The feeling of wanting to be understood and recognized is an emotion that everyone has, probably. However, the intensity and the content of this desire for approval varies from person to person, and it is often misleading at times. When people do not have enough room for themselves, they lack the degree of acceptance of others and feel rather jealous. Therefore, I believe that moderation is just the right expression when I want my approval.
 
When I see gorgeous posts on social networking sites, I think wow, but if they are overly appealing, I feel both jealousy and, perhaps, a sense that this person is not satisfied. What about myself? I think that I may be seeking approval by writing a blog of my own accord, and it may not be much different from such posts. "Writing helps myself" was written somewhere, and it's true.
 
Also, when people want approval for themselves, they often want the listener to listen, to accept, and that is all. No opinions are needed. Acceptance, empathy, that's what leads to inclusion. It makes you feel that this is okay. "I have a slightly different idea, what I mean is..." is often unnecessary. Opportunities for asserting one's righteousness are minimal. I am a professional systems engineer, and I want to be very conscious of my "listening" attitude so that people will not say that I have perfect technology but lack the reliability to properly assess the needs of the users.
 
People often appeal to others through their personal belongings, fashion, music, books, food, and other choices, telling others who they are and what they want them to understand. Recently, I read about the importance of stories as a means of marketing. People don't buy things, they buy the meaning of the things themselves. I don't feel that way about cup noodles, which are just to satisfy my hunger as quickly as possible. However, when choosing a restaurant to entertain an important customer, such factors are often incorporated.
 
In a similar story, a car has both a function of transportation and a meaning of ownership. Japanese cars are perfectly fine in terms of function, but not sophisticated enough in terms of meaning. When I read such a book, I was somewhat agreed with it. I would like to work hard so that my clients will say that the reason they choose me as their system engineer is not only my technology but also their own peace of mind as a client.
 
The other day, I saw a feature article in a magazine called "Items for a Lifetime." One of the items featured was a fountain pen that my favorite author, Hemingway, loved. It was not inexpensive, but I thought that owning one might bring me closer to my idol (no way), might allow me to write beautiful sentences (no way), might make someone feel like Hemingway (no way), Feeling helpless to do anything about it, I ended up buying it on Amazon. The writing feel is not bad, but a 100-yen ballpoint pen might be better. And the process of filling the pen with ink is messy and troublesome. It is also a burden to open and close the cap by turning it around and around each time. Nevertheless, I am fine with self-approval (satisfaction), even though I can never hope for the approval of others for owning that fountain pen.