That's right ... I'm going deep in today's article. As deep as I'll ever get, anyway. I am a fan of Japanese culture and concepts, and when I heard about the concept of Ikigai a couple of weeks ago I was intrigued and started reading more about it. I fell in love - not just because Japan is one of my favourite countries, but because it's such a beautiful concept.
Definition: In Japan, Ikigai (pronounced ick-ee-guy) is the thing that gets people out of bed in the morning. It means "a reason for being". The concept is said to have originated in Okinawa, which coincidentally has the largest population of centenarians in the world so ... some say that living with Ikigai could lead to longevity? Personally, I don't want to live until I'm super old but I DO want to live with purpose and doing something that I love so I'm ALL about the Ikigai!
Ask Yourself: Do you feel like you're destined for bigger and better things ... but you don't know what?! Maybe all you know is you want to do good in the world, and get rich at the same time and you're ready to get cracking on making this dream a reality but you don't know where the hell to start?!
Action: Sit down with a pen and paper and work through the diagram below answering the following questions:
What do you love? It can be anything - pizza, helping people, dogs, handstands, yoga, picking your nose in the car ... anything! List it all out.
What does the world need? What do you think would make it a better place, or make people's lives easier? Think big or small.
What can you be paid for? Aka - what skills do you have that you could be paid for? Customer service, stakeholder interactions, project management etc.
What are you good at? This could be anything too - video games? Tennis? Cooking? Picking your nose in the car? Write them all down.
Ikigai doesn't mean work or money ... it's supposed to guide you towards your purpose, and the job/money will follow. The idea is that you find the overlaps, and then you have your Ikigai in the middle - and although it might not be a perfect science - I love the activity.
ALSO I found a fun Ikigai quiz to do online ... it's pretty basic but a fun activity to see how much Ikigai you have in your life.
FYI - the website I've linked above also says that the framework I've just written this article about is incorrect and isn't Ikigai ... so ... fuuuck. I guess if that's true, I still really like the concept no matter whether it's really Ikigai or not. 🤷♀️
Let me know in the comments how much Ikigai you have in your life! When I did the quiz I got 90% - WHOOOOP winning. 🦾
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