Ikigai
I don't know why
But today is the day
I decided to try
To contemplate ikigai
What you love
What the world needs
What you can get paid for
What you are good at
Like petals
On a flower
They support one another
Through an elegant collective energy
My wife is culturally American, but half Japanese. In Japan, there's a philosophy from traditional Japanese medicine called ikigai. "Iki" stands for life, and "gai" stands for value. Some translate it into "reason for being."
This framework has been a helpful construct for me, especially when I overlap it with other self-development paradigms, like Gay Hendricks zone of genius work in The Big Leap.
The first area is doing things that you love. I interpret this as leaning into your interests, things that are exciting for you, that you enjoy. It could even be things that are fun, and entertaining.
Second is "what you're good at." These are your natural abilities.
Next, "what the world needs." This is how to give back, serve, and uphold the planet. Acting with integrity in the larger ecosystem or conscious collective.
Finally, "what you can get paid for." Now we're talking about what jobs naturally exist in the marketplace that compensate you according to your needs; and in my experience, reasonable wants also should be incorporated. I think of this as creating financial strength for yourself, however that looks to you.
To find your own reason for being, or purpose, you'll need to balance these four areas. According to this framework, the result will bring you balance, energy, life force, purpose, and meaning.
In my own experience, this has been achieved through involving myself in multiple for-profit organizations, some non-profit work, work in a spiritual community, community service, and curated vacations and family experiences.
Aligning to your purpose means you might have to say “no” more often than “yes.” It also means you’ll double down on your strengths, protect yourself from your weaknesses, filter opportunities more accurately, and avoid threats to your purpose.
Put simply: you won’t know how to say “no” until you’ve defined your purpose.
What’s the right answer? It depends.
But on what does it depend? Your purpose.
Finding your ikigai doesn’t mean life will be perfect. In fact, part of the joy is that there will be many dark days that mesh into the good ones. You’ll have days when you feel like you’ll never find happiness. That true joy is out of reach. But when you align yourself in these four areas, you live more fully in the present, reduce stress, and unlock more joy.
I'd encourage you to listen to your soul on this one. Don't overthink it.
Which area of ikigai is imbalanced for you?