Ikigai becomes a trending term in modern lifestyle and life calling phylosophy. Pretty much everyone is eager to find a life purpose, their calling, a harmonic combination of passion, aptitude and impact.
What does ikigai mean?
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being”. The word refers to having a meaningful direction or purpose in life, constituting the sense of one’s life being worthwhile, with actions taken towards achieving one’s ikigai resulting in satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life.
Try Ikigai yourself
Here are a few simple steps you can take to make use of Ikigai approach to find your life purpose (no pressure, just if you’re wondering).
Step 1.
Grab sticky notes in 4 colours.
Step 2.
On one colour write down the things you’re really passionate about or things that you love, this can be everything from computers to playing with your dog – the more the better. Each new thing must go on a separate sticky note.
Now stick them up on the wall at the top. The placement is important.
Step 3.
On the second colour, write the things you’re good at. Some of these things might overlap with the previous sticky notes and that’s great just write them again on the second colour stickies. Now stick them up on the wall just below and to the left of the previous notes. Again, each new thing must go on a separate sticky note.
Step 4.
On the third colour, write down things you can earn money from. This is specific to you and your skills. So in the previous category, you might have said that you can fit 40 almonds in your mouth but unless someone will pay you good money for this skill, it doesn’t belong in this category. Stick these up on the wall at the bottom.
Step 5.
Save the fourth colour for the things which the world needs. So write down any ways in which you could benefit the world, and stick them up on the wall on the right.
There is a good reason why you should place the sticky notes in the example above in particular spots on the wall. If you look at the below diagram, you’ll see the words passion, mission, vocation and profession at the overlapping points.
What does this mean?
Passion: The things that you love and that you’re also good at.
Mission: The things that the world needs and that you also love.
Vocation: The things that you can be paid for and also that the world needs.
Profession: The things that you’re good at and also what you can be paid for.
If you focus on the overlapping points, you will find yourself a lot closer to what your ikigai, your true purpose, actually is.
If you’d like to know more about finding your ikigai and implementing this knowledge in your life please let me know in the comments 😉
You can also check out this book on Ikigai available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ikigai-Japanese-Secret-Long-Happy/dp/0143130722
