6 Haruki Murakami Quotes That Just Might Change Your Life
“Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes do that.”
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer internationally famous for his numerous works such as A Wild Sheep Chase, Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84.
His works have been translated into 50 languages, sold millions of copies outside of Japan and won the author several world-renowned literary prizes including the World Fantasy Prize.
Murakami’s stories are often surrealistic and stretch from melancholically mundane all the way to beautifully bizarre. They are always entertaining and sprinkled with inspirational quotes that make the reader stop and ponder for a while.
A Murakami novel might not always make sense on the first read but this author’s words will certainly stick to the ones who take the time to uncover their meaning. They might even change your life.
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
This quote is from one of Murakami’s earlier novels called Norwegian Wood. It plays on the notion of peer-guided thinking and the loss of individuality.
The story is set in 1960s Japan but the quote is easily applicable to more or less any place today.
When we take a good look around these days, we see people wear the same brands, style them in the same way, listen to the same music, go out to the same hip parties — even though nobody should be going to any parties right now but oh well.
In short, we see so much of the same in different faces that when someone who exudes their own persona and individuality shows up, it draws us in right away.
What you can learn from this quote:
Trends come and go but your own personality and individuality are always going to win over what’s “in” right now.
If you do, wear and read what everyone else is doing, wearing and reading, you will fit in but you’re very unlikely to stand out.
Not in real life and certainly not online. As Oscar Wilde famously said:
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
And it’s easy, too. All you have to do is indulge in your own interests. It’s that simple.
Allow yourself to indulge in your own passions. Go to the bookstore or the library and grab a book that no one has ever recommended to you but that sounds interesting.
Read a book because of its pretty cover or because the name of the author sounds intriguing. Read a book on a topic you’ve never really thought about before.
And just generally in life, have the courage to enjoy the things you enjoy regardless of what other people around you think about it. Give yourself permission to read whatever, to dress and look like whatever you want.
Why would you want to fit in when you could stand out?
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”
This quote is found in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a memoir of Murakami’s in which he tells about his personal experiences with long-distance running.
Many people would think that there is not that much of a difference between pain and suffering but if you give this quote some thought, you will realise that those are two completely separate things.
You can’t avoid getting hurt in life. You can’t avoid uncomfortable situations or unpleasant encounters — but you can avoid staying in them.
What you can learn from this quote:
You can’t help but experience pain from time to time but it’s how you go about it and what you do once you’ve been hurt that makes the difference.
You can choose to focus on the painful parts of life and thus, suffer. Or you can choose to learn from it, grow and eventually move on to better things.
As Maya Angelou once said:
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
Your attitude is entirely up to you and it’s one thing that will make or break you in the future. By working on your attitude, you can entirely transform your circumstances.
Next time you find yourself in a dead-end situation, take out a pen and paper and write down three things that you can be truly grateful for on the spot. Think about things that seriously make you feel thankful deep inside.
What you will find is that it’s impossible to be truly grateful and miserable at the same time.
“A certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect.”
This is a quote from one of Murakami’s most famous novels, namely Kafka on the Shore.
One of the sad truths of life is that perfectionists are probably the least likely to ever reach perfection. This is mainly because there is no such thing as perfection — but only they care about it.
Perfectionism is just a well-dressed version of procrastination.
Perfectionists take more time to do the most simple tasks — if they ever get them done at all. More often than not, they don’t finish things just because they can’t perfect them.
It’s ultimately an impossible goal but that won’t stop a true perfectionist from trying. They end up with multiple unfinished projects while the messy ones move along and achieve one goal after another.
What you can learn from this quote:
Take messy action. Learn and grow one small step at a time.
If there is something you wanted to start for a while but you were too scared because you don’t completely understand how it works, just start somewhere. Start right now.
Publish your website before it’s absolutely perfect because it will never be exactly how you pictured it in your head.
Start writing on Medium even if you don’t know all the tricks and ins and outs. You will learn them along the way and you will have a much better grasp on them when you’re in the game and not just an outsider watching — or reading.
Messy action is powerful. Perfection is a trap.
“Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes do that.”
This one is, again, from Norwegian Wood and perhaps it’s a little harsh. Then again, there are few things that make a person seem more self-centred and insufferable than a victim mentality mindset.
People who focus on the negative things in life are just the worst company.
Everyone probably knows — or knew — someone who only wants to talk about how bad they have it. They want to feel sorry for themselves and they want you to feel sorry for them as well.
What you can learn from this quote:
Nobody wants to be around a Negative Nancy.
That doesn’t mean that you’re not allowed to feel bad about the less-than-nice things that happen in your life. You have a right to experience all sorts of emotions.
It becomes an issue when you start to identify with your problems or get in the mindset that you have it oh so much harder than anyone else.
Guess what? Everyone is going through stuff. There is not one person in the world that is not facing hardships right now.
Luckily, however, you choose where you put your focus and what you want more of in life. If you focus on the negative, according to the Law of Attraction, you will attract more of that stuff and it’s just going to make you spiral further down into self-pity.
You might get the occasional pat on the shoulder and a sorry look but soon enough you will realise that misery attracts misery and the positive people will leave your life one by one.
Instead of wallowing in your problems, train your brain to become more solution-oriented.
You can do this by writing down 5–10 ways in which you could improve your current situation every single day. Even when you’re absolutely happy — then when you feel down, you will automatically have a tool at hand to pull yourself out of it again.
“No matter how far you travel, you can never get away from yourself.”
This is a quote from one of Murakami’s short stories titled UFO in Kushiro. It can be found in the short story collection After the Quake.
There are many possible reasons why one would want to get away from oneself. Guilt comes to mind. Embarrassment even over small things. Perhaps even a lack of confidence or unwanted circular thinking that seems to have no end.
No matter what the reasons may be, the truth of the matter is that you are the one person you can’t escape. You will never be able to run away from yourself.
What you can learn from this quote:
Sometimes it might feel really tough that you can never be anything but yourself but it doesn’t have to be.
Being yourself is your biggest asset. There’s no one in the world who could do it other than you.
Things happen and everyone makes mistakes but you have to remember that you are not the only one who feels that way. Everyone has probably had a moment in life where they didn’t want to be in their own skin at the time.
Whatever issues you face, remind yourself that your problems are never unique to you and there is absolutely no salvation in overthinking them.
Don’t identify with your mistakes. Don’t take everything so seriously. Life is a wild ride and a crazy one at times. To quote Murakami again:
“Taking crazy things seriously is a serious waste of time.”
“Life is not like water. Things in life don’t necessarily flow over the shortest possible route.”
This quote can be found in 1Q84 which is a three-part dystopian novel by Haruki Murakami.
I am particularly fond of this quote because it aligns with a very strong belief I hold which is that if you do what is aligned with your inner purpose and what you desire in life, you will inevitably end up where you belong.
When it comes to these things, however, you can’t expect a smooth, linear path to your dreams. There will be bumps and roadsigns that redirect you on another path.
You might have to take a couple of turns and setbacks but if you move according to your innermost desires and work hard on achieving your dreams, you will eventually succeed. Even if it takes more time and effort than you could’ve ever imagined.
What you can learn from this quote:
This last message is simple: don’t give up!
You never know how close you could be to a real breakthrough. If things become stagnant and you reach a plateau, don’t be afraid to try new things.
Don’t be afraid to test out different routes towards your dreams and whatever you do, never give up.
Final Thoughts
Haruki Murakami’s works might be surrealistic and oftentimes even entirely bizarre but they hit a nerve or they wouldn’t be as popular as they are.
You can never be sure where you’re at in Murakami novel and that much is true of real life as well. But if you stop every once in a while and take a deeper dive into the words on the page, there is profound meaning to be found on every page.
Murakami’s novels often feel like they have no end and that’s what I would like to leave you with today.
You don’t get perfect conclusions in real life. You don’t get an explanation for everything. Things happen and things end.
It’s not always satisfying but it’s real.
