Ikigai
As I transition through my life, I continuously learn more about the world around me and even more about who I am. I have been doing some deep dives into how I can continue making personal progress and improving my way of life. Currently, our school is having us read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. Admittedly, I have not finished the book yet, but it is seems to bring up the same topics everyone suggests. I haven’t gotten to “the good stuff” yet, but it mirrors many other techniques and concepts that I have picked up on along the way.
A concept that I more closely identify with is the Japaneese philosophy of Ikigai. In essence, it is about your purpose for living. Why are you here? What do you find joy in? It seems like an easy thing to define, but more difficult to apply to yourself. I’m sure we can all come up with a list of things we enjoy or say something about our goals for life. It is far more difficult to justify those things or justify your own existence. I don’t mean that in a dystopian sort of way, but rather in a philosophical sort of way.
A number of years ago, there was a series that aired on Amazon Prime called Utopia. It was catchy as a comic book based movie, but quickly turned into something else. I enjoyed the series, but one particular part caught my attention. John Cusack plays a character who has a family that has dinner together each night. During dinner he asks the family “What have you done today to earn your place in this noisey world?”. The phrasing is a bit negative (you’ll discover why), but the underlying message feels very much like Ikigai. Each of us has a part to play in the world and we are the pilots of our own existence. Discovering what that is and then trying to articulate it takes time and help from others.
Yes, discovering your own Ikigai takes help from others. None of us live in a vacuum and we rely on society to exist. Society doesn’t define us, but we can help to define ourselves by our place in it. Navigating this whole thing takes time and effort. Often your place in all of this will change over time as you change alongside society. Examining how to define Ikigai using an image from Forbes, you can see that one of the 4 catergories is “what the world needs”. Without those around you, how can you define something that others need? To be clear, this is a NEED, not a want or nice to have. The needs of society change over time and our place in it may change too.
Another section that requires interaction with society is “what you can be paid for”. Obviously this is an exchange and requires members of society to exist. Economics would suggest that supply and demand would also influence this, but that is not a factor to consider. You personally might consider whether you can make a liveable wage from this purpose, but it is not required. If the world needs it, then your vocation should be able to sustain you.
The next section is “what are you good at?”. Many of us have skills that are above average or even exceptional. Some of these skills allow us to earn a living wage and this area is called a profession. You can learn new skills throughout life that will allow you to earn a living. New skills are created to meet the needs of our changing world. Social media and “influencers” are a newer area of growth in society that people can take advantage of. These are things that people do that they are good at and thankfully can make a living doing. Does society need these professions? The money would suggest we do and you could argue that “entertainment” is a need for society. But would the world be any worse off without these influencers? We’ve always had some form of this, but over time it has transitioned from educators and philosophers to entertainers. We all want to be entertained, so perhaps this is also a need.
The last section is “what you love”. As a base sense of feeling, this might seem easy to answer, but I find it to be the most difficult to answer. Of course we love our family, but I would argue that’s a “who” not a “what” you love. I’m sure many people might say they love to travel or do something recreational. If you love to travel, do you love to explore new places, experience other cultures, or escape your daily grind? What is it you actually love about it? If you love to play video games, is it because you can explore new places, experience new cultures, or escapte your daily grind? Curious how those two can overlap so well don’t you think? Narrowing down what you truly love takes more thought than the base answer of “I love…”. Thinking about what you truly love takes time. This love may change over the course of your life, or it could grow stronger. What you loved, or thougth you loved as a child may no longer be true. Finding your love is similar to finding your truth. It is finding your purpose.
To this end, I argue that finding what you love will dictate everything else within Ikigai. Forbes put it at the top of the venn diagram, and I agree with its placement. Although I have ended this post with finding what you love, it should be your first objective when trying to decide your purpose and your place in this world. In doing so, I also feel that this is the area that does not require society to define. This is the most self-centered portion of the concept of Ikigai. Not “self-centered” in a negative way, but in a spiritual and philosophical way. This is looking inward. Self-discovery. Self-realization. Working with and around others may help you to define things within yourself, but only you can make that determination.
So what do you love? Why do you love it so much? Why do you love this more than anything else? Please share your thoughts with me and provide me some insight into what it is you love. Truly love. How did you come to this realization? Has it changed over time? Let me know by finding me on social media or dropping me an email at jeffball610@gmail.com
