Ikigai: Your Reason For Being

Ikigai 生き甲斐

Now, I truly believe that all of us at some point in life have asked ourselves this question: What is my purpose here in life? What is the meaning of my life? Is it to find a career that we love & make a lot of money out of it? Is it to find fulfillment & completion with someone that we hold dear in our hearts? Or is it to find happiness & freedom that we have always desired in our own way? Or maybe it's none of these since they only exist in the material world, and that true happiness & fulfillment lies only in being a monk? (I know I have thought of that once HAHA) 

Well, as you can see, this simple question is more complicated than we realized, as it doesn't have an obvious answer of sorts. But it is made even more confusing when modern life is added to the mix. As in today's world, life offers us such a degree of opportunity & choice, such as different jobs & careers, etc., that it becomes quite difficult to identify or decide on what we truly want to be in our lives. 

And since we were young, society has demanded from us that we have to decide very early on on what career path we should take, in order to be successful later in life. But more often than not, we as children would not even know what that truly means, as adulthood is in actuality a lifetime away from us & impossible to relate to as such. In fact, many of us as adults now don't even know what we truly want in life. 

But the people of Japan have invented an incredible & ingenious way of resolving this, hence, the birth of a concept known as Ikigai. 

= Iki 生き: Life

= Gai 甲斐: To Be Worthwhile

Ikigai, which roughly translates to "reason for being" is a Japanese formula for finding your purpose or happiness in life. In fact, to those who reside on the land of the rising sun, it is said that our Ikigai is the reason why we get up every morning. It is that very thing that we can pour all our heart & soul into. To be one with the muse despite the chaos around us, and to feel the purpose of our actions that gives us happiness in life. 

And although some of us have found what it is that truly makes us happy already, for the vast majority of us, the road of life still seems somewhat cloudy. 

So in order to find the meaning of our lives, we need to fill our own personal experiences, self-knowledge & understanding of the world into the four components that make up Ikigai. 

Ikigai can be broken down into 4 distinct parts: What you love, What the world needs, What you are good at & What you can be paid for.

What You Love

The first component is what you love. It is that special something that makes us feel good, something that makes us truly blissful & grateful to have. It also makes us forget about the rest of the day, at least momentarily. That's why so many of us enjoy the arts, such as drawing, dancing, singing, reading etc. Because we become intently engaged with the task at hand, for we are in the present moment. 

What The World Needs 

The second component to ikigai is what the world needs. You see, back in the day when we were hunters & gatherers, everyone had a crucial role to fill in order for our tribe to survive. For example, the chef was just as important as the hunter who brings back food, and the caretakers are just as important as the builders who constructed houses. Everyone had a role to fill & you could see the immediate effect you would have on helping others. 

However, in today's society, we no longer feel that sense of comradery as most of us work in massive companies but are only given small roles. And even if we try our best & work our hardest, it feels as though our efforts are futile as we do not see any significant impact of any kind. 

We end up feeling the sense that somehow or rather, if we were to quit our jobs one day, no one would even seem to notice. Therefore, you need to find something that the "world" needs. (And by world, it doesn't just have to refer to humanity as a whole as that can be quite overwhelming sometimes. It can also mean a small community that you are in touch with.)

You need to find something that you can do that allows you to see the visible & positive impact that you have on people around you.

What You Are Good At

This is a component of ikigai that shares a special affinity with what you love. (The first component) Now generally speaking, having an innate talent for a skill of any kind is fantastic, but it doesn't mean that you need to be born with talent in order to be good at something. 

It only means that you need to put in the time & patience, as well as hard work in order to acquire the skill that you need. 

Let's say for example, you want to become an amateur boxer. But when you first got started, you feel terrible. You were getting beat up a lot, you were afraid of punches being thrown, you can't remember the combinations & you gas out easily. But over time, as you practice more & more, you start to get better and see the results that you are looking for. Your partners applaud you and your coach praises you for your hard work & clean technique. 

So essentially, that's what it means to be good at something. Not to be good from the get-go, but to overcome your challenges and improve on your skill. And it is this action of refining your skills & improving oneself that makes this such a crucial component of ikigai. 

What You Can Be Paid For

And last, but certainly not least, the fourth component of ikigai is what you can be paid for. Now, for those of us who are only beginning in your self-improvement journey, I deeply understand that you might be questioning this, as you've probably heard motivational stories of people who went from rags to riches, or individuals who ordained as a monk and found true happiness. (Believe me, I once truly thought of that myself as well)

But the reality is, the effort & hardship that went into attaining their own versions of bliss is unthinkable for us to say the least. We shouldn't settle for ascetism in the hopes that we may gain a higher meaning. Rather, having a steady amount of active income is going to help us exponentially, as it not only provides necessities such as putting food on the table, the clothes on our backs & even paying rent, it also allows us to fuel our passions & further the pursuit of happyness. (wink, wink ;) 

Fusion of Values  

Now, I believe that one of the most endearing aspects of ikigai is that this Japanese formula allows you to tell where you are in life & on what areas you need to work on. For example:

a) (What you love + What you are good at = Passion)

If all you have at the moment are what you love & what you are good at, these two components create passion. Those who are in this category are the aspiring singers, songwriters, dancers, artists & athletes. The main thing that is stopping you from being truly happy is that you are not getting paid enough for it. Therefore, you need to find a way to market yourself so that people can recognize your talent & worth to the world.

b) (What you love + What the world needs = Mission)

If you have something that you love and you notice that the world also needs it, then you have what we call a mission. The people who fall into this category are the amateur bloggers (raises my hand) & activists who dive into topics such as saving the planet or self-improvement etc. These are the people who want to create a positive change in the world, but are unfortunately hindered by factors such as the lack of persuasion skills, public speaking, or creative writing that would allow them to persuade people into joining their cause. 

If you have a mission & a message to the world, you need to figure out how to get better at your craft. Learning skills such as understanding people & how to be more empathetic will definitely go a long way in convincing people.

c) (What the world needs + What you can be paid for = Vocation)

If you know you have something that can benefit the world & you can be paid well for it too, then you have what is called a vocation. A great example of this, are lecturers & teachers. They are paid decently well and their work has a positive impact on the world such as educating the younger generation. But the natural weakness to this is that you may stunt your own growth by teaching a particular topic over and over again. 

Therefore, you need to consistently add some variety, as well as to challenge yourself so that you can improve just as well as your students. 

d) (What you can be paid for + What you are good at = Profession) 

And finally, if you have something that you're good at & you get paid decently well for it, then you have what we call a profession. You know, that boring 9 to 5 job that is useful in paying our bills but sadly doesn't pay the rent in our hearts. What's stopping you from truly living your ikigai is the fact that you genuinely don't love your work or see how any of this can actually make a difference in the world. 

If you find yourself in this category, then you need to try out & venture into different and new areas of service. You need to find something that not only pays the bills but also something that fills your heart. 

As the old saying goes, jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul. 

Conclusion

I'll end it here by saying this: Although our ikigai is different & unique to everyone else's, one thing that we all share in common is that we are all searching for meaning & purpose in our lives. And ikigai provides us a path to finding just that. I wish you a very safe & blessed journey ahead as you walk on bravely towards the path of life. 

Thanks for reading!

Yours Sincerely,

Satori Café