Otsukaresama

I meditate almost every morning using the Calm app. I learned to meditate using Headspace, but switched to Calm because of the Daily Calm which is a new meditation every morning. I find it refreshing and the narrator always ends with a new lesson and/or fun fact for the day.

Today’s meditation was called Otsukaresama which is a Japanese word. If you translate this directly to English, it translates to “you are tired.” This is one of those words that no direct translation can justify though.

The Japanese use the word Otsukaresama to greet each other in a positive light. When you show up to work, you use it as a way of saying thank you for your hard work. After work or when you are leaving, the word is used to express that you worked hard today so you are tired so thank you.

The work is hard so thank you. You have worked hard so thank you. A lot of Japanese culture comes down to showing gratitude and that is one of the reasons that I love Japanese culture.

I write this in the evening in my office where many of us are still grinding. Many people can feel sorry for themselves in these situations, but I am lucky to be in this situation. To have this opportunity to work on building a great company with amazing people is a dream come through.

The hard work will come and go. Otsukaresama.