"Discovering your Ikigai: Finding Purpose and Fulfilment in Life"

One of my favourite things about my work in Start-up as a Senior HR team member is the fact that I get the chance to learn from exceptional entrepreneurs who inspire and teach me something new every day. Recently, one of the senior team members gifted me a book titled "Ikigai", unaware of my deep fascination with Japanese culture and my extensive knowledge about it from my professional experiences. 

Our discussion about this book was insightful, and they were amazed by how much I already knew about the concept of Ikigai. Actually, In 2015, I had the opportunity to visit Japan and that trip changed my entire perspective towards life. During my visit, I was introduced to a remarkable concept that I had been unconsciously searching for my entire life - Ikigai. It has stayed with me ever since and influenced many of my decisions.

When I received the book last month and began reading it again, it brought back many memories of my time in Japan and the wonderful people I met there.

For those unfamiliar with the term, Ikigai is a Japanese expression that roughly translates to "reason for being". It is a profound concept that encourages us to find a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives.

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that guides you to discover your purpose in life.

The term "Ikigai" is a combination of two words - "iki" meaning life and "gai" meaning value or worth. Therefore, it translates to "a reason for being" or "a reason to wake up in the morning."

Discovering your Ikigai involves finding the balance and overlap among these four components.

1. What You Love (Your Passion): The first component of Ikigai is identifying what you love, your passion. This involves exploring activities that bring you joy, fulfilment, and a sense of purpose. It's about recognizing the things that genuinely make you happy and engage you.

2. What You Are Good At (Your Vocation): The second component is discovering what you are good at, your vocation. It involves exploring your skills, talents, and strengths to recognize what you excel at and where your capabilities lie.

3. What the World Needs (Your Mission): The third aspect is understanding what the world needs, your mission. It's about finding ways to contribute positively, whether through your work, skills, or passions. This involves understanding the needs of society and finding ways to make a positive impact.

4. What You Can Be Paid For (Your Profession): The fourth and final component is identifying what you can be paid for, your profession. This dimension considers the economic aspect of your purpose. It involves identifying activities or services for which others are willing to pay you.

The essence of Ikigai is finding the sweet spot where all these four components converge. When you align what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for, you are more likely to find a profound sense of purpose and satisfaction in your life and work.

The very centre, where each area overlaps, is your ikigai – your reason for getting up and where you should focus your efforts to find ultimate fulfillment.

Whether you’re a janitor, journalist or Steve Jobs, if you find your Ikigai, you’ll find pleasure and value in what you do. But how do you find that sweet spot?

Tokyo-based neuroscientist and author Ken Mogi identifies the five central pillars of ikigai:

1. Starting small

2. Releasing yourself

3. Harmony and sustainability

4. The joy of little things

5. Being in the here and now

According to Mogi, the pillars of Ikigai have emerged as a natural extension of Japanese culture and mindset. Nevertheless, Mogi acknowledges that individuals from any cultural background can adopt these principles in their daily lives.

Analogous to mindfulness, the crux of Ikigai lies in being present in the moment while simultaneously looking forward to the anticipation of enjoyable activities, such as indulging in a cup of coffee or engaging in a pleasant weekend hobby. It is substantially about appreciating and savoring the moments when they arrive, rather than incessantly planning for the future.

Many individuals are prone to a perpetual state of busyness, often caught in an endless cycle of planning for the next task. This approach tends to lead to a loss of mindfulness in daily life. As the adage goes, "Life is what happens when we're busy making plans."

The Buddhist philosophy teaches the importance of relinquishing desires to attain peace and freedom in life. By contrast, Ikigai emphasizes the appreciation and enjoyment of what one already possesses. This can be found in simple pleasures, such as a morning exercise routine or a hobby.

Mogi cites the examples of a tea-pouring ceremony and the daily routine of a sumo wrestler, both of which require the application of the pillars of Ikigai. By embracing Ikigai, we can learn to look forward to something and savour the moment when it arrives.

Let's take an example of your career

Following the Ikigai's four elements for your career, seeking your ikigai is akin to finding your dream job.

Now think of combining what you love, what you're excellent at, what the world needs, and – the kicker – what you can get paid for. Is it even possible?

Isn't it tricky, that some of us haven't got a clue what we want for dinner, let alone what our ultimate calling in life is?

Above all, some people go for dramatic career changes in pursuit of dreams. Like ditching the nine-to-five to become a dance instructor, or quitting a high-powered corporate role to retrain as an artist. Really, but do we have to go through that drastic change in life ??

Let's consider which types of responsibilities give you the most pleasure in your current job:

• Do you enjoy working in isolation on technical tasks or managing people?

• Do you prefer giving presentations and chairing interviews or getting satisfaction from solving complex problems?

• Do you love to get stuck into a spreadsheet or like directly managing stakeholders?
  

By learning the above aspects of the work you don't enjoy, and increasing the role in what you like to do, you can start to gain a sense of your ikigai.

Looking forward:

Since I have started to connect the dots of ikigai in my real life, I've unwittingly adopted certain aspects of the five pillars. I learnt the joy of little things, and found myself stopping to enjoy the rain on my walk home, rather than speeding up to avoid it; I try not to take credit for all the little work "victories" (releasing myself); and I try to take at least 30-minutes a day to do exercise or mindfulness, anything that slows my racing mind (being in the here and now).

By leveraging the complementary benefits of the Venn diagram's career-seeking capabilities with the fundamental five pillars, one can establish a robust foundation for achieving new heights. Although my ikigai is not yet within reach, it remains within my purview, just around the corner. Nevertheless, I choose to focus on the present moment and its attendant circumstances.