Quitting | Fumitoshi Kato, Dean, Graduate School of Media and Governance
2023.09.26
Although the fall semester is about to begin, there seems to be no escape from the heat yet. While the mornings and evenings have become a little more bearable, this summer was truly hot. The deserted campus should soon be filled with a lively atmosphere. University students have a long summer vacation. The length of this break likely gives them more opportunities to think about various things. For example, they reconsider their future paths. The process of putting together their "graduation project" is also important. Internships and job hunting become a pressing reality. Among them, some students wish to take a leave of absence.
Around this time of year, I receive various consultations from students. To be lost or worried is a student's privilege. Although each person's circumstances are different, I often find in conversation that they have many things they want to do and are unable to decide which to choose. Having many options before you is a wonderful thing. Since there are various possibilities, it's good to try different things. Of course, it's important to think realistically, but I believe it's best to take a step toward your dreams. That's why I limit myself to giving common-sense advice and then encourage them to decide for themselves. I try to give them a push from behind as much as possible.
However, if it's merely to extend a "grace period," I don't highly recommend taking a leave of absence. If you're going to take a leave, I hope it's for a positive reason, not just to take a break "for the time being." You want to do this, and that has potential, too. While it's fine to be ambitious, it's crucial to decide with determination what to focus on. Face it by burning your bridges, without thinking too much about what comes after you return to school. To decide is to choose, and to choose is to let go of other possibilities.
I wrote earlier that it's a privilege, but in fact, it's not just students who get lost or worry. Everyone, no matter their age, will surely have moments when they pause. A few months ago, I read a book called "Quitting." Self-help books tend to attach the word "power" to everything. It's unlikely that reading a single book will dramatically develop any particular ability. With that in mind, I started reading with some skepticism, but it felt as if it were clearing and organizing my thoughts. The author carefully interviews people from various fields about their experiences with "quitting" and, through them, attempts to approach the essence of "quitting."
Needless to say, "quitting" is about letting go of something. While the reasons vary, for the sake of change and growth, one must bid farewell to something and choose something else. The problem, it is said, lies in feeling guilty about the decision, even when you should be letting go of something with a positive mindset. Even after careful consideration and deciding to "quit," for some reason, you blame yourself. This is because you are tripped up by thoughts like, "I should have persevered a little longer and seen it through to the end," "Things aren't going well because I'm not trying hard enough," or "I have to live up to the expectations of those around me," making it difficult to decide to "quit." If you can't take a step forward because you're only concerned with appearances and saving face, you are robbing yourself of the opportunity for change. The decision to "quit" is also difficult in cases of inertia or complacency. Change will likely not occur by unconsciously following convention and repeatedly maintaining the status quo. "Quitting" is the very source of change, so you don't have to think of "quitting" as a failure. The book argues, "If you can quit when you want to quit, the possibilities in your life will expand."
The same is true for our relationships with people. Our daily lives are always situated within complex relationships. Through countless interactions, we rejoice in encounters and regret farewells. Letting go of something is not so easy, and temporary anxiety and confusion are inevitable, but "quitting" requires the resolve to move on to the next step. And farewells reconfigure the social relationships we have grown accustomed to.
The same is true for academics. While writing this "Okashira Nikki" (Dean's Diary), I have been constantly thinking about the university, academic pursuits, and more specifically, about SFC. In the first place, SFC began by "quitting" conventional methods and seeking new ways of knowledge. It should have moved forward by letting go of old concepts. I re-read an article I wrote a few years ago for the October 2020 issue of "Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press)," titled " SFC So Far, SFC From Now On ." What is it that we have continued all this time without "quitting"? And why? By bravely "quitting" some of the things we started some 30-odd years ago, might we not encounter a new landscape? Our "power to quit" is being tested.