I first visited Japan in 2018 and was completely captivated.
The cleanliness. The respect. The food. The feeling that everything worked exactly as it should.
This year, I returned. Japan was still impressive. But something felt different.
At first, I thought Japan had changed. Then I realized perhaps I had.
The first time we experience something, we see it through the lens of wonder.
The second time, we see it through the lens of awareness.
And that reminded me of something I see often in my work at MindArc Coaching.
Many leaders spend years striving for a promotion, a bigger role, or a vision of success they’ve imagined for years.
When they finally arrive, it often feels different than expected.
Not because the achievement isn’t meaningful.
But because they are no longer the person who first dreamed about it.
Growth changes our perspective.
Sometimes the greatest value isn’t in reaching the destination.
It’s in seeing it differently.
And perhaps that’s what growth is all about.
My second visit to Japan gave me less wonder and more understanding.