Miracle Stories Born from Intuition and a Smug Face

Confidence is a lubricant that smooths your forward movement toward success. Contrary to popular belief, confidence should come before results, as a method of producing desired results. Remember to put on your smug face and make smug moves to results. Embrace your smuggy side! Be a smuggier.

“I’m going on a business trip to Osaka this weekend, and the forecast is for rain in Osaka due to a typhoon. So someone is testing me to see if I am a sunny girl or not,” I told my acquaintance.

Tokyo was clear, but the rain mark on Osaka had not disappeared. The plane’s departure was delayed by 20 minutes due to congestion on the runway. In anticipation of such an eventuality, I purchased a boxed lunch to have lunch on board the plane. Tea was going to be served on board.

However, due to the typhoon, there was no more in-flight beverage service. I must try not to choke on my fried chicken. And when I opened the lid of my lunch box, to my surprise, the flight attendant offered me a cup of tea. It had a lid and a straw to prevent spilling. I looked around and saw someone else eating a boxed lunch on the other side of the plane and only he and I were offered tea. Thanks to ANA’s service, I was able to wash down my rice ball smoothly. Below us, the scenery of Osaka was beginning to appear through the clouds.

In the Osaka group session, one participant tended not to accept compliments from others, and another had received a raise but was underestimating herself. They both said they were careful not to get carried away. So I said, “Huh? I thought it would go up a little more… didn’t you negotiate for a raise?” Everyone laughed hysterically.

Looking back at myself, I realize that I always have a smug expression on my face. For instance, during a job interview, I discussed my salary at my previous job with the president of the company I was interviewing at. My previous job paid quite well for a 27-year-old, to the extent that the president there would boast that they offered the highest salaries in Japan. I felt that if I didn’t mention it upfront, they would underestimate me. After all, I was stating the facts. Then, just two months after joining the new company, even though I hadn’t yet shown any results, my salary was raised to the level of a store manager. The effect of a smug face is indeed powerful!

During the group session, it bucketed down and rained for a few minutes, but stopped when we left the venue. I knew it would.

When the “smug” method was unleashed on the Osaka members, everyone seemed bursting at the seams and freer than usual. Why do so many people complicate things when they can just admit the facts as they are? I’m not bragging, I’m just telling the truth.

After the session in Osaka, there was a constant stream of smug faces. And I feel that each person was given the opportunity to have self-affirmation and find their own value.

The weather forecast was for rain the next day, but it cleared up. I knew it would.

Kifune Shrine in Kyoto is a famous shrine, and reservations are required to dine on the kawadoko, a terrace set up on the river. However, since it was 11:00 a.m. on a Monday morning, we were able to enjoy 25 kinds of colorful bentos at a casual kawadoko restaurant located upstream from the shrine. We were lucky. We knew it!

At the main shrine of Kifune Shrine, we found a stylish Goshuin-cho (stamp book). It was designed with white dots on a gold background. Given that the shrine is dedicated to a water deity, I assume an aqua motif was chosen. While traditional designs like Juni-Hitoe (twelve-layered ceremonial kimono) were beautiful, we fell for the poppy design at first sight and finally bought it. We took a photo of the three of us sporting smug faces.

After completing all of our missions, we took a coffee break in a cafe on the way to the bus stop. Suddenly, a downpour started. Right here, there, and then.

“Hitomi, you really are lucky, aren’t you?”

“It is me, after all,” I replied, with a smug expression.

We only had to use umbrellas for five minutes to get to the bus stop. The train soon came and the rain stopped by the time we arrived at Demachiyanagi. After visiting Shimogamo Shrine, we tried to find a café to eat sweets and quickly found a place to our liking.

“With Hitomi, many miracles happen.”
“I get that a lot.”

When people say that to me, I can answer with a smile that it is because I just trust my intuition and go ahead with a smug look on my face.

As I started walking to look for a bus to Kyoto Station, a bus to Kyoto’s ‘Shinkansen Exit’ appeared right away. On the return trip, I decided to buy a non-reserved ticket and board the first car of the Shinkansen that arrived at the platform. Just three minutes after purchasing my ticket, I was able to settle into a seat on the Shinkansen. Everything unfolded smoothly; I was able to proceed intuitively without checking the time. Everything happened just as I believed it would.

That’s what I call my ‘smug-face’ method. Go smugly into a new future.