According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai. An ikigai is essentially ‘a reason to get up in the morning’. A reason to enjoy life.
Having spent most of the last few years helping dozens and dozens of entrepreneurs find their ikigai, whilst also searching for my own, I can now visualise where it belongs.
Your ikigai lies at the centre of those interconnecting circles. If you are lacking in one area, you are missing out on your life’s potential. Not only that, but you are missing out on your chance to live a long and happy life.
I have had a long time obsession with outliers, and interestingly enough, there are some outlier communities in the world that live far longer than average. If you are interested in learning more about this, watch Dan Buettner’s TED talk on How to Live to 100+. There are some surprising conclusions about the factors that create a long and healthy life. One of the most significant factors is ikigai.
These days, my reason for getting out of bed is to work on projects that reimagine society and education. For someone who spent decades struggling to find a reason to get out of bed, it is now a refreshing change to have this deep sense of purpose. My health and wellbeing have radically improved during recent years, too. The primary reason for this has not been the healthy choices I have made or the diets I have followed, but because I now live with a sense of purpose – and that is the platform for all the other decisions I make.
In The Dandelion Project, we are looking to make Guernsey the best place to live on earth by 2020. Part of that mission is discovering how we can all live a long and healthy life. One of our moonshot goals is for Guernsey to become the first country on earth to have a life expectancy of 100.
We have created this goal to challenge our community to look at healthcare in a radically different way. Living a long life has very little to do with medicine and surgery, which is where most of our health care spending goes. It has everything to do with moving, eating and meaning. All of which can be achieved at no cost to the community.
If we can come together with a collective sense of belief and purpose and take action on this, our population of 65,000 will live longer and be in better health. All without a single doctor’s appointment or pill!
The secret to a long and happy life is not to live in the hope of a great life tomorrow. It is to live with intention today. What I love is that this is possible not only at the individual level, but entire communities can learn from it, as well.
Have you found your ikigai?
– Are you doing something that you love?
– That the world needs?
– That you are good at?
– And that you can be paid for?
How can you live with purpose today, to live a longer and healthier life?
As ever, I am interested to hear your thoughts, comments, and experiences. Please share them in the comments section below.
Marc
Update: This blog post and the meme contained in this post has been seen by tens of millions of people worldwide. The find out more about the story behind it read this post.
The NFT for the Ikigai Venn Diagram Meme can be found here.
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Great one! Love the visual!
Thanks Scott.
thanks marc
I believe this is very much in alignment with Jim Collins reference to a company’s hedgehog concept in “Good to Great”. Solid people concepts are applicable to individuals as well as organizations of individuals. Conceptually, he identified three circles and you have identified four; differentiating between vocation and profession. Either way, I absolutely agree that the key to finding fulfillment (even a sense of purpose or calling) is through getting aligned with the intersecting area between skill, passion and external “need”.
Super cool post Marc!
Kinda, thank you so much for this commentary. It made my day. Keep up the positivity!
I could not agree more with this. As a nutritionist I find those that have their “ikigai”, are able to lead happier and healthier lifestyles with minimal health support. Those that are not living their life with that purpose require far more attention with regards to optimal nutrition and lifestyle management.
I see a very strong relationship between the psychological mind and the physical body.
I call it Ying and Yang or Mojo. My is very much unbalanced due to unfair QCAT Hearing and now having to deal with trying to get help to appeal. I’m really worried about my Mum it’s having a terrible affect on her. I just want to get her Home to her house, unfortunately the Adult Guardian and Public Trustee are involved. It’s draining, daunting, suffocating our energy and intruding on our lives and our Human Rights. I want to take her on a well deserved Holiday. Unfortunately I urgently need to get a regular income. It’s very difficult to Focus at times.
Melinda I think you have found your ikigai. Please see the page on Facebook called Boomers Against Elder Abuse.
How do I find my ikigai? You fall into a rut of doing things the way they are for the fear of not wanting to get out of your comfort zone and then suddenly one day you realize you are bored and want to find your ikigai? At this stage what do you do?
Try to search the activities that you love. You might as well find one that the world needs. Get good at it if you don’t already do, and see if you can get paid for it. Search for the answer inside yourself, by yourself. Search of Ikigai can be a lenghty process. Good luck!
Superb Explanation Martin Bouchard about the process of finding the unknown path, You made my day
With all due respect through my experiences I’ve had to get out of myself, out of my own head, and thoughts, and stop looking within. Sometimes breathing and just looking up to something greater than myself i.e. (Higher power, or God……etc… has helped. Being patient as well as not being so hard on yourself can bring about the change you are searching for at the most unexpected times. I am excited to live in the moment even if it is in fact boring! These are the times where you can do your soul searching and really find out who you are and what your purpose may be! When you have nothing, it is at those times that you can discover that you actually have something! I am excited to start this journey and find my Ikigai! I am glad I stumbled upon this informative material! Good luck!
Jeannine I’m very much agreed with your answer… Thankyou for sharing such a great insight.
The key is to start small..little changes..walk a different way..wear a different colour..sing a new song..try a new food ..little acorns produce massive oak trees ..
Wonderful insight into something new for me.
Ah
So that’s ikigai!
Very good stuff.
I love the thought of the IKIGAI . Makes me want to sit and check what’s mine
Absolutely wonderful post! Let’s start a revolution and all focus on finding our ikigai!
Ikigai – interesting idea, don’t think I’ve got one. Getting out of bed and enjoying life are two different things for me. I have “passion” only for my family. I’m not passionate about my work – I like it and I’m good at it, not for reasons of “passion” but because of professional aspiration. The business I’m in needs that expertise and I’m getting paid for it rather well. “Improving the world”? Nope – not the world, not before I haven’t improved upon myself. Am I a sad cynic? No, not that either. Perhaps, and perhaps more acurately, I’m not at “ikigai” – I’m more focussed on personal “Kaizen” – continuous improvement, like getting the beam out of my eye before pointing out the splinter in yours. Would nice to arrive at Ikigai.
Awesome – that graphic is going on my desktop so I can see it every day (after I get up).
Having read this I thought it was extremely informative.
I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article
together. I once again find myself personally spending a
significant amount of time both reading and posting comments.
But so what, it was still worthwhile!
Inspiring, thoughtful and it has actually moved me to consider more concretely what it is exactly that makes me want to get up to face each day! I too read replies because I wanted to read how this has touched others’ hearts and minds…thanks all for sharing. I need to give the diagram more thought, print it, share it and talk to others about it.
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Where does the Passion, Mission, Vocation, Profession visual model originate from? Whose Intellectual Property is it please – I’m trying to find the source article(s). Thanks x
This is a direct life out of Jim Collins’ work, adding the Ikigai concept in in the middle….
https://vialogue.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/good-to-great-and-the-social-sectors-notes-review/
Dear Donna, Neville,
though consisting of circles and using one of the terms, the source is not the ultimate one for this particular diagram. Nowadays I am using the concept in my teaching at university, designed lots of exercises with it, and would dearly love to get to the real, more proximate source of the 4 circle diagram with the very specific words in the overlapping circles.. Are you any closer since two years ago? 🙂
Kindest regards, Marc
Dear Marc,
I’m curious about the exercises you have designed. I have some exercises designed with it too. Can you share some of your ideas and experiences?
Would very much appreciate it.
Regards, Lieke
Marc, if you’re still looking the concept goes back at least as far as 2010 – http://coreymandell.net/2010/08/17/
I haven’t found the original source, but I believe the “thing at the centre” was originally “purpose” not Ikigai.
You may consider reading this.
https://ikigaitribe.com/ikigai/ikigai-misunderstood/
This is now how the Japanese understood Ikigai. A nice illustration, but we are going to miss a lot of life if we start thinking this is Ikigai.
It is similar to the Hedgehog Concept which I was using for years. But these, I realized that Asian philosophies are no longer recognizable when explained in Western Venn diagrams.
Todos comen, y la mayoría de las personas se divierten haciéndolo, con lo que el alimento
siempre y en todo momento es buen interés común para
preguntas de una trivia.
I’m a cop… I hate it…cause people hate me for my job
the police saved my life once. We don’t all hate you.
Mine as well. Twice! Once, solely by being present and within eye/earshot of a psycho who I’m positive would have ended it. Unfortunately, I can’t find him to thank him. He wasn’t even aware, not because of a lack of awareness, but because I froze, unable to speak, move a muscle to escape, or signal distress! I’m saddened that so many Officers feel the way you do… I’ve had to save my own life twice as well, but I’m not bitter or angry that L.E. couldn’t help me at the time. Nor do I place blame. I’ve seen, felt, and heard the ignorance shown by humans as a whole, and refuse to participate. Bad people come in all forms, period. I have overcome far too much to criticize an entire community over a single member’s actions. On behalf of all those whose life was saved, enriched, or changed in a positive manner that impacted entire families and communities, please know… You matter. I am grateful!
Thank you for serving those who show no gratitude, respect, or tolerance for your courage to enforce laws knowing that it will require difficult, often painful decisions that will earn you only criticism. For making those judgement calls even for those some would say don’t deserve your help. For being the person responding to a call for help from a victim of violence, for being brave, strong, and dedicated to helping us, regardless of how much fear you feel personally. Thank you for protecting those of us who couldn’t protect ourselves, regardless of the possible risks to your life, health, and sanity. Thank you for saving far greater lives than any of us know, but mostly the ones you aren’t even aware of. Some of us pray daily that every Officer goes home safe every day.
God Bless and Keep You… Always!
I’m a nurse and I hate it. Gringos you down and destroys the soul
Grinds you down
I can assure you that you have a positive impact on some of your patients. I once was in the hospital. The IG surgeon wanted to perform an operation on me. I asked the nurses advise. She was taken aback at first, but I trust her over a surgeon. As a nurse, you don’t do it for the money or prestige, most nurses do it because they truly care. I followed her advise and saved myself from an unnecessary operation. No, you have a positive impact on some. Thank you for what you do.
This is perfect. I turn 29 in a few weeks, and have done a lot of things in my short time here; taught english in asia, was an itinerant fruit picker, lived on a commune and went to a bunch of music festivals, got suicidal, became a veterinary nurse, almost got married, worked 12 hour shifts in a factory, got really really ill, bred dogs, and all sorts of other things
But while all of those satisfied various part of me, there was always something off. It felt like I was wasting my life.
I sat down and had a long hard think about my skills and my values. ACT (action and commitment therapy) is really good for finding your ikigai; it helps you to look at the discrepancy between what you hold important, how you spend your days and what you’re capable of doing/willing to learn.
I’m now completing a PhD working for an NGO in Africa. I’m constantly exhausted and often confused and frustrated. I miss my friends and family. But I can get up every day and know that it will not be wasted; I will be able to feed myself while performing an valuable service in an area I’m competent in and find satisfaction, and sometimes even joy.
Its possible. Find your thing. Do it better.
Thank you Haylee, that was very inspiring! My ikigai is to help women declutter their homes.
Great article!:) How happy & productive world we could live in if everyone is aligned with their ikigai. Do you think it is possible?
Thank you for this succint reminder.
Longevity has always had as much to do with a healthy mental lifestyle as with a physical one.
Purpose, interest and connection are all linked to better mental health as well.
The loss of community and the help it provides to developing ikegai seems to be a major contributor to depression.
Sandy
vajrablue.com
My Ikigai is to live in Guernsey 😉
I recently saw a documentary on Guernsey and Jersey. Both very beautiful places.
Hi Marc, Great article although I found it late! I relate to what you have written very much.
My purpose is to create beautiful uplifting spaces where people can re-connect and feel centred again. Really important when talking about healthcare.
Have a look at my site for some examples.
Good luck.
Helen
Hi Helen
That sounds really interesting. Would love to know more about how you’re doing that
What happens to all the older workers who lost their jobs and livelihoods at the age of 50 and fell from the middle class into poverty? Sure, there are many great things to do that would add purpose to our lives. But they require going to school all over again. How can someone age 50 or 60 go through undergraduate and graduate school all over again. I see women in their 50s graduate from law school and then after all of that debt they can’t get jobs or pay the license fees. It’s very hard to put this together as an older person.
LS, after retirement, the requirements for a happy, useful life could still be met by anyone who finds purpose in his life, who finds pride in so doing, and could still provide for himself a decent livelihood. It may not be the same as being employed or in business as brisk as in his younger years, but satisfying, nonetheless, with respect to his basic needs as a human being.
The ikigai is coincident with saying that “you love your work” and such a work is valued by society, needed by the world, you are expert at it, and gives you an income. It redounds to selfworth, and usefulness, esteem and dignity felt by the individual.
Thank you Rey Rex.. I run a doggy day care business looking after people’s animals whilst they work, go on vacation etc..they live in my home & are treated as if they were my children, and I adore them.. My favorite is a female dog whose life was saved by two wonderful women on holiday in China,they literally stopped this animal & her siblings from being buried alive.. They named her Ikigai..
I love your views and figure. One thing I see a little different is because of the word that is chosen. You choose: “which you can be paid for”. This has to do with nowadays economy and not so much with timeless values. In my opinion the current economy does not make possible that people live to their Ikigai..
I don’t see it necessary to be a job someone pays for. Lots of achievements in the field of environmental and social work are based on voluntary work.
In my opinion this “box” means it is something you do that is valued in a way so you can make a living (live from it). That could be with a basic income, donations, sharing services and other ways that communities can live in harmony based on values.
What are your thoughts about this?
Personally this is the only point I am still somewhat insecure about. I’m restoring ecosystems because of all the other factors and because I believe that making a living (having a roof over my head and food on my plate) will follow, because it is the right thing to do.. Or would you say that is naive and everyone needs to find it in a paid job or has to find a specific someone or a foundation that pays for work that makes the living world (ecosystems no-one owns) a little better?
Thank you!
Your point of view may sound naive to those who doesn’t know anything about marketing and sustainability, but for me, it is wonderful!!!
If you want to achieve the goal of living from taking care of the environment, who could say you are not able not learn Non-profit marketing strategy?
Perfect diagram for the search of the center of the “why” that we are here.
Great discussion. I had a breakdown in November 2014 that caused me to re-evaluate life and my interaction with it. I came up with my own equation that I apply in all facets of my life – from tasks/self/team/family/life in general:
Clarity & Essence = Purpose & Meaning
I had to figure out my vision (Clarity) but wanted to retain my authentic self (Essence) This was my ‘what do I want’ portion. Once I could define that, I could then focus on the drive behind it (Purpose) and why it was important (Meaning).
It has helped me greatly synthesize areas and is likely not perfect but works for me. So whether you do an equation / seek harmony or look to find you ikigai I wish you well on your journey.
Would the Japanese have a picture like the one above, or is that a purely Western (US) way of thinking of Ikigai?
This has nothing to do with the Japanese concept of ikigai. Purely western way of thinking.
When writing out my own diagram can I use the same words in more than one space? Or should try very hard to find a different answer for each space?
Hello, love your post on igikai. I am writing a book on audition success including a chapter on purpose and would be pleased if I could use your diagram above in my book. I will be willing to credit you in the book. If you can let me know via email would be most appreciated.
I really love this idea! I am very excited to hear how this unfolds. I wish you Long Life and Happiness!
This is awesome,thank you Marc, please tell us more about your country community
Really good. .. appreciate. .
The secret to a long and happy life is not to live in the hope of a great life tomorrow. It is to live with intention today. What I love is that this is possible not only at the individual level, but entire communities can learn from it, as well.
I think that in the concept of Ikigai something fundamental is missing: feeling love for people and receiving love for people, without doing nothing, just being ourselves. This is the starting point for an happy life and it is not linked with what we love to do or what we are good to do or what we could be paid to do.
When can I move to there and help out?
I dont want to get up on a morning. I need a reason. I dont have one.
Hope this helps
– Are you doing something that you love? Not really- I dont love many things
– That the world needs? The world needs me like a hole in the head. Every day I put masses of plastic in the bin. I create long term pollution. Battery chemicals, nuclear waste
– That you are good at? I used to be good at many things but now my memory is like a sieve. I used to be an A grade student razor sharp intelligence
– And that you can be paid for? If there was anything I enjoyed in life besides cuddling and being in love it would be here
Ok so it didnt work……. Id say 20 years on a wheelchair, celibate, alone, unemployed, minimum income, no holidays away- Im not a failure anyone who had my life would be depressed.
Whats the answer? Id say my entire life problem would be resolved if my body and brain were able to remember and produce some pleasure chemicals when I eat something nice… see something nice on TV… give someone a hug. I just need a tingle and a brain that works. But my body doesnt work like that anymore. The tingle of excitement, curiosity, enchantment, anticipation, satisfaction has gone. I could eat caviar and feel nothing. I am numb… and forgetful. Numb and dumb
Perhaps my story demonstrates the importance of a career (including parent as a career). You can see without a career what happens to a person- what has happened to me.
I believe society is going in the wrong direction by making computers do the work and making humans slowly redundant. Technology is increasing unemployment.
Unemployment makes people unhealthy. Look in your own city at the unemployed people… how much more damaged they are mentally. Employment isnt about being a slave to a machine. Its only slavery if money is put before the pleasure of the workforce and the customer. The objective of a business is healthy if it is to provide wonderful experiences to all who interact with it. Its unhealthy if the objective is to squeeze everything to get maximum profit so a few people can eat caviar and truffles whilst 1000s of people suffer the squeeze.
Some people cant work due to illness. I could do a very specially designed job…basically sitting doing nothing … eg watching for something such as shoplifters or waiting for something. But the staff at the jobcentre have even been replaced with computers as this saves money. The few staff remaining are so tightly stretched they cannot provide me with assistance… because it would take a lot of time to set up/find a job like that.
Mass unemployment with robots and technology doing all the work will create an unprecedented overload on health services, especially mental health services. People who dont work or have kids are suicidal by 40. Just hanging out eating drinking chatting being entertained… you become suicidal… people would be bored by age 30 suicidal by 40.
love you inside of me has not been found yet. I have had so much Western medicine used on me that I am basically disabled for life. I am trying to find the things that I enjoy to do. Ihopefully one of these crafts will allow me to make money I have always labored in the past and now that is an impossibility have 60 screws four bars in cage in my back.I truly believe that the doctor used me as a guinea pig and this is something that I need to let go of. I need to get past this and move on. at this point it’s hard to move at all I fall and get stuck on the floor for three and a half hours. it takes an hour and a half to get out of the bathtub. Yeah I love my bathes,soaking in a quiet bath gives me time to reflect and meditate and get rid of the negativity I think of everything that is wrong and let it go when I’m in the bathtub and try to replace it with goodness. it’s my favorite place for meditation. that’s where I am at this point. I have a very positive foundation I just need to work on my other focal points I have a lot of love a lot of passion and a lot of desire to be able to make money and be able to give torwards my living, and get off of the pills that I am on I do not like taking them.
love you inside of me has not been found yet. I have had so much Western medicine used on me that I am basically disabled for life. I am trying to find the things that I enjoy to do. hopefully one of these crafts will allow me to make money I have always labored in the past and now that is an impossibility have 60 screws four bars in cage in my back.I truly believe that the doctor used me as a guinea pig and this is something that I need to let go of. I need to get past this and move on. at this point it’s hard to move at all I fall and get stuck on the floor for three and a half hours. it takes an hour and a half to get out of the bathtub. Yeah I love my bathes,soaking in a quiet bath gives me time to reflect and meditate and get rid of the negativity I think of everything that is wrong and let it go when I’m in the bathtub and try to replace it with goodness. it’s my favorite place for meditation. that’s where I am at this point. I have a very positive foundation I just need to work on my other focal points I have a lot of love a lot of passion and a lot of desire to be able to make money and be able to give torwards my living, and get off of the pills that I am on I do not like taking them.
Thank you. Inspiring, will need to discuss down and find my ikigai
Awakening to the understanding and experience that we are beyond our “daily grind” is the first step in creating a LIFE with PURPOSE….our special Ikigai! It is wonderful to see the shift happening…and with this, there is promise we will all be able to experience and encourage a WORLD experiencing their Ikigai! Thank you for illuminating another level of what so many are seeking!
Lisa and Michelle,
I’m so sorry you are in a bad place right now. The danger for both of you is that you are thinking of it as a ‘forever place’. But it’s not.
This life gives us many opportunities to learn, and sometimes the lessons are hard. But that’s all they are – lessons. And when the bell goes at the end of your lesson you can move on, maybe to one you enjoy more?
I was talking to a friend the other night. He’s been in a bad place himself, having been a high flier in the banking industry, having it all and having come down with a crash and losing it all. When I met him he was just starting to emerge again – over the past two years he’s come on so far. Not back to the place he was in; his lesson was to learn that other places are better.
Now his life is full of an integrity he didn’t have before – and instead of being a ‘taker’ he’s become a ‘giver’, as well as a helper and, perhaps, even a healer. He can do this because he knows what it’s like to fail. He can empathise. He can listen. he can give hope to the hopeless. This isn’t a ‘job’. It isn’t even a ‘volunteer post’. It’s an integral part of his life. It comes up if and when – but who is to say it isn’t as valuable as the work of, for example, a skilled surgeon?
He’s still growing, still getting stronger, but now his formerly empty life (he lost wife, home, was on drugs and alcohol, etc. etc) has meaning. In other words, he’s found his ikigai!
BUT – one thing that relates very much to you two. He had to learn how to accept help. And that was possibly the hardest part of his lesson.
So – learn to accept, gracefully, any help you are given. If there is nothing else to be thankful for, be thankful for the fact the you can still see, or hear, or that the sun is shining today, Give thanks every morning – for something. Gradually the list will grow.
The next step is to smile. Start by smiling at the first three people you meet every day. Gradually the forced smiles will become genuine – and when you get a smile or two back it feels good. And then smiling becomes part of your life, as natural as breathing,and brings good things your way.
That’s enough, I think. I won’t be back to this site as I have too much to do. I’m retired, but life is so full of …. everything. There just isn’t enough time to do it all.
I”m living my own life backwards, as I’ve had every bad thing you can imagine happen to me. Whooohooo! Now I know how to rise above it all. Ikigai – I love you!
I have no clue where my passion lies or how to make a living doing something I love.
I lived on Okinawa when I was young and noticed the ” hooray work” attitude of the locals. I now teach many years and jobs later. I’ve had the lucrative yet blood pressure raising and the fabulous and broke jobs and I’ve finally found one with everything. I’m glad to see the entire concept in one handy venn diagram. I just wish I had seen it 30 years ago!
World Love Supreme is all of life’s dream… I am fortunate to discover my own genius and learned how to share with the world…
worldfxcapital.com
Hi Marc
I’ve just come across your article and had been working with Ikigai for some time
I live in jersey and love the sound of the dandelion project – perhaps it’s something we could join you with and become a whole Channel Islands whereby we could all live to 100
What if you don’t know the answers to the 4 key questions…..
See earlier reply from Martin Bouchard:
February 25, 2016 at 3:35 am
Try to search the activities that you love. You might as well find one that the world needs. Get good at it if you don’t already do, and see if you can get paid for it. Search for the answer inside yourself, by yourself. Search of Ikigai can be a lenghty process. Good luck!
I kind of struggling with the idea of being paid to do what I love , are passionate about and good at . My talents lies in taking care of people and I thought it would be time now to work in the field of health care . After studying for a couple of months I realized that I wanted to help others but have the freedom to do it my way . It seemed to me that fallowing a bunch of rules and regulations was becoming more like a job and less like a true vocation . The idea of getting paid for giving care feels like I am not doing it from the goodness of my heart anymore . I decided to keep my job and volunteer in helping people . Sounded like a good compromise to me . Anyone else struggling with the idea of getting paid ?
I’m going through some life coaching at the moment and after my own revelation that I felt like I had lost my ‘point’ in life I think the recommendation from my coach to read this article has made me realise what I’ve lost…. I’m now on a quest to rediscover my ikigai – thanks so much for this article and for summing ‘it’ up so well
I am arash senamiri I am iraninan but I live in armenia I play harp and I am raw vegan.
I want to live in nutur and I want a girls for friendship.
i am 27 years old.
I can I can treat diseases。
I can cure poverty
Such an interesting concept. I think ikigai can be different things during your life. A friend posted a link to your ikigai blog to me as I think she recognised ikigai in both of us. I have recognised for a while that for me to feel fulfilled I need to work in a job and live a life that has meaning and for me that has always been acting to enhance others lives. I am currently working during the school week with students in an autism specific class helping those little boys to cope and calm, to learn to self regulate and to be caring and kind. The work is challenging and I love to see the boys grow and develop and become calmer and happier. On the weekend I nurse one shift at aged care in a dementia unit where I love to talk to the residents, care for them and find some joy in their afternoon. I put music of their era on the cd and they spontaneously sing and we laugh and sometimes dance and I do my best to help them smile and enjoy the evening. Two nights a week my husband and I run a trampoline sports club where children come to learn trampolining. We have from 5 year old beginners to adult international athletes. It’s all about providing opportunities for them. When I can (every few weeks) I take my little papillon dog to visit the residents at aged care, they love her. I am not surprised that I am feeling content and happy during this stage of my life, I really feel a sense of purpose, my ikigai
Michelle you seem to have found your Ikigai, and I to have found the contentment & the happiness, my purpose in life.. It’s wonderful..
Hey Anonymous!!!That’s cool that you were there for that!!!That was a little before my time, but it was part of the stock of legends passed down by the SR staffers since the Student Review grew out of the ashes of the Seventh East Press.
May 4, 2012 – 10:09 pm Hey Matt, I observed that these are actually what every business owner is doing. I mean communication is really important and to me it is not the quantity that counts, it’s the quality, even you have few followers compared to others, the point is that they are able to reach you and your business through Twitter. Great points here.
That is awesome, what you are doing is your ikigai and makes you a wonderful human being
I have not yet found my life purpose, I love the idea that I can now call it my ikigai, it sounds friendlier and it just might happen sooner than I think. I know there is something I can do to unite my skills and help other people before I’m done. It will come to me.
Simple. Beautiful. It’s like Ken Robinson’s book “The Element” wrapped up into one straightforward “Aha!” diagram. I’m saving this one!
There is some evidence out there that supports nurture-oriented health regimes. However, claiming that Ikigai can cure cancer (implied by the no doctors, no pills statement) is at best a premature and improbable prognostication and at worst a sleazy sales pitch.
Also, I love the Venn diagram, but it’s hardly novel. As mentioned in early comments, Jim Collins has his version, so does Peter Thiel, and there are others. Claiming your iteration to be novel is forgivable if it adds true value, for example if you explained HOW to achieve Ikigai. But making the claim and then jumping to another equally unsupported claim seems amateurish, lazy.
Love the topic, not the execution.
Bonjour,
Merci pour votre conseil, moi par exemple je suis arrivée a mon objectif ; le theatre. je suis enseignante de theatre dans une école privé, mais chaque matin j’ai du mal à me réveiller, aussi par ce que je n’ai pas grand chose à donner aux enfants.
Merci de me donner plus de conseils.
Well to be honest I cannot isolate myself from my future , the concept of concentrating and focussing on today with a purpose is very invigorating but for how long ? What if that purpose ends , shall I then pursue another purpose ? How to control my mind ? Kindly guide me through
I’m still searching for my purpose in life and I really like the fact that there are actually other people doing the same thing and that it has a Japanese name. So far I have called it my mission or looking for a higher goal, something that can link my skills with my yearning to be of help to others and really make a difference.
Now I can say I am searching for my ikigai, it sounds friendly and within reach, so thank you for sharing.
I had a dream last night and a woman hugged me and told me what had happened before was one of my reasons for being here. When i remember a dream its important and then i found the Ikigai. Funny how one simple thing that seemed so small was the one big thing.
I am on a new path in life and it does give me purpose and fulfillment that I had never had before. Thank you for posting this article and I believe if your soul/spirit is happy and wants to live, the body will follow. Form follows function type of thing.
Hi Marc,
Extremely interesting to see you health improved more in regards to leading a life you love, thereby improving your spirit and mental.
You mention this is a community goal of Guernsey. The whole island is working towards this goal of approaching your health via a different route than the norm?
Cool regardless. Now I want to visit Guernsey!
Colby
JUST LOVED IT. THE NEED OF THE HOUR FOR EVERYONE. THANKS FOR POSTING
Our church just did a four-part series with speakers on Ikigai. It was an amazing four Sundays.
This is copy of a spanish graphic made Andrés Zuzunaga two years before (2012):
and it was published and well quoted in 2013 in this book .
You can find many copies of them but no one with a creation date before 2012.
Hi,
Thanks for the article. I’ve found my ikigai thanks to this article. Probably, you won’t believe it but i’ve spent years on answering questions like what i like to do, how what i do helps other people. This article was the last block to get my puzzle done. Now, I know what is my mission.
Your article was just on time. Thank you very much!
Maria
I loved ur attitude of making a difference in community not just self
Hey Mark, this is very inspiring and motivating. Im an artist and i like to believe that im good at my art and get paid for it,also iv attached my art and earnings to helping the needy, im not sure if that qualifies as the need of the world….let me know ur thots on it.
I am too unhappy with the people who wronged me, conspired against me and could not sleep. Now after redefining myself with a reason to get up. I am really happy. I want to reimagine the society and education. I am best at teaching some subjects. I want to keep myself busy with that or writing. I found my IKIGAI. Your write up was most helpful for me.
Nice !
Although every on of us as Ikigai, but didn’t know it’s known has Ikigai…
It’s really awesome feeling to have some Ikigai in one’s life.
Took me 50 years to find my ikigai. Just been offered f/t job today teaching first aid. As a Tibetan Buddhust I have been searching all my life for a way to make me happy and most imortantly benefit others. I found this and in peoples greatest time of need. I now have happiness or ikigai!
IKIGAI is a great goal for our live. This concept is good to define our directions. Talent, opportunite and passions used to be my way to live.
I recently left a job that had me in tears at least a once week. My current position is amazing. I saw a friend who commented, “You are always smiling”. My life is a perfect example of your article. I have a job with meaning, that provides me with a pay check, which I love and for which I feel passionate. Thanks for putting into words and picture an explanation for my joy!
My ikigai is to build websites/apps that will help to drive this world to be more efficient and help others to solve their problem and I get paid quite well for that 🙂 love what you do and money will comes sooner or later.
Thanks for this, very interesting and informative.
I’m wondering, regarding the Ikigai: did you formulate the four circles (“That which you love”, etc) or they are an original part of the Japanese “Ikigai” concept? I’d like to read more about it and about its origins but can’t find much that mentions the four circles…A
What a wonderful concept..has made me reflect as to what I love doing.I am ophthalmologist by profession but that is what I do for living.What I love doing is uplifting people who feel low and I have tried to inculcate that in my practice… Would like to know more about this concept
This concept hits a cord with people. I use it in my consultancy practise where I coach people on the process of their career reinvention. There is much depth in this theory and within it’s application. It works very well when balanced with helping a person to understand their true talents and helping them to identify their value proposition.
Thanks for sharing and for providing people with a space to comment.
Really it’s very interesting and helpful to know that what we can make it to use for selfawareness.Thank you .
I feel relaxed
First I heard of it, makes me wonder what my IKIGAI is?
Thank you! Ikigai is the “sweet spot”that helps you to leave your thumbprint on the world. Or as Steve Jobs said, “put a dent in the universe”….. A purpose driven life.
This post is too good. I’m just wondering how it came out to be this splendid. it has been really helpful to me in the process of simplifying life purpose issues.
Expecting more of the sort.
A lovely dream , about the Guernsey community. But whilst they are spraying places with weaponised fungus( chem trails ) ,g.m.o foods , unfiltered poisonous tap water , chemicals in personal grooming products , crops and livestock, sprayed/ injected with chemicals , big pharma , vaccinating today’s kids , with a cocktail of up to 44 different ingredients. Your community will not happen
Hi,
Thanks for the post. Some thoughts to share ….
a. a sense of existential purpose could at different stages and contexts give rise to different possibilities …
b. two or more possibilities could be pursued at the same stage of life…as long as one is able to balance the wheels of living
c. My example
1. Profession : Being in software enginnering profession focus on R&D, Consulting in specialized areas of work
2. Vocation : Being a trainer as a vocation to meet the needs for new skills in Digital era
3. Volunteer : Love to Learn , Imagine/Ideate, Guide, Help, Teach –Mission –> As a volunteer to bridge the Digital divide in rural school settings
4. Passion : Working in creative projects while influencing/being influenced by others.
All these examples are around my ikigai as a “gardener” of sorts who loves to grow with the whole existence in different ways…..
Thanks
Sukisha
Finding the Ikigai sounds like finding a compromise.
Most certainly not.
Each circle is a ‘collection’ of ‘things/items’. Anything in an overlap area of two circles belongs to both ‘collections’ – so no compromise there.
The Ikigai is then that what belongs to all four circles.
Marc, it’s been a little over four years since your post. What’s the update on Geurnsey and the dandelion project?
Todd
Hi Todd. This blog is constantly updated on the reflections of what is going up with the project. Sign up to the mailing list to keep updated. Also visit http://www.dandelion.gg
It’s a good theory or better say a good lecture that we heard a wide variation of them everyday by many many people , but when it comes to action we stuck about its concepts for example how we should know what the people of our society need ? or what we can be paid for ? …. because if we knew this materials then we don’t need an ikigai , we just go for it . some of us including myself even don’t know what we really love or what we are good at ! the question is how to find these concepts in real , not just we think it’s true . sometimes we just think we love something or good at it …..
if it’s possible for you send an email as answer to me because I probably can’t come back to see you answered me here or not . btw thanks for article but is it useful !!! we will see 🙂
This is amazing ! Ive written the points and drawn the diagram .. can someone help me with how does one conclude what is their ikigai? Also does that change with time?
I am definitely thinking about producing something that helps people with this.
I have noticed you don’t monetize your site, but you can earn extra cash every day.
It’s very easy even for noobs, if you are interested simply search in gooogle:
pandatsor’s tools
IKIGAI is a great goal for our live.
http://drvidyahattangadi.com/whats-your-ikigai/
I just sat for my Ph.D. defense and passed it in Bangkok. After finishing my presentation I visited Kinokuniya book shop, which I love to go to and lose myself amongst the books, and found the book “My Little IKIGAI Journal”. I am 58 years old and with a bachelors degree, two masters’ and now a P.h.D. still in search of what to do in life. Although everyone around me kept telling me and persisting on the fact that I am a good storyteller and deliver presentations really well, I never found the courage to pursue this line. It was only after going through this journal and answering all the questions that I go convinced of what everyone was telling me to do. I also came across this blog when searching for a model for an IKIGAI. I cannot agree more with your thoughts Marc. I get up every morning looking forward to what the day has to offer and enjoy the beauty of life everywhere I go. I am planning to open a center and share my experiences and motivate people to find their purpose in life, and this blog has certainly helped in reaffirming my purpose.
Helping children to learn
I have found all of them except how to make a living at it. I’ve always been ahead of my time for others to value my purpose or fund it. But this doesn’t stop me.
Hey I recently came across this post as I was reading more on Ikigai. Thanks a ton for writing on such a profound concept!
I also wanted to share my journey of how knowing more on this has prompted me toward my dreams – http://www.joylogues.com/ikigai-a-conversation-that-gets-better-with-time/
I could not agree more with this. As a nutritionist I find those that have their “ikigai”, are able to lead happier and healthier lifestyles with minimal health support. Those that are not living their life with that purpose require far more attention with regards to optimal nutrition and lifestyle management.
This is amazing ! Ive written the points and drawn the diagram .. can someone help me with how does one conclude what is their ikigai? Also does that change with time?
Marc, it’s been a little over four years since your post. What’s the update on Geurnsey and the dandelion project?
I could not agree more with this. As a nutritionist I find those that have their “ikigai”, are able to lead happier and healthier lifestyles with minimal health support. Those that are not living their life with that purpose require far more attention with regards to optimal nutrition and lifestyle management.
I see a very strong relationship between the psychological mind and the physical body.
This is amazing ! Ive written the points and drawn the diagram .. can someone help me with how does one conclude what is their ikigai?
Thanks for kickstarting broader interest in ikigai, Marc. I did a deep dive on ikigai. Like most things, there’s a lot of misinformation floating around on the internet. Here’s everything I learned:
“The Truth about Ikigai: Definitions, Diagrams & Myths about the Japanese Life Purpose” → https://www.sloww.co/ikigai/
I am not sire what exactly i have to do in my life?
I love the idea of this but I really doubt most people can find something the world needs that they love doing, or that what they love doing is something they can be paid for. I find there is nothing that I love doing that world needs, or that I can get paid for and pay the rent.
However, I do like the idea of ikigai as not being necessarily related to work or money, and more “the reason for which you wake up in the morning”. It means a hobby or something that doesn’t pay is following your ikigai.
Yes, does the aspect of being paid need to be part of our best version, after all , what are the origins of money and why, and are these still relavent and structurally beneficial to authentic blissful life for all, limitless lives. In a google of origin and why of money…. At he dawn of humanity…haha ,tripe, was there a dawn to humanity?…it suggests barter, rearing livestock….ahhhh …the lost tribe. Why are we here, what is here?, and what are we, or is one? really? Infinite . the very word says in-finite, yet we know or have accepted or perhaps not all….that infinity like between 1 – 2 exists …but does it thrive …is it free…unbound. I have live on raw food 100% raw organic vegan …did so for around 9wks…things changed.
So consciousness does change relative to input, choice , action …unboundness.
So we live a hundred years …so what, Adam, Noah, in some text I have read, they are said to have lived 100s of years up toward the thousand, and also said they could be alive today if aligned with divine perfection, or an adherence or obeyance to God. Me personally, if God is love, then that is what one needs to or would seem very bodacious to be excellent in the creation thereof….love to me, means vegan or better. Fruitarian, Breatharian, Lightbeing …limitless is a choice of how one shows up ..or projects from source, soul perhaps one could call ‘it’ or God, yet what is the source of the source, saucey haha.
So a means to life beyond possession, boundness, control…. actual freedom in a harmonistic sense is either our real natural authentic state…which I have or prefer to refer as love in essence…the way, the Tao…the energy of nature…..yet what is nature, where does it come from, and why. In my writings I have referred to nature as er U tan, as I see yoU as love in essence, er love tan, To er is human …to forgive divine, well we are not human …but divine…to behave beyond er will recreate nature to eden, heaven on earth, or who knows , limitlessly beyond cosmology to an encounter with divinity itself ….ohh you look in the mirror….yes but if you hold a mirror to a mirror ..infinity is seen but unseen…one has to walk through the mirror….beyond image….there will be the magic…the light show….wow that must cost a bomb, probably only one’s sanity, a small price to pay haha….fear, yet it is really what we hold or held dear, attachment, perhaps that is subjectively fear? Bungee haha .We are birthed on the chord which is then obsolete, in a new environment. Sow does one need money….payment for Ikigai, in a limitless sense…of course ! , in a limitless sense no, in a limitless life know, just gotta let go…but I’m not hanging onnnnnnnn haha.
Well that’s enough from my large luminous mind haha, every Mork needs a Mindy, else it gets Windy …OrsOMe ! …or was that Or-son …or Sun …in the words of Hancock….Good Job! Marc <3
Oral sex is my ikigai!
I was looking for an ikigai I meaning and you put it quite simply and it was nice to read
I really loved to see peoples like me. It is interesting idea but… it just take more and more time work on my mind
Awesome thought!!!
And I am so happy to say that I found my IKIGAI!!!!
Every moment is so fulfilling ..
I found a recent arrival in our local paper titled “Foreign lifestyles that could benefit your mental health”. Ikigai was among the lifestyles mentioned. My Ikigai was achieved during my career. Numerous life experiences have eroded that life balance. Now, in my 70s and six years into retirement, some of the elements that made my earlier Ikigai successful have changed. I continue to explore what Ikigai looks like for me now.
Here is my IKIGAI:
Striving every day towards being a more ‘focussed’ person, giving more than 90 bytes per second of my concentration to what I do (the human capacity is 126 bytes per second.
Redefining my work such that Í don’t have to do it’, it’s done as part of my being.
Finding people who are merely temporary friends, with whom intellectual stimulation and emotional enrichment becomes the ‘way’
When the organisers of the International Festival of Yoga in Manchester asked me to give a talk called, “Find Your Ikigai,” I promptly declined.
“We saw on your website that you have a coaching programme for men, called ‘Ikigai.’ We like what we read and believe it would make for a great talk at our event.”
This particular festival is always a highlight on my speaking calendar, so the invitation to speak wasn’t the issue. The title was.
Ikigai, or life purpose (at least that’s roughly the Western interpretation), is a huge concept. I was happy to give a talk about ikigai, but I would never promise anyone they will find theirs within the space of one lecture.
I suggested a small but significant change to the title and “Explore Your Ikigai” was on the programme instead.
Ikigai, like kintsugi, wabi-sabi, omotenashi, shinrin-yoku or ichi-go ichi-e, is a Japanese concept that’s making waves. Rich in value and potentially life-changing as these concepts may be, their meaning is fairly simple. Simple, however, doesn’t equate easy. We are talking about essence here. And to arrive at the essence of something, dedication is required.
In the West, it has become fashionable to dress up mindfulness, customer service and personal development principles with fancy Japanese words. Bookstores are full of beautifully produced coffee table books, adorned with kanji writing and images of Japan. And they are selling like hotcakes. It’s easy to see why: The intrigue of a beautiful, foreign word, the calm the book exudes, and the feeling of holding the magic formula to a better life in your hands. What’s not to like?
In preparation for my talk at the Yoga Festival, I posted a question across my social media channels. “Please answer with only Yes or No: Do you believe you have a life purpose; this ‘one thing’ you should be doing with your life?”
As expected, this question got quite the engagement. The answers can be put into three categories: YES!, NO!, and Yes, but more than one thing!
A conversation starter for sure…
How could it not be? The tagline of my coaching business is, “Practical spirituality is the big missing piece of the mental wellbeing puzzle.” And I can assure you, few topics come up more during coaching sessions and workshops than life purpose, the purpose of life, and “Why on Earth am I here on Earth?”
Indeed, in today’s tumultuous world, purpose – and the lack thereof – is forever on the mind of many people. The quest for purpose and meaning has been a constant theme in my own life, too. Why did I have to endure childhood sexual abuse? Why did I have to grow up in the shadow of my older and more academic brother? Why did Sabena, the Belgian national airline I loved working for (after months of searching for meaningful employment) have to go under? What was I meant to be doing with my life? And how could I find out?
As it turned out, I had spent the best part of my earlier life looking for my life purpose, only to realise one day I had been living it all along…
Back in 2002, when I moved from Belgium to the UK, I worked for Japan Airlines as cabin crew (based at Heathrow airport) for two years – a wonderful experience. Japan truly is a beautiful country and has the most interesting culture to boot. My flying days may be long behind me, my love of the country remains strong. I am delighted to see so many intriguing Japanese concepts find their way into our Western world of personal development. From mindfulness to accepting our flaws, from treasuring fleeting encounters with strangers to forest bathing, from living life on purpose to embracing transience and imperfection… Japan offers a compelling approach to many conventional self-improvement and stress management topics.
But therein lies the danger…
Just because these concepts are (commercially) packaged nicely (by us, not the Japanese), doesn’t mean they are some kind of magic formula. They need to be treated with the respect they deserve. This requires lifelong study, patience and careful application. After all, the true meaning of many Japanese concepts – their essence – goes far beyond the translation of the actual word(s). It’s no different when it comes to ikigai.
In the West, ikigai is most commonly represented as the intersection of four circles, each referring to one of the following components: What you are good at, what you love, what the world needs, and what you can get paid/rewarded for.
I believe this 4-circle Venn diagram can be a useful personal development tool. It’s good to reflect on the level of presence and influence of those four components in your life and career.
I am pretty sure this model doesn’t claim to be the ultimate silver bullet for finding your ikigai though, and it’s sensible to keep an open mind. Here are two reasons why:
1) Just because you meet these four criteria doesn’t mean you have found your ikigai and 2) you can live your ikigai without one or more of the criteria being present.
I know plenty of successful executives who tick all four boxes and yet their real ikigai has nothing to do with business. Some love to assemble soapbox race cars in the garden shed with friends on the weekend. Others come fully alive when they do charitable work whilst on annual leave.
The world has recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Was Neil Armstrong’s ikigai to be an astronaut? What if it was something entirely different, such as being a father to his kids? You get the idea.
Ikigai is a combination of two Japanese words: iki and gai. Generally speaking, iki means life and gai means worth. Or value. Or purpose. Or result. And that’s the problem, right there. Our desire to translate literally, to deconstruct, to put beautiful and spiritual concepts into boxes, or indeed, Venn diagrams.
And spiritual it is, for ikigai is not so much a career or occupational concept, it’s the flame within us. The flame that burns brighter than the lure of any pay check, accolade or position. I am not saying that your ikigai can’t be your career. It certainly can. My mother was a primary school teacher for decades and teaching was most certainly her ikigai. For her, however, the challenge was to replace that deep sense of purpose after she retired. Not an easy task. When I say that your ikigai is your inner flame, I want to set you free from the suffocating and (often) self-imposed pressure of having to find your career sweet spot in the Venn diagram.
For me, the real game-changer is the difference between the Western definition of ikigai and the traditional Japanese approach. In the West, “iki” (life) is often translated as overall lifetime, whereas in Japan it refers to everyday life. This subtle difference is significant because -on a very practical level- it’s more appealing to explore what we can do to give more meaning to every new day than it is to find our elusive grand life purpose. Therefore, that “one thing” we’re supposed to be doing is not a “thing” but a way of life. To stick with the analogy of the flame, that takes the raging bonfire down to a glowing fireplace. I know which one I find easier to fan.
When I wrote to my Japanese friends to tell them about my upcoming talk, I told them how I felt about the way ikigai is often sold as a quick-fix tool for discovering one’s raison d’être; why we jump out of bed each morning. As I wanted to make my talk as authentic as possible, I also asked them to share how they interpret the concept of ikigai.
The first message in their reply email was: “This is not easy – this is not Western.”
With their signature Japanese commitment to offering as much value and quality as possible, my friends went on to explain what ikigai means to them. And, not surprisingly, it has very little to do with career goals. Here’s the essence of what they said:
To the people of Japan, ikigai is about enthusiasm for life. To enjoy our daily life feeling gratitude for everything regardless of material richness. But it’s also a connection to nature, a willingness to look for beauty in everything, and the total appreciation for life itself. Ikigai is very much a Japanese spirituality.
This resonated strongly with my understanding of the concept and also my belief that practical (non-denominational), everyday spirituality can greatly enhance our mental wellbeing. My late grandad always told me, “One day at a time.” And he was right. If we learn how to make it through each day in a meaningful way, we create a meaningful life.
When I mentioned earlier that, all of my life I had been looking for my “purpose,” only to realise one day I had been living it all along, here’s what I mean: I discovered that my ikigai is curiosity. My curiosity fires me up. It is my flame.
It was curiosity that put me on the spiritual path of self-inquiry, trying to make sense of the sexual abuse I suffered when I was a child. It was my curiosity for having more fun again at school that helped me transcend the bullying I endured. Curiosity for an honest life gave me the courage to come out to my childhood girlfriend as gay (six months before we were due to get married). It was curiosity for exploring uncharted territory that helped me say goodbye to my old life in Belgium and start a new chapter abroad. Not only has my curiosity saved my life, it has transformed my life beyond recognition. And it continues to do so. One day at a time.
This brings me to my final observation. As you transform, your ikigai can evolve also, and you can certainly have more than one ikigai. My curiosity may be the driving force of my life, sharing with people how they too can make more sense of adversity and live everyday life with more meaning certainly became an additional ikigai during the current chapter of my life. (Long may it continue, but I don’t want to put that pressure on myself. After all, what if ikigai 3 is around the corner? Who knows? I’m sure my curiosity will help me find out.)
I would like to round up with the same message I shared at the end of my talk at the Yoga Festival. To start exploring your ikigai (or ikigais!), ask yourself this question:
“What’s my message?”
Reflect on this question carefully.
Not “What should I be doing with my life?” but
“What’s my message?”
“What do I want the world to know?”
I want people to know that everything in their life serves a purpose and that they are worthy. If I can overcome adversity and improve the quality of my life, so can they. That’s my message, that’s what I want the world to know. Every day I explore my ikigai by looking into how I can leverage that message and reach even more people. It’s my flame.
So, my question to you is: What’s your message? What do you want the world to know? The answer may well be your ikigai.
I have met bereaved parents, for example, who healed their grief by setting up a charity that supports other families going through difficult times. Their message of hope is their ikigai. There are people who have been in an accident and don’t want others to experience the same trauma, so they invent a new piece of personal protection equipment. Safety is their message. The motivation to protect others became their ikigai. I know people who love the city they live in so much they give free guided city tours. They want visitors to experience the same excitement for the architecture and culture as they do. That’s their message, that’s their ikigai.
What could your ikigai be?
Thank you Christoph for this elaborate comment.
I ran only a week ago into the concept of ikigai. And found that I’ve lived & worked in accordance with my flame which is ‘curiosity’ as well. And as life goes, sometimes it was easier, sometimes it was more difficult to keep that flame burning and to keep me warm.
My curiosity for people and what motivates them kindled a ‘life-coaching’ activity supporting my collegues (in a large international company) during the last ~10 years of my professional carreer as applied physics engineer. And the flame is now gradually turning into someting else – I retired early to free up time to make this happen. Currently I’m in a training to be a facilitator for family constellations.
I just bought the book about Ikigai. From what I have read, I feel I have a long way to go before I reach the Ikigai circle. Hope to be there soon. Also, I wonder if there’s an mobile app for helping people to discover or find the path towards Ikigai. Just a thought!
The Ikigai Venn diagram is a Western interpretation, Marc’s interpretation in fact, that has had a widespread positive impact on many people’s lives. However, for the Japanese, ikigai is something very different. For those of you who are interested, you can listen to my podcast interview with Marc on how he merged the Ikigai concept with the Purpose Venn diagram to create the “Ikigai Venn Diagram” – https://ikigaitribe.com/ikigai/podcast05/
Great article.
What a nice youthful idea that living to 100 is great. It requires purpose, health and mental
acuity.
Where is you to know
The philosophy of ikigai seems totally correct for our generation.Hope it will withstand future and serve as a Golden tool for exploring world inside us.
How can I understand deeply about this 4 points?
– Are you doing something that you love?
– That the world needs?
– That you are good at?
– And that you can be paid for?
Because in my mind 1 thing is coming up that why shouod i will be paid for what I love to do i.e. Is it necessary to be paid for my passion? If i will be paid for my passion or what I love to do them it will become my job and once you have to take retirement from your job. And I dont want to be get retired from what I love to do.
Thwts why I want to understand the 4 points of IKIGAI deeply.
Recently I am having deep thoughts about finding my passion – what drives me, it is a long-prevailing question, never being answered, and I am trying to find it – what is my purpose- what and how can I find it – is there are any guidance on that – quest for finding my passion
Art Miller’s Books and the Clifton Strengths Finder offered me permission and clarity. It feels to me that the circles confuse rather than clarify. They require too much definition perhaps speculation about what they mean. If that is intentional, if speculation is part of the illustration then I think it misses the mark completely. Your illustration almost feels a little like the JoHari Window which I find infinitely more helpful than a Venn Diagram. To your credit I appreciate that you are putting your curiosity into who we are and how we work out in public and inviting comment. Your unrestricted comments should contribute to your body of information of individual experience.
I was looking for an ikigai I meaning and you put it quite simply and it was nice to read
IKIGAI is a great goal for our live. This concept is good to define our directions. Talent, opportunite and passions used to be my way to live.
My IKIGAI is Balancing between Work and Life
What a nice youthful idea that living to 100 is great. It requires purpose, health and mental
acuity.
I am definitely thinking about producing something that helps people with this. https://www.uciserviceac.com/
Thank you for the effort you put into connecting with your readers and fostering a sense of community.
here in 2024 because of interpretation at link
as some folks in UK have nothing better to do but terrorise others just because they have different colour skin or come from somewhere else
what is the opposite of IKIGAI or does it apply to troubled souls too
https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/ikigai-japanese-concept-to-enhance-work-life-sense-of-worth/
1.) What I would say that I am good at is organizing and planning things out, I say this because daily I write down the things that I plan to do throughout the day which is a to-do list, and by this, I feel like I work better as a person by this since I write down my things.
2.) What I love is my family and my friends and I especially love how I am starting to plan out the future on what to do after high school, I’ve been talking to teachers and getting their opinions and also writing my plan out in the future so I can have an idea.
3.) What the world needs is to be more self-aware in some areas and I say this because in this world there are a lot of crazy people and sometimes people aren’t aware, the world needs peace and learning how to respect each other all over again
4.) I can get paid for taking care of people and I would do this for free, I love taking care of people and helping them in whatever they need I have experience and community hours from when I took care of people throughout outside of high school.