New year’s goal setting with Daruma dolls and the Hero’s Journey

On a previous trip to Japan, I began seeing small, hollow red dolls made of papier-mâché in stores and businesses around Tokyo. I learned on that trip that these were called Daruma dolls. 

Daruma dolls are used as symbols of good luck, often placed on a shelf at home or in a business. Before putting them on display, the owner makes a wish that they hope will come true or a life goal or project they are working towards. They then color in the center of one eye of the doll, often the left eye, setting this wish or goal in motion. Once the wish has come true or the goal has been achieved, the other eye is filled in, and the Daruma is complete!

Daruma are modelled after the Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk from the 5th century. He is revered in Japan because his form of Buddhism became Zen Buddhism in Japan. The dolls are often red and gold, colors associated with wealth and good luck, though they are made in other colors.

Daruma are a reminder of focus and discipline, not wish-granters like a “genie in a bottle.” Many offices set up daruma at the start of important projects, ensuring that the team see the collective efforts through to completion. They can also be physical reminders of your own life goals. Drawing in the first eye on the doll is a promise to yourself that you will follow through and achieve your goal, no matter what obstacles present themselves, much like the Hero’s Journey.

A Japanese philosophy often connected to Daruma dolls, reflected in the Hero’s Journey, is the expression “Nana Korobi Ya Oki.” It translates to “fall down seven times, stand up eight.”  No matter how many times you stumble, make sure you always get back up. As long as you are learning and improving, you can “fail forward” and eventually succeed. 

Many people in Japan like to start the new year fresh, with a new Daruma aligned to new goals and projects.  You don’t have to go to Japan to pick up a Daruma doll. It seems even Amazon carries them with prime delivery, just in time for New Years! 

Even without a doll, the new year brings a chance to reflect on where we’ve been this past year and what potential the new year can hold in store for us if we stay true to our goals no matter what obstacles come our way.