home in a more comfortable environment.
In 2024, I took an online course attended by many women who were interested in starting their own businesses.
Having experienced illness myself, I began to wonder whether many people struggling with their health might also be carrying worries about work and money.
I think these concerns may be one of the reasons people end up pushing themselves too hard.
So I started thinking:
If we could work online at our own pace, without pushing ourselves beyond our limits, and earn enough to support our lives, perhaps we wouldn’t have to work in ways that put such a strain on us.
With these thoughts in mind, I took the plunge and joined the online course.
Being able to attend from home was incredibly reassuring. If I got tired, I could simply lie down and rest, which allowed me to focus on learning at my own pace.
I also met some wonderful people who were serious about their lives and eager to move forward.
Before I knew it, I was lying down to rest less often.
Sometimes, I even went out simply because I wanted to see my friends from the course.
As a result, my outlook became more positive, and I gradually built up more stamina, too.
I started feeling like everyday life was fun again.
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I’m still in touch with those friends, and the other day, we had this conversation online:
If you had to choose three things you absolutely couldn’t give up in order to live a happy life, what would they be?
Everyone had different answers.
I noticed that people tended to choose things whose importance they had experienced deeply, or things they genuinely felt they needed in their lives.
For me, they were:
1. Physical and mental health
2. Bonds with family and friends
3. Learning and having goals
Because I became ill, I learned firsthand just how precious good health is.
And my husband, family, and friends who supported me through difficult times are treasures that nothing else could replace.
I believe the people who stay by your side when you’re going through a hard time are the people who truly matter to you.
And when someone I care about is struggling, I want to be someone who can be there for them, too.
When I could no longer work, I suffered from losing sight of my goals.
That’s when I realized that having a goal is something I need in my life.
And after I started learning through the course, I became more and more energetic and began enjoying each day again.
That’s when I realized how important learning is to me.
All of these experiences are wrapped up in my three “non-negotiables” for living a happy life.
Life goes by faster than we imagine.
Our capacity is smaller than we think.
And there are surprisingly few things that can truly fit inside it.
We naturally want to fit this and that into our lives, but I don’t want to end up looking back one day and realizing that, in trying to hold on to everything, I’ve accidentally let the things that mattered most slip away.
That’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.
Thank you so much for reading today. 😊
I hope you’ll take some time to discover your own three things you absolutely can’t give up in order to live a happy life. 🍀