Finding Your Ikigai: How To Seek Your Purpose I...
In our everyday life, we have constantly strived to find the perfect balance of happiness, purpose and success. While some might have easily found that balance, others are still working on it. On times when you have done some self introspection, have you ever wondered where your life is headed? What is your purpose in life? What is the source of your happiness and contentment? Figuring out the right path towards your happiness and success can sometimes feel like solving a puzzle. But did you know that the Japanese have already figured out the formula to finding the right balance of purpose, happiness and success? It is called ikigai. But what does ikigai mean? Here, we will look deeper into what this concept is and provide you with some tips on how to find your ikigai.
Finding Your Ikigai: How to Seek Your Purpose i...
Another thing that can help you get closer to finding your ikigai is figuring out what you are, or would like to be, good at. Is there something that you naturally excel at? Something that you can effortlessly accomplish or are considered an expert in? Or maybe there is something that you are willing to learn doing, something you have strived to learn doing or have worked hard to attain?
No matter what you have right now, be it a passion, a mission, a profession or a vocation, you can always figure out a way to make the most of your situation and arrive to a point wherein you can have a sense of satisfaction, comfort, delight and excitement at the same time. Once you have found your ikigai, you will realize how good your life is. You will become more productive and feel motivated to achieve success. You will achieve a state of flow that makes it easier for you to enjoy being busy. It will also motivate you to continuously improve and be able to make the most of every second of your life. So find your ikigai and start living a life filled with happiness and purpose.
Otherwise, what you think is your purpose may simply be what other people think is good for you. This includes your family members, your coworkers, the celebrities you follow and even the advertisements you see out there.
If you haven't spent a lot of time thinking about your own purpose, you might have some preconceived ideas about the purpose of life. These baked-in ideas about life often come from our family and the communities we grow up in. The purpose of our life is to get married and have kids. Or, maybe it's earning a certain amount of money or achieving a certain position in society.
Your purpose in life is as unique to you as your fingerprint. We all have a particular set of talents, experiences, skill sets, and interests that light us up. Purpose is related to these, but it is your reason for being. It is why you get out of bed in the morning, even when the day is dreary, you're tired, and you know the tasks and challenges ahead are going to be hard or even boring.
Purpose is the long game, not the short-term goal. You never get to the end of it. However, even a strong sense of purpose can wear you down. That's why, ideally, your purpose blends with what interests you and brings you joy.
The concept is finding the overlap between what you love and the world needs with what you are good at and the world will pay for. You craft your sense of purpose from your passion as well as practical considerations.
You need a sense of purpose to sustain you over time. And even when life feels like a series of compromises, you can still discover and connect to your purpose by exploring what brings you joy and dedicating more time to it.
Having a sense of purpose comes from feeling connected to others. Using your gifts in the service of others can help you find your true purpose, while isolation and loneliness can cause you to have an existential crisis.
Maybe you want to raise money for research into a particular disease or give inner-city children access to green spaces. Whatever it is, getting involved with a cause will help you find more purpose in your life.
Identifying, acknowledging, and honoring your purpose is the foundation of a well-rounded life. It requires some courage because it opens up questions and ideas that might not be comfortable. Yet it's worth it. Purpose provides you with an inner compass that guides every decision and leads you to the experiences that will light up your soul.
Finding your purpose and connecting your purpose to meaningful work can be hard. Supportive guidance can help. If you'd like help finding your purpose and creating more meaning in your life, get in touch with BetterUp. One of our expert coaches will be happy to support you.
Obviously having a long and happy life depends on many factors, such as eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep and having positive people around you, however, the Japanese have a proverb which perfectly explains the importance of finding your purpose or ikigai:
Gai is the key to finding your purpose, or value in life. The best way to really encapsulate the overarching ideology of ikigai is by looking at the ikigai Venn diagram which displays the overlapping four main qualities: what you are good at, what the world needs, what you can be paid for, and of course, what you love.
Start by putting together a note of the top 10 things you have spent your time on this week. After writing them down, ask yourself if those things are adding purpose to your life. You can subdivide by asking yourself four questions:
Ultimately, the best approach to take with all of these 4 categories is a holistic one. Making the most of your purpose, or ikigai, requires a sense of motivation, self-awareness, and enthusiasm across your passion, mission, vocation, and profession.
No matter where you are in your career, you have to think more about finding your purpose. That comes when you are good at what you do, and take pleasure in it, while providing a benefit to society, which values your work. This process needs continual reassessment. Entire chunks of your workweek or large projects may no longer have impact or ability to persuade. If this happens, you should abandon those efforts, at least until you have a better approach or new idea. Finally, when what society needs and what society pays for are misaligned, we have problems -- this is true in the pharmaceutical industry and the way we pay doctors. Correcting them could give us all more purpose. In the meantime, we have to find it on our own.
If you lead an organization or work as an employee for a business, your personal ikigai should be in tune with the purpose of the brand. Everything should be connected so you can find genuine happiness while following your passion and positively impacting others.
To further amplify the importance of knowing your purpose, when it comes to brand loyalty, almost 8 in 10 Americans are more loyal to purpose-driven businesses. About 67% of consumers feel purpose-driven brands care more about them compared to traditional brands.
When you serve your purpose, you will start a ripple effect. From within, you can influence your customers, suppliers, and business partners to do good and shape a better future for everyone. The value it creates is far more significant than whatever amount in your bank account.
Evident in the pursuit of ikigai is that it is a way of life that should demand your attention. It is a journey of self-discovery that requires one to into oneself and find the purpose that imbues life with meaning and vitality.
In more practical terms, your ikigai serves as the driving force behind your actions and gives you purpose. It inspires you to wake up each morning and strive for something beyond the mundane and status quo. Ikigai empowers you to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
Pursuing your ikigai can have a profound impact on your overall well-being and happiness. Having a clear sense of purpose in life can give you direction and fulfillment, which can be incredibly rewarding.
When you are doing something that aligns with your ikigai, you are likely to feel less stressed and more relaxed. Pursuing your passion can be a form of self-care and can help you manage stress. People who have a sense of purpose in life are more likely to live longer, have better mental health, and experience fewer chronic diseases.
The correlation between faith or the pursuit of a particular religious doctrine and ikigai is not an absolute prerequisite. Your ikigai can, however, be informed by spiritual values and beliefs, provided they are aligned with your purpose and goals. It is therefore reasonable to assert that the answer to the question of whether ikigai is spiritual is, ultimately, predicated on your personal worldview and disposition.
It can be comparable to the complexities of life in that there are no predetermined or standardized approaches to finding it. Rather, you have an array of options at your disposal. You must rely on your passions to navigate these paths effectively.
Finding your ikigai involves a journey of self-discovery, where you explore your passions, values, strengths, and skills. It is an ever-evolving adventure, characterized by fluidity and change. It takes time and patience to explore and experiment until you find what resonates with you. With time and effort, you can find your ikigai and live a life of purpose and fulfillment.
In essence, the holistic approach to finding your ikigai helps one to discover the interconnectedness between various aspects of their life, including their physical, emotional, and spiritual states. This approach encourages a broader perspective on life, emphasizing the importance of harmonizing different facets of life.
Representing your unique skills, talents, and abilities this dimension sets you apart and makes you stand out. It is crucial to understand your areas of expertise and natural inclinations to help you pursue your passions and purpose in life.
Then, take a chance. Remember, once you have found your purpose in life, it is meaningless unless you act on it. In other words, there is no point in dreaming about doing the things you want to do and then not doing anything about it. 041b061a72