Opening remarks

1.
self-esteem

Life feels meaningless
What on earth did you do all day today?
I'm worried because I have low self-esteem.
I keep buying useless things
I feel like I'm losing myself

2.
essence

I want to cry, but not a single tear falls.
I'm still hungry no matter how much I eat
I don't know how to do anything, so my confidence keeps dropping.
I envy the 'popular kids' who can make friends with anyone quickly.

3.
Emptiness

Why do I get irritated for no reason?
Aren't you wasting your time on useless things?
I can't seem to focus on one thing.
I eat well and live well, but I keep sighing.
I work hard but I feel empty and listless.

4.
relationship

I feel like a rock sticking out all by itself
I can't stand this 'nonsense feast'
Should I continue a relationship with a friend who has different interests?
Alone is lonely, together is painful
I'm tired of being hurt and being in a hurtful relationship.

5.
fret

I keep making lists that I can't keep.
There are times when I suddenly feel anxious.
Aren't you wasting your life doing something that doesn't suit your aptitude?
Should I quit my job?
Is it okay if I don't get married?
Should I immigrate?

6.
unrest

I feel anxious for no reason
My head is always cluttered with distracting thoughts.
I'm not sure if life will be okay like this.
I feel anxious even though I'm making money
It's an unpleasant offer, but I can't refuse it...
Am I happy now?

Closing remarks

From the troubled youth to the troubled youth
Solutions for Introvert Burnout

"Become a Happy Individual" is an introvert's solution to burnout, a common concern faced by today's young generation.
Jin Myeon-yeong's writing, which seeks wisdom from various angles, creates a closer connection with readers because it is not simply a conveyance of the author's perspective, but rather a confession from someone who has experienced the same struggles in the same era and generation.
An 'individual' is not alone.
The title, "Let's Become a Happy Individual," which means existence within a relationship, guides us to stand on our own feet more maturely than simply feeling selfish satisfaction.

When life feels meaningless, when self-esteem is low, when despair of feeling empty and powerless despite working hard, when self-confidence is greatly reduced due to lack of skills, etc., "Let's Become a Happy Individual" guides us, who are constantly discouraged in the face of reality, to approach true happiness based on the essence of life.


Jin Min-young's answers to common, realistic questions like "Should I quit my job?", "Is it okay not to get married?", and "Should I immigrate?" are clear, yet profound and ultimately make us reflect on the essence of life, which adds to her credibility.


The solutions to burnout discussed in this book address not only the issues that must be overcome on one's own, such as self-esteem, growth, and anxiety about the future, but also the more difficult, yet unavoidable, eternal homework of "relationships."
“I feel like a rock sticking out all by myself.” “I’m lonely when I’m alone, and it’s painful when I’m with someone.” “I’m tired of being hurt and being in a relationship that hurts others.” “How should I deal with my relationship with a friend who has different interests?”… .
In response, author Jin Min-young confesses to her childhood when she “was not able to love herself properly enough,” and suggests a mature solution that allows us to view relationships more harmoniously, rather than through isolation and disconnection for a short-sighted sense of liberation.
By sharing her true self from the time she was a sensitive introvert to now being settled in a stable relationship, she shows that finding a way out of a relationship that felt like a dead end can be surprisingly simple.

Insights that sometimes look straight ahead and sometimes turn around
A Paradoxical Approach to Finding a Solution to Burnout

If you look at the subtitles of this book, you will see keywords under the questions that are bothering you.
For example, in “What on earth did I do all day today,” there is the keyword “a mind that chooses discomfort,” and in “I’m worried because I have low self-esteem,” there is the keyword “self-love and contribution to others.”
These keywords reveal the core of the solution to burnout, but what's peculiar about them is that they are somewhat paradoxical.


What I am saying is that there is no logical explanation for the worry, “I eat well and live well, but I keep sighing,” that you can overcome it by thinking positively in this way or that way.
The answer to this question, as the keyword “an unexpected escape, exercise” suggests, is that “there is nothing that contributes more to mental health than physical movement.” Of course, he adds his own experience and scientific evidence on the relationship between the body’s signals and life energy to make it more persuasive.


Regarding the concern of “I work hard but I feel empty and listless,” as can be seen in the keyword “maker instinct rather than consumer instinct,” he says that the reason why buying and collecting things you want can only feel empty is because human instinct is to be a maker rather than a consumer, and advises that we should stop being spectators on the stage of life and start to unleash our creativity.

In “I keep losing confidence because I don’t know how to do anything,” the keyword is “finding one thing that will show your identity.”
This is a realistic solution for those who have experienced failure in front of the narrow door of employment, and it convinces them of the urgency of showing one's own 'people-saving skills' rather than the abstract slogan of 'a good person.'


By considering the realm of 'freedom to be happy' between the work you love and your livelihood, and showing that you need to have cool-headed standards for life even in the face of the 'temptation to quit' that always comes up when you're tied down to a company, it explores that becoming a 'happy individual' is not a romantic pleasure, but a realistic choice.