FIND YOUR IKIGAI....REASON FOR BEING

What Does Ikigai Mean?

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your 'reason for being.' 'Iki' in Japanese means 'life,' and 'gai' describes value or worth. Your ikigai is your life purpose or your bliss. It's what brings you joy and inspires you to get out of bed every day.

Simply put, there is no direct translation for ikigai. For the Japanese, ikigai is such a common notion that few would think about what it means. The word is used in daily conversation and often used in jest.  When taking his first sip of beer after a hard day at the office, a salaryman might say "Ahh! This is my ikigai." referring to the beer.

Ikigai is not a Japanese version of 'self-help' to find the one true purpose of your life. It's a word that represents a multifaceted concept that Japanese understand more intimately as they grow older.  The word or concept is not taught school or university, and Japanese don't use or need any visual frameworks to understand it. Japanese grow up with the word and begin to understand its meaning early in life.

Author and neuroscientist, Ken Mogi, describes Ikigai as a spectrum, and that the complexity of Ikigai actually reflects the complexity of life itself. To the Japanese, Ikigai is a comprehensive concept describing subjective well-being. It encompasses life-satisfaction, self-esteem, morale, happiness as well as the evaluation of meaning in one's life.

“If hygge is the art of doing nothing, ikigai is the art of doing something—and doing it with supreme focus and joy.” —New York Times

In his book, Garcia says that studying the Ikigai Ideology has changed the way he shapes his day.  “I have improved my morning routine to start my days doing what is most important to me before getting busy with others.” In other words, he prioritizes the duties that give him purpose. “This means that I have a cup of green tea, do 15 minutes of easy yoga poses and then write for one hour. Before leaving home, I have dedicated time to my health and one of the activities that give Ikigai to my life: which is writing books.”

Though it may sound career-focused, Ikigai is not always about financial endeavors. Having a hobby that you can dedicate your time to, raising a family, or being able to work and make steps towards diving deep into that passion project you’ve always fantasized about, are all Ikigai.

It doesn’t matter whether “you are a cleaner of the famous Shinkansen bullet train, the mother of a newborn child or a Michelin-starred sushi chef’ – if you can find pleasure and satisfaction in what you do and you’re good at it, congratulations you have found your Ikigai.”

Ikigai (ee-key-guy) is a Japanese concept that combines the terms iki, meaning “alive” or “life,” and gai, meaning “benefit” or “worth.”When combined, these terms mean that which gives your life worth, meaning, or purpose. Ikigai is similar to the French term “raison d’etre” or “reason for being.”

What Is the Japanese Concept Ikigai?

The concept of ikigai is said to have evolved from the basic health and wellness principles of traditional Japanese Medicine. This medical tradition holds that physical wellbeing is affected by one’s mental–emotional health and sense of purpose in life.

Japanese psychologist Michiko Kumano has said that ikigai is a state of wellbeing that arises from devotion to activities one enjoys, which also brings a sense of fulfillment.  Michiko further distinguishes ikigai from transitory pleasure (hedonia, in the ancient Greek sense) and aligns it with eudaimonia  – the ancient Greek sense of a life well lived, leading to the highest and most lasting form of happiness.

Ikigai also resonates with Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy’s emphasis on pursuing activities that produce enjoyment and a sense of mastery, specifically as a way to alleviate depressive disorder. Ken Mogi, a neuroscientist and author of Awakening Your Ikigai , says that ikigai is an ancient and familiar concept for the Japanese, which can be translated simply as “a reason to get up in the morning” or, more poetically, “waking up to joy.”

Ikigai also appears related to the concept of flow, as described in the work of Hungarian–American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. For Csikszentmihalyi, flow occurs when you are in your “zone,” as they say of high-performing athletes.  Flow is a string of “best moments” or moments when we are at our best. These best moments “usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limit, in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile” (Csikszentmihalyi ).

Flow can be said to occur when you are consistently doing something you love and that you are good at, with the possible added benefit of bringing value to others’ lives. In such a case, flow might be seen as in tune with your ikigai, or activities that give you life meaning and purpose.

It is important to note that ikigai does not typically refer only to one’s personal purpose and fulfillment in life, without regard to others or society at large. Although it has had some historical shifts in meaning, ikigai has usually been cited as both a personal pursuit and one of benefit to others. In the end, ikigai brings meaning, purpose, and fulfillment to your life, while also contributing to the good of others.

Further, it is said that everyone has an ikigai – their particular intersection of passion, talent, and potential to benefit others. It is only a matter of finding it. The journey to ikigai might require time, deep self-reflection, and effort, but it is one we can all make.

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW: The Japanese philosophy of ikigai dates back to the Heian period, between 794 to 1185. Okinawa is a Japanese island south of the mainland. The island has the highest proportion of people over 100 years old in the world and Ikigai plays a major role in the Okinawan Diet, culture and lifestyle.

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: Save your brain -place it on airplane mode and learn to slowdown and enjoy your life

ZENTRAVELER SAYS: What are you doing GRASSHOPPER?  I AM LOOKING FOR MY IKIGAI.  Look closer grasshopper--- maybe you have already found it?

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