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Spoiler

君と会えたから……

Contains spoilers.

Teachings in the Story

Know what you want

In the table of contents published by the publisher, the story's first lesson is “Know what you want.” For Yosuke, who cannot find what he wants to do, this teaching becomes an entry point for identifying his own desires.

Do not turn a means into a goal

The fifth lesson in the table of contents is “Do not turn a means into a goal.” It presents the theme of reconsidering how methods such as further education or a career connect to what one wants to achieve beyond them, rather than treating those methods as the endpoint. It also connects to the second lesson, which addresses the path to a dream.

Let go of the assumption that you cannot do it

The heading of the sixth lesson is “Let go of the assumption that you cannot do it.” It is presented as a teaching about not closing off possibilities based only on current abilities or experience, and considering whether assumptions are narrowing one's options. It leads into “The Final Lesson” later in the story.

Highlighted Quotes

After each quote, we provide a TODO based on a fan's interpretation.

「あなたは今生きている、だからなんだってできるんだ!」

Included in the author's comments as a message received from people close to him.

Choose one thing you can do today

Daily

Choose one action that takes no more than two minutes and brings you closer to what you want, then begin

Cue
When you think, “Someday”
Start small
Write down the name of one action
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)

「昨日までできなかったという事実が、今日もできないという理由になんかならないのよ。」

The sixth lesson. Haruka tells Yosuke something she learned from her father.

Add “yet” and say it again

Daily

If you are about to say, “I can't,” say, “I can't yet,” instead, and choose the first step you can take today.

Cue
When you think, “I can't”
Start small
Add “yet” in your mind
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)

Essences to Carry into Life

The essences and TODOs are fan interpretations, not the author's words.

devices in the story

The first and second lessons. At the library, Haruka hands Yosuke paper and explains the roles of the two lists.

Verified against the book or Audible

Life lists (two lists: TAKE／GIVE)

This fan interpretation suggests that keeping the story's two-list format makes it easier to connect your desires with today's actions.

Make two life lists

Once

On the first list, write what you want for yourself; on the second, write what you want to do for others.

Steps

  1. On the first sheet, write what you want without deciding whether it is possible
  2. On the second sheet, write what you want to do for others
  3. Choose one thing from the second sheet that you can do today
Writing field: What I want・what I want to doWriting field: What I want to do for othersWriting field: What I can do today
Cue
When you have prepared two sheets of paper on your next day off
Start small
Write three items on each list
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)
devices in the storyThe transportation analogy that separates dreams from means

The fifth lesson. Using a destination and a plane, train, bus, and ship as examples, Haruka tells Yosuke that an occupation is one possible means.

This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' records

This fan interpretation suggests that using the analogy of transportation toward a destination makes it easier to keep the same goal even when the method changes.

Add another means to your goal

Weekly

Choose one desired career or method, then write the goal beyond it and two other means of achieving it.

Steps

  1. Write down the means you are currently choosing
  2. Write down the state you want to achieve through that means
  3. Write down two other means of reaching the same state
Writing field: My current meansWriting field: The state I truly want to achieveWriting field: Other means
Cue
When your plan has stalled at a single method
Start small
Write down just one other means
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)
devices in the storySeparate what you could not do yesterday from today

The sixth lesson. At the zoo, Haruka tells Yosuke about an animal that stops resisting because of an experience when it was young.

This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' records

This suggestion turns a question in the story about not using yesterday's experience as proof of what is impossible today into a small experiment.

Try for two minutes what felt impossible yesterday

Weekly

Choose one thing you think you cannot do and try only its first step for two minutes today.

Steps

  1. Write down what you think you cannot do
  2. Check whether that belief is based on past experience
  3. Try the first step for just two minutes
Writing field: What I think I cannot doWriting field: Why I think soWriting field: Today's first step
Cue
When you think, “I couldn't do it before either”
Start small
Write only the name of the first step
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)
devices in the storyThe game of writing sixty things first

The first lesson. In the library reading room, Haruka suggests the game to Yosuke, and they decide that the first person to write sixty items wins.

Verified against the book or Audible

This suggestion adapts for daily life a device focused not on the speed of the competition, but on producing a number of ideas without first listing reasons they are impossible.

Write down up to sixty wishes

Weekly

On the front and back of a sheet of notepaper, write two wishes per line, up to sixty in all; small dreams are fine too.

Steps

  1. Prepare one sheet of notepaper
  2. Write two items on each line
  3. Fill the front and back, aiming for sixty items
Writing field: Places I want to visitWriting field: Things I want to be able to doWriting field: Things I want to try
Cue
When you begin your weekly review
Start small
Write down just three wishes that come to mind
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)
devices in the storySeven colored paper airplanes bearing the lessons

From the first lesson onward, Haruka gives Yosuke paper airplanes in different colors. Near the end, Yosuke lines up all seven.

This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' records

This fan suggestion turns the story's device of keeping lessons on colored paper into small reminders that can be read again.

Keep a lesson on a paper airplane

Weekly

Write one lesson you want to keep from this week and the next action you will take on a sheet of colored paper, then fold it into a paper airplane.

Steps

  1. Choose one lesson you want to keep
  2. Write down one action you will take next
  3. Fold it into a paper airplane and put it somewhere visible
Writing field: The lesson I want to keepWriting field: The next step I will take
Cue
When you finish your weekly review
Start small
Write just one word for the lesson on a sticky note
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)
devices in the storyThe question that reads 180 yen as “thank you”

The third lesson. At a hamburger shop, Haruka asks Yosuke about another way to read 180 yen.

This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' records

This suggestion turns the story's question about seeing a price as an amount of gratitude into an action that directs attention to one specific person.

Trace one person beyond a payment

Daily

Choose one purchase, imagine one person involved in bringing it to you, and write about that person.

Steps

  1. Choose one payment you made today
  2. Think of one person who was involved
  3. Describe that person's work in one line
Writing field: What I boughtWriting field: A person who was involvedWriting field: The help I received
Cue
When you receive a receipt
Start small
Picture just one person who was involved
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)
devices in the storyImagine the light inside

The fourth lesson. In the park, Haruka uses a model log cabin to explain, and Yosuke imagines a light inside his heart.

This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' records

This suggestion turns the story's metaphor of seeing scars and differences anew as appeal into a specific use, without making a firm claim.

Write down one use for a weakness

Weekly

Choose one personal trait that concerns you and write down one situation in which it could be useful.

Steps

  1. Write down one trait that concerns you
  2. Think of a situation in which that trait could help
  3. Choose the next situation in which to use it
Writing field: A trait that concerns meWriting field: A situation in which it could helpWriting field: The next situation in which to try it
Cue
When you notice your confidence dropping
Start small
Simply write down one trait
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)
devices in the storyTreating people so they feel glad they met you

The night of the second lesson. A line Yosuke writes on his second list, which is for things he wants to do for others.

Verified against the book or Audible

This suggestion turns a way of relating to others that connects to the second list into one action you can choose, without judging the other person.

Choose an action that makes someone glad they met you

Daily

Choose one person you will meet today, decide on one small thing you can do for them, and do it.

Steps

  1. Choose one person you will meet today
  2. Write down one thing you can do for them
  3. Do it while you are together
Writing field: The person I will meet todayWriting field: What I can do for themWriting field: What I did
Cue
When you see an appointment with someone on your calendar
Start small
Listen to the other person for one minute without interrupting
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)
devices in the storyA promise to leave your thoughts for someone dear in the future

Near the end, as a second promise, Haruka asks Yosuke to write down what he wants to tell his future children.

This interpretation was checked against official descriptions and readers' records

This suggestion turns the story's form, in which the father's journal and Haruka's letter form a link, into a single action of leaving your own words behind.

Write a letter to someone dear in the future

Once

Choose one person whose happiness you wish for and write a short letter about what you want to tell them now.

Steps

  1. Choose one person
  2. Choose one thing you want to tell them
  3. Add the date and keep it as a letter
Writing field: Someone whose happiness I wish forWriting field: What I want to tell them nowWriting field: Today's date
Cue
When you finish your end-of-month review
Start small
Write only the recipient's name and one sentence
Checking your login status.Discuss on the Message Board(Japanese)

Listen to or Read This Work

Listen on Audible

Recommended

You can also listen during spare moments, such as on your commute to work or school.

Listen to Audible版Narrated by 白井 翔太・4 hr 52 min
Read on KindleRead the print edition (Paperback)

Sources