The importance of expressing oneself

Japanese tend to hesitate to express oneself. As proverb goes, the nail that sticks up gets hammered down. I believe that this characteristic is significantly disadvantage. They should aware the importance of expressing oneself. I’d like to talk about why I think so by using two points.

First, it’s important to avoid inconvenience. Indecisive attitude without expressing oneself could cause procrastination or pain in the neck. For example, I often chastise my wife when we go out dining. She tends to keep food serve waiting to order her dish for a long time. She often changes her mind after they come to take our order. I always point out her that she should pick up her dish in advance and never change it. It ends up us giving inconvenience to them. It’s a waste of time. Besides, it’s against public manner as extreme case. Expressing oneself is vitally important to keep mentally healthy condition.

Second, logical thinking. In globalize world, logical argument and direct debate are inevitable. Japanese tend to use common phrase such as “We will try to think about this matter positively.” It includes ambiguity and it could cause procrastination in some cases. Even Engineers who need logical thinking, they lack convincing data for argument. For example, some of my subordinates try to design our semiconductor micro chip for cell phone without any reason. I always chastise them. On the contrary, westerners demand clear ground/evidence. They set exact time/due date. I believe that this is good aspect Japanese should follow western’s example.

In conclusion, it’s not exaggeration to say that expressing oneself enhances efficiency in daily life or business occasion.