IKIGAI is a Japanese concept that combines the terms iki, meaning “alive” or “life,” and gai, meaning “benefit” or “worth.”
IKI and GAI combined gives your life worth, meaning, or purpose.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF IKIGAI :
The concept of Ikigai originates from Health and Wellness principles of Japanese medicine : the main point is that your health is highly impacted by your sense of purpose in life. Ikigai is a state of “flow”, “being in the zone”, “fulfillment” that is generated from that combination of doing something that you enjoy and that is meaningful. Ultimately, Ikigai is “the reason why you wake up in the morning”. This concept is usually visualized through the Ikigai diagram
“Ikigai can be defined as ‘a sense of being alive now, an individual’s consciousness as a motive to live.’ “Aikihiro Hasegawa
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” Frances Hodgson Burnett
“The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.” Hector Garcia Puigcerver
“In Okinawa being happy every day is ikigai.” Okinawan resident (Okinawa is an area in Japan where people live the longest in comparison to the rest of the world.
THE IKIGAI diagram :
The IKIGAI diagram is made of 4 circles :
- WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT
- WHAT YOU LOVE
- WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS
- WHAT YOU CAN BE PAID FOR
Your IKIGAI is where the 4 circles meet. It is the combination of the best of you and the biggest needs around you. That is where your true fulfillment and the true meaning of your life reside.
The circles overlap with each other, creating some common areas :
YOUR PASSION (overlap between WHAT YOU LOVE and WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT)
YOUR MISSION (overlap between WHAT YOU LOVE and WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS)
YOUR VOCATION (overlap between WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS and WHAT YOU CAN BE PAID FOR )
YOUR PROFESSION (overlap between WHAT YOU CAN BE PAID FOR and WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT )
THE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER TO FILL IN EACH CIRCLE :
1.WHAT YOU LOVE :
•What do you do in life that brings you joy, makes you feel alive ?
•What do you talk about for hours ?
•What gets you excited ?
•How do you spend your free time when you have a lot of time available (e.g. during vacations)?
2.WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT :
•What do you do in your current job that is effortless ?
•What are you the best at in comparison to coworkers ?
•What are you the best at in comparison to your family, friends, community ?
•What do you have the potential to get very good at (through training, additional work,…) ?
•Do you know your strengths and skills? What are they?
3.WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS :
•What problems in your community, in your country, in the world, would you like to help to resolve ?
•What problems in your community, in your country, in the world,…make you emotional ?
•What added value could you provide to people’s lives ?
•What do people around you need the most and that you are willing to act on ?
4.WHAT YOU CAN BE PAID FOR:
•Have you been paid for what you do/plan to do ?
•Are other people being paid for what you do/plan to do ?
•It there a good potential that people will pay in the future for what you do/plan to do ?
•Could you make a living of it ?
STEPS TO FOLLOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR IKIGAI :
Step 1 : answer the questions in each circle :
•What you are good at
•What you love
•What the world needs
•What you can be paid for
Step 2 : find overlaps :
•What activity/theme is in your PASSION ?
•What activity/theme is in your MISSION ?
•What activity/theme is in your VOCATION ?
•What activity/theme is in your PROFESSION ?
Step 3 : Challenge the missing circles :
•What are the activities/themes that have common circles but missing at least 1 circle ?
•Can you challenge yourself to check the box on that circle too ? (like learning a new skill)
Step 4 : Conclude by identifying your IKIGAI
EXAMPLE OF IKIGAI :
The famous Japanese sushi Chef Jiro Ono is a famous Japanese sushi chef. He has devoted his life on perfecting the art of making sushis. He owns a small restaurant of only 10 seats in Tokyo, Japan.
Through his journey of mastering the skills, he has gained such a worldwide reputation about sushi making, that he has earned the highest Michelin restaurant guide rating of three stars.
Even an award-winning documentary has been created to share his life and his work.
“You have to fall in love with your work… dedicate your life to mastering your skill… I’ll keep trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is.” Chef Ono
Anthony Perdrix
Successful Habits
