In science and creative fields, it is well known that breakthroughs often arrive unexpectedly — sometimes while doing something completely unrelated. That’s why some scientists keep notebooks beside their beds or even in the bathroom, ready to capture inspiration before it fades.
Shohei Ohtani experiences something similar. He calls it a “moment of getting better” — a flash of insight that reveals a new possibility.
These moments can occur during practice. But they also arrive while he is resting in his room.
Most people would write the idea down and try it the next day. Or worse — decide it’s too late and forget about it.
Ohtani chooses differently.
When he feels that spark — “I want to try this” — he goes immediately to the weight room or the indoor facility to test it. Sometimes it takes only five or ten minutes.
But the difference between “tomorrow” and “right now” compounds over time.
As a child, he frequently watched YouTube videos of elite hitters and pitchers, studying their timing and mechanics. When an idea struck him, he would slide open the paper door in his room and use the reflection in the window to check his own form.
That habit never disappeared.
For Ohtani, inspiration is not something to archive.
It is something to act on.
And in that small gap between insight and action, separation begins.
Source
This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.
Opening a Path, Crossing the Ocean: The True Story of Shohei Ohtani, p.224