Gaman — Dignified Endurance in the 8-Year Indie Stretch

TL;DR

Gaman (我慢) is the Japanese principle of dignified endurance — steadiness with character, not passive suffering. Applied to indie building: the eight pre-revenue transition years between my jump to freelance in 2015 and the real indie-builder mode in 2024. This is the hardest of the eight principles — harder than Kaizen, harder than Wabi-Sabi — because Gaman takes time as the variable, and time is the variable indie builders lose against most often. This post shows: what Gaman is (and is not), how the 8 years actually split, three indicators where Gaman fails, and under which conditions giving up is better than enduring.

Featured: stylized rocky coast in wind. Steadiness with character, not stubbornness.

Table of Contents

• What Gaman is (and is not)
• The cultural root
• My 8-year stretch 2015-2023 in phases
• Three indicators when Gaman fails
• When it is better to stop than endure
• Three practice disciplines
• FAQ

What Gaman is (and is not)

Gaman (我慢) translates literally as “to control oneself,” often described as “enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.” In Japanese culture it is a central virtue, often cited in connection with:

• Patience in difficult life phases
• Disciplined behavior in emergencies (e.g. after natural disasters)
• Dignified acceptance of circumstances one cannot change

Important: Gaman is NOT:

• Passive suffering without will to change
• Stubborn perseverance at any cost
• Self-denial as its own end
• Heroic suffering for external recognition

Gaman IS:

• Steadiness with character — you know what you do, you know why
• Responsibility instead of reactivity — no hectic, no complaining
• Discipline in the transition phase — the middle stretch is not spared but actively walked through

The cultural root

Gaman is in Western literature often associated with the 2011 Fukushima earthquake, where Japanese society collectively demonstrated Gaman as a response to the catastrophe (see NHK documentary and Reuters reporting 2011). The images of people patiently waiting, politely queueing, helping each other amid disaster have become globally a reference for Gaman.

That is the societal expression. The individual expression is older — rooted in Zen Buddhist and neo-Confucian virtue ethics. Robert Bellah in “Tokugawa Religion” (1957) describes Gaman as part of the Edo-era work ethic that later shaped the Japanese economic-miracle generation.

What in the West is often translated as “Stoicism” or “resilience” carries an additional dimension in Gaman: the collective expectation of dignity. You do not endure because you must, but because giving up in dignity is not even an option.

My 8-year stretch 2015-2023 in phases

My transition from IBM architect to indie builder took 9 years, of which 8 were the active transition phase. Honest phase breakdown:

8 years. Anyone seeing the finished 2024 indie builder does not see the eight years of phases 2-4. But those are the actual story.

Three indicators when Gaman fails

Gaman is not universal. It can fail — tips into passive suffering or self-destructive stubbornness. Three warning signals:

Indicator 1: Physical symptoms persist

Fatigue, back pain, sleep disorders — temporarily normal. Chronically after 6+ months under the same stress profile → Gaman has tipped into self-sacrifice. Here you need neither more discipline nor a new book — but retreat or external help.

In my 8-year phase 2 (2018-2020) I had no chronic symptoms — so it was still real Gaman. In phase 4 (2022-2023) back pain appeared — that was the signal the waiting was too long. That triggered the Ikigai test in 2023.

Indicator 2: Output becomes cynical or routine

Gaman lets quality hold despite the load. When quality drops — you deliver only “sufficient” instead of “good” — that is no longer Gaman but resignation in disguise.

Observable: in 2022 I started delivering pure pattern application instead of pattern invention in architecture projects. Equally well paid, but inwardly uninterested. That was not a “bad year” — it was the hint that Gaman had fulfilled its function and the next phase was due.

Indicator 3: Family / relationships cost substance

Dignified endurance concerns you. But when enduring the transition costs your relationships — family suffers, friendships wither, partner withdraws — Gaman has become a collateral-damage discipline. That is not dignified, that is selfish.

For me relatively well held by clear Sunday discipline (Shinrin Yoku). But: every indie builder doing this stretch must ask the question.

When it is better to stop than endure

Three conditions where stopping is the more Gaman-compliant choice:

Condition 1: Market has structurally changed

If your indie idea made sense in 2018 and no longer in 2024 (because a tech corp integrated the use case, because regulation flipped, because the audience disappeared), Gaman against reality is passive suffering. Acknowledging the world has turned is more dignified than holding on to the old plan.

Condition 2: You have had 3+ years without learning

If your work has not intellectually challenged you in 3 years — you are on autopilot just billing — then staying is not Gaman discipline but wasted lifetime.

For me concretely in phase 3 (2020-2022) a subtle version: I was intellectually challenged but not in the direction that interested me sustainably. That was not real learning, just variation on familiar terrain.

Condition 3: Existence threat without plan

If your financial reserve has dropped below 3 months and there is no clear plan for the next 12 months, enduring is not dignified but reckless. The indie truth: no one rewards heroic endurance in existence-threat. You disappear quietly.

Three practice disciplines

If you are in a transition stretch and want to shape Gaman discipline:

Discipline 1: 12-month check points

Every year in your birthday month: honest 1-hour session with yourself. Are you in Gaman or in self-sacrifice? Concrete questions:

• Have I learned in the last 12 months?
• Are physical symptoms persistent or temporary?
• Has output qualitatively improved or degraded?

If all three negative: change plan, do not endure longer.

Discipline 2: Visible transition targets

Write down how you will recognize that the transition phase is over. For me concretely in 2022:

• Conductor runs productively (✓ May 2024)
• At least 5 hero indie projects in reality-check stage (✓ 2024)
• Architecture client volume below 40% of my income (not yet, in progress)

Without visible targets, Gaman becomes endless waiting.

Discipline 3: External voice in the calendar

At least 1× per quarter, a person who does not see you in daily life asks: “Are you still where you want to be?” For me: old IBM colleagues + my wife + 2 indie-builder friends from Hamburg. Those without an external voice do not see the point where Gaman fails.

What about this is northern German

Northern German tradition knows Gaman under different words:

• Klare Kante. Ruhig bleiben. Nicht jammern. Nicht hektisch werden. (Clear edge. Stay calm. Do not complain. Do not get hectic.)
• Wer im Sturm flucht, hat den Sturm nicht verstanden. (Whoever curses the storm has not understood it.)
• Geht nicht, gibt es nicht. (My own version — see the brand manifesto.)

The Northern German ability to walk through difficult phases with calm without silence, discipline without harshness is Gaman in a geographically different tradition. The wind here is the teacher, what in Japan is the tea garden.

Where this goes next

My next Gaman step: phase 2 of the indie-builder career — turning pre-revenue indie products into revenue-positive products. Currently most of my 8 projects are pre-revenue. The next 6-24 months will be a second Gaman discipline: drive indie products to product maturity without letting architecture consulting income become a crutch.

If you are in a transition stretch and want to trade experiences: reach me on LinkedIn.

FAQ

How do I distinguish Gaman from Stoicism?

Stoicism (Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus) is a philosophical discipline of individual emotion regulation. Gaman is closely related but with two differences: (1) Gaman has a strong collective component (what-would-the-community-expect), (2) Gaman accepts dignity as its own purpose, not only as means to eudaimonia as in Stoicism.

Is Gaman the same as “grit”?

Related, not identical. Angela Duckworth’s “Grit” (2016) describes endurance + passion as success predictor. Gaman is similar but explicitly without success guarantee. You do not practice Gaman to win — but because giving up in dignity is not an option. That is an important difference.

How long can Gaman last at maximum?

No universal answer. For me 8 years — that is near the upper limit of what I find defensible. 3-5 years for a career transition phase is normal. 8+ years is the edge. >10 years is very likely no longer Gaman but self-sacrifice rebranded.

Which book do you recommend?

Robert Bellah: “Tokugawa Religion” (1957) — canonical sociology of Gaman-adjacent Edo-era ethics. Dry reading, but deep. Modern + more accessible: Yoko Ogawa: “The Memory Police” (2019), a novel that thematizes Gaman as individual lifework.

What if I cannot define a clear transition target?

Then the situation is not Gaman-ready. Whoever sees no target should first find one, then endure. Whoever endures without target practices not Gaman but resignation. The Ikigai test can help define the target.

Written on May 17, 2026 in Hamburg. Gaman is the hardest of the eight principles — because time as a variable is the most expensive. If you find this post useful, link to it.