Written by Miyamoto Musashi, "Dokkōdō" ¹ is a collection of 21 principles that he learned and practiced throughout his life. I have connected the principles with gatherings of my own blessings, experiences, and learnings throughout my life. I am a growth-minded person that reflects on experiences and learns from them. This will be as much a guidebook for me as for some people. I am not an expert in self-development and growth, so I will base my writings on my own experiences, as a young Christian man and a game designer, which will never be the same as others.

The first principle is a principle I do not wholly agree with but can see the brighter and more positive intent behind it. The great innovators of our era are peerless pioneers who often do not want to accept things as it is, but find ways to break the mold and revolutionize industries and the world. In 1994, Jeff Bezos did not "accept" the conventional way of buying books and started to create a vision for the future of books. In 1995 he launched Amazon and it sold its first book. This lesson has plagued my mind because of its double-edged nature, which can be used interchangeably towards creating a better outcome. The other side of the sword has to do with acceptance of circumstances and the past. I have found serenity in not regretting the past but accepting that things happened for a reason and in all there was learning. A broken friendship in the past is not a good catalyst to weep but a good indicator to learn how to maintain current or future friendships.

Dopamine is the keyword of the digital century. In an ever more accessible world, pleasure is also more accessible. A quick session of your favorite online game can stimulate chemical reactions in the brain faster than it would 100 years ago when the word screen was never used at home. My favorite past-time activity is playing online games such as Overwatch, but it has been increasingly hard for me to open the game instead of learning or creating. It is not to say that I will never play it again, but to drop it in favor of reading might be a better idea. Another key idea is that In the pursuit of pleasure, I might also learn some valuable lessons. Disputes in in-game text channels can be a practice session for me to deal with difficult people; In the hastily-heated culture of online lobbies, one can stop and not try to fight strangers and instead try to think of ways to befriend them. With this in mind, I try to not seek pleasure for the sake of it, but if it happens then I will try to always find ways to make use of it. 

Sometimes you get hyped on some feeling and immediately make decisions. It may work out at that time, but most times you regret choosing the spontaneous decision. I felt that, as I bought some game cosmetics via in-game purchases. Before the impulse, there was a trigger, and the trigger was FOMO. Young people such as myself have a fear of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), which leads to a partial feeling of "need". This "need" is not a real need, it is a need for validation from other people. I spent hundreds of dollars on virtual items, but nothing gives me real value and happiness, just another dopamine spike. I now realize while writing this, I did actually depend too much on partial feelings. So after this, I will try to remember Dokkodo's third principle everytime I want to make quick decisions - Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.

James 4:10 - "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." ² My interpretation of Musashi's words is that he reminds us to always be humble, and also know that there is always knowledge to be learned from the world and God. Being humble is an essential trait that I would like to possess and in doing so, I shall learn from everyone and everything. 

"The starting point of all achievement is desire." Napoleon Hill wrote in his book ³. Musashi's words are peaceful and noble, but I wholeheartedly disagree with him. Desire is, after all, what makes us human. I have a strong desire to empower Asians and promote Southeast and East Asian culture through art and games. This is what makes me tick, what waking up is all about in the morning. Hence, I think that the correct way of thinking is that we should still strongly desire but be detached from the wrong desires our whole life.

There are times in life when we regret what we have done - the cringeworthy moments in school or the bad purchases made. Living through those "mistakes" is part of life, so we shall not dwell in regret, but instead use them as learnings and have a laugh about the silly things we have done. 

Jealousy is never the right mindset. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, we should be proud of ourselves and not try to wish to be others. The right mindset is to be grateful for the blessings you have and will receive in the future. One time, in my primary school years, I was jealous when my friend went to America and brought home snacks; I went home after and cried thinking I will never go to America. Years later, through God's blessings upon my family, I would be able to go to America, not once, but twice! Since that moment, I realize that I should always be grateful for my current state and the wonderful plans God has in store for me.

¹ Miyamoto Musashi, "Dokkōdō", (1645)

² Bible, New Internation Version (NIV)

³ Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, (1937)

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