Episode 2 Article

02: "Lion or Zebra" which one are you?


Finally, Akiyama showed his ability as a genius swindler! He cornered Fujizawa, the man who cheated the very honest Nao of 100 million. Akiyama was very self-assured and calm, and when he heard Fujizawa’s winning strategy…. He laughed.

But, wait a minute, no matter how you look at the situation, the person with the undisputable advantage is Fujizawa. The 200 million is sitting in his sturdy safe, all he needed to do was wait for the end of the game and he would have won. Yet, it was Fujizawa who was frightened, anxious, and completely paranoid.

Why is that?

That is because Fujizawa was “the prey” while Akiyama was “the preditor.”

Imagine a lion and a zebra running on grassland, both are going at full speed. Yet, while the lion is chasing a prey, the zebra is running for his life. Who do you think is happier?

In other words, having to defend the 200 million dollars he acquired, Fujizawa was the zebra being chased in spirit by Akiyama and Nao. That’s why he was constantly tortured by fear and paranoia.

Because Akiyama confidently declared he would take the 200 million, doubts took roots in Fujizawa, and he began to wonder, “Can there really be a way [to steal the money] that I have not considered?” Once that happened, as Akiyama predicted with “cognitive dissonance”, Fujizawa began to find irrational explanations to everything. Akiyama and Nao’s story shows that “evidence” (?) created by “anxiety” can make anxiety even worse.

Now, when can Fujizawa be cornered?

In the end, how will Akiyama finish off Fujizawa?

Right, in life, you can easily change from a lion into a zebra. It’s all about attitude.

Of course, there are situations where you cannot avoid being a zebra. For example, it is very good to run away from lions-like events (disasters), in psychology, this is called “avoidance (evasive actions).” The consequences to disasters and such are great, so avoidance is a splendid ability.




The rest is kind of boring to me… so I am just going to give a summary of the rest of the article:

We learn from experience. If you run away from everything and be submissive about everything in life, “avoidance” would become your habit. In that case, you would no longer know how to “chase,” and when a good opportunity comes along you would habitually let the opportunity slip.

If you don’t want to be a zebra for life, then be proactive, make “chasing” a habit. Chase your dreams! Live for “happiness.” If you know what makes you happy and pursue that, you can endure any hardship.

Miracles will not happen if you don’t take the first step.