Ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) is a Japanese word that loosely means a reason for being but more accurately means to live your life’s purpose. The concept of ikigai originated on the island of Okinawa, which has some of the oldest, healthiest and not to mention happiest people in the world residing there. Ikigai centers on balancing the spiritual and practical aspects of living life’s purpose such as passion, mission, vocation and profession. Uniting all four aspects will lead to a more fulfilling life and give you a deeper reason for being. Once you are living a life filled with deeper meaning you will live a life of gratitude. There is a direct link between gratitude and happiness. When you are grateful, you are happy on a deeper level. You are living a life of deeper purpose and meaning.
In order to find your ikigai, you need to exam your life fully. You can start by examining the four components of ikigai, which are:
- What do you love? What brings your heart joy? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What are you passionate about?
- What are you good at in life? What are your natural talents? Where do you excel?
- Once, you know what you’re passionate about and where your talents reside, you need to ask this very important question, “What does the world need?” How can your passion and skills help the world and/or provide for it?
- Lastly, what can you get paid for? What is the world willing to pay you for?
The intersection of the above four facets is your ikigai. You can use the diagram below to help find your own personal ikigai. Or download the worksheet version.
Over the next month or so, on my YouTube channel, I will be reviewing all four components of ikigai independently and discussing how each adds to your life purpose so you can live a fuller and richer life.
For one-on-one help finding your life purpose sign up for a free sample coaching session here.
