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Ready for More Yoyu?
Feeling overwhelmed and stretched too thin? Finding Yoyu introduces the Japanese concept of yoyu—the bandwidth, capacity, and reserves we need to navigate life with ease. Through personal stories and practical exercises, let me help you cultivate abundance in time, energy, money, and more, so you can reclaim balance and joy.
Feeling overwhelmed by lack of time, money, energy, or oomph?
We've all been there, but when we navigate life through the lens of yoyu, we begin shifting from not enough to more than enough of whatever we need.
What is yoyu?
Yoyu is a Japanese concept often translated as wherewithal, leeway, oomph, reserves, bandwidth, or capacity.
However, in its simplest form, yoyu means overflowing abundance.
So, when someone says they have the yoyu to buy a new car, it means they can afford a new car, but literally, they’re saying, “I have the overflowing abundance (of money) to buy a new car.” Find out more about what yoyu is here.
But what if you don't have yoyu?
For example, if your coworker says, “I should check on my mom on the way home, but I don’t have the yoyu,” it means they don’t have enough time, energy, or possibly emotional wherewithal that day to be supportive to their mother in the way they want.
I’ve lived in Japan for 30 years—more than half my lifetime. I’m not Japanese, but I’m fluent in the language and culture. As an entrepreneur, wife, daughter, and emerging author, I keenly understand overwhelm and what it feels like when you don’t have yoyu.
Now, I use yoyu as my compass to help me navigate and in many cases, even prevent overwhelm, and you can, too.
About Marci Kobayashi
Hi! I'm Marci. I have a dedicated spiritual practice, enjoy studying alternative-healing modalities, cook a whole-foods flexitarian diet, and explore Japan, where I've lived for 30 years. Learn more about my book Finding Yoyu and journals for adults. Also, look for my upcoming memoir Otosan, which chronicles the five years I cared for my father-in-law, a WWII Japanese war veteran, as he navigated Alzheimer’s.
