Ikigai: the Japanese method for finding the meaning of life

Ikigai in Japanese literally means “a reason to get up in the morning”.

We could translate this term with what Western poets and philosophers have called “raison d’ être”: a reason to live, to exist, this is ikigai.

A positive and proactive philosophy of life, which leads us to really look inside ourselves to know ourselves, understand ourselves and discover what we want, what we are really good at, what makes us happy.

We recently talked about YOLO, the "you only live once" approach, which proposes to reinvent oneself especially at a work level to be more satisfied. Ikigai starts from a similar assumption: if it is true that our life is short, it is a tiny fraction of the planet's time and we are unlikely to leave an indelible mark in the collective memory, then we might as well engage in something that makes us happy. The purpose? Being serene, satisfied, complete, but not in a selfish sense, on the contrary, being even better, towards ourselves and towards others.

Because an individual who has found his own ikigai, who pursues his goals and succeeds, will be resolved, satisfied and, therefore, more inclined to good than evil.

And today more than ever, mental health is a fundamental issue!

The 4 key questions of Ikigai

The term is the contraction of two Japanese words: “ikiru”, meaning “life”, and “kai”, which means “the realization of one's hopes”.

But it's not at all trivial to understand how to realize hopes and expectations for your life, right? There are, however, 4 fundamental questions that can guide choices and greater self-knowledge.

1. What do you really love?What is yourpassion, the activity that is the fulcrum of your existence, your motivation?
2. What are you good at? You need to come to terms with yourself, understand what you're good at, your talent or vocation. The answer to the first question, to define a feasible and satisfactory path, must be at least partly linked to question 2, in order to avoid impossibilities and frustrations. Passion and talent, in fact, unfortunately do not always coincide: you think you strongly want to become a singer but you are terribly out of tune... it is not impossible to correct yourself, but the effort will be a lot!
3. The third question is the most "choral" one: what does the world want from you? We are not alone, in fact, and often our desire to self-determine clashes with the needs of the people who help us surround. Or, this question can also be interpreted as: how can I channel my natural talent into something useful to the community in which I live, in a mission?
4. Last question, the most practical: how can I make a living? Unfortunately, just as passion and talent don't always coincide, even the real work we find ourselves doing isn't always really up our alley. Just think of all the great artists who found themselves, at least in the first part of their lives, doing totally different and more "manual" jobs in order to simply... pay the rent!

Answering these 4 questions honestly and clearly can already give a useful overview. The more the 4 answers overlap, the more likely we are to be fulfilled and happy people.

How to apply the Japanese philosophy of ikigai in your life

But what to do if, instead, passion, vocation, mission and real profession are divergent? Of course, it's not at all simple.

There are many people with great talents in various fields who, for economic or social reasons, have not been able to study the subject they love or dedicate themselves to their favorite work.

Or there are successful people who, however, feel at fault because they are not giving anything to the world around them.

How can you be more satisfied with your existence?

Ikigai is the art of finding a minimum common denominator between those 4 elements, but our life can also be made up of different parts.

For example, if we love our job but feel like we're not doing anything good for the community, why not dedicate our free time to volunteering?

or any other activity, we are free to assert ourselves even outside the strictly work environment.

Sources:

• https://www.greenme.it/vivere/mente-emozioni/ikigai-come-trovare-senso-vita/
• https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170807-ikigai-a-japanese-concept-to-improve-work-and-life
• https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Business%20Functions/Organization/Our%20Insights/Seven%20essential%20elements%20of%20a%20lifelong%20learning%20mind%20set/Seven-essential-elements-of-a-liefelong-learning-mind-set.pdf