Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy that means your reason for being or reason for waking up in the morning. It’s similar to the Greek eudaimonia, which says a life well lived leads to the highest and most lasting happiness. Ikigai brings meaning, purpose, and fulfillment to your life, while also contributing to the good of others. So how can we use this age-old philosophy to help us to find happiness and fulfillment?
It’s believed that everyone has an ikigai. It’s the intersection of passion, talent, and potential to help others. You can see this illustrated in the diagram below.
what you can gain by finding your ikigai
- A longer life.
- More happiness and peace.
- An exuberance and excitement for life.
- Improve others’ lives and make the world a better place.
Questions to help you find your ikigai
What activities do you love doing? Think about what you like to do in and outside of work. Also, remember hobbies, passions and things you are curious about.
What things did you love doing when you were a child or a teenager? Think about the games you played, your favorite classes in school and what jobs you dreamed of doing.
Do you have a dream project? Something that you’d like to make come true at some point in your life?
What matters to you? What kind of impact do you want to make? What kind of change would you like to see in the world?
Who or what inspires you? What makes you angry?
What are you good at? What are your strengths? Think about activities that leave you feeling great and energized. What makes you lose track of time?
Examples of personal strengths:
- ambitious
- creative
- flexible
- motivated
- persistent
- authentic
- dedicated
- honest
- optimistic
- responsible
- caring
- enthusiastic
- integrity
- open-minded
- trustworthy
Examples of experience based strengths:
- team player
- motivational
- great public speaker
- great communicator
- good listener
- detail orientated
- great leader
- follows direction
- problem-solver
What knowledge-based skills do you have? (Examples: accounting, marketing, financing, engineering, writing, music, teaching, photography, etc…
What do people ask your help for? What can you teach others?
What jobs can you do? Think about all the jobs you’ve had past and present. Think of all the skills you have.
What can you sell? Think of a product that you can create and sell. What problem would it solve and what need would it fulfill?
Finding your ikigai will take some time and reflection. Write down the answers to the above questions and then look it over and see if you can find your ikigai sweet spot.
How you know you’ve found your ikigai
- You love it and are passionate about it.
- You are great at it.
- The world needs it.
- You can get paid for it.
I believe every human being has a purpose for being on this earth. I also know it’s our birthright to have something that we love so much that we can’t wait to get out of bed so we can do it. We all deserve passion and excitement in our lives. Imagine a world where everyone was living their ikigai. I think it would be a much happier and more positive world!
Here are some of my other blogs!
- 7 Quotes Curated by an introvert
- Introverts and Cats: Two Peas In A Pod
- why you should teach your child mindfulness
- Insightful Quotes By Introverted Musicians
- How the age old philosophy of ikigai can help you find happiness
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