There is the importance of passion in life and also of livelihood. If these two are the same and you are an expert in your hobby, then it will be icing on the cake. The theory of Ikigai says to search for the same thing. It is a Japanese secret to live a happy and long life. It is believed that everyone has ikigai that is a reason to jump out of bed each morning.
What is Ikigai?
Ikigai is made up of two words: iki, meaning life, and gai, meaning precious. Actually, gai is derived from kai, which means conch. In the Heian period (749 – 1185), conch shells were considered extremely valuable. Hence ikigai means – Preciousness/meaningfulness in life. It literally means what is it that drives you to leave the bed every morning.
Why Do You Wake Up in the Morning?
If you can answer this question exactly why you wake up in the morning, then your life can be filled with happiness, joy, peace, and satisfaction. And yes, then you will not be short of money for living. Japan’s concept ikigai has proved this.
Ikigai is the origin of the city of Okinawa. The number of centenarians here is the highest in the world. While young people in the rest of the world have to prepare themselves to get out of bed in the morning, the elderly in Okinawa are also happily active. There is a music band of elders, whose membership is available only to people above 80 years.
How to Find Life’s ikigai?
Answer these four questions to find out life’s ikigai:
Question 1 – What do you like? (love)
Question 2 – What work do you specialize in? (skills)
Question 3 – What work does the world need? (needs)
Question 4 – What work can you get paid for? (money)
If these questions are treated as four circles, then ikigai is the place where these four circles meet. That is, your work should be such, which you like, in which you are skilled, it is in demand in the world and you get money for it. If any one of these conditions is not fulfilled, then some incompleteness remains in life. Suppose you have a passion for writing, you write well, people want to read your article, but you do not get enough money from writing.
In this situation, the problem of living will come and you will have two options in front of you.
- Do some work in which there is money, but it is not necessary that your heart also feels in it.
- Customize your writing and adopt such tactics that people want to pay for it.
Find Your Ikigai
Finding your ikigai starts with discovering what you really like and what art you are good at. After many, there is confusion in likes and desires. For example, seeing the glamour of the film world, one might think that he likes acting, but he may not want to act in plays, because there is no glamour.
One has to try his hand at various tasks to find out his taste and proficiency. Just as distant drums are pleasant, in the same way many professions seem very easy and enjoyable when viewed from above. But the reality comes to know on its own landing. Similarly, God-given talent is also revealed through practice and training.
Whatever age you are, whatever you are doing, you should definitely try to figure out your ikigai. It is okay that you will have a well-established career at an older age, you will also have responsibilities, so you will not be able to leave everything and engage in new work.
There is also a solution, if you are older and you have not yet assessed your purpose in life, you can follow this principle: love what you have to do, and do that too which you like to do.
Love,
Saurabh Goel
Read more on Miracle Morning Routine, The Secret Behind Great Talent