Last week, I heard of some new research about Ikigai, the Japanese concept that loosely translates to your life purpose or reason to get out of bed in the morning. I’ve long been a believer in Ikigai, but the research confirms it can not only add years to your life, but also life to your years! Read on to learn how Ikigai can help you find your purpose.

If the word is familiar to you, it’s because Cristiana introduced Wise & Shine readers to the concept in 2022 in her post Ikigai: The Search for Meaning.

What is Ikigai?

In The Ikigai Journey, authors Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles define Ikigai as “The meaning of life, the thing that makes you get out of bed each day in eager anticipation.” We don’t have a similar word in English, but it’s what the French would call your raison d’être.

I first learned about Ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) in Mike Drak’s book Victory Lap Retirement. Mike endorses Ikigai as an essential part of creating a lifestyle plan for our retirement years. It’s a theme I’ve embraced as part of my retirement coaching work.

What are the benefits of Ikigai?

Ikigai has long been associated with living a longer and healthier life, but new research indicates it can reduce your risk of functional disability by 31%, and dementia by 36%. It’s also associated with better overall wellbeing.

Having Ikigai was associated with decreased depressive symptoms and hopelessness as well as higher happiness, life satisfaction, instrumental activity of daily living, and certain social outcomes.

The Lancet

That’s powerful! So how do you get started with finding your Ikigai?

How Can You Find Your Ikigai?

The challenge with Ikigai is figuring out how to apply it to your life. If you examine the diagram above, you’ll find Ikigai at the intersection of four things: activities you love, things you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.

A good place to begin is asking yourself four questions and plotting the answers around the Ikigai diagram:

• What do you love to do? Make a list of your passions and interests. If you have activities that put you in a state of flow where you lose all track of time, put them at the top of the list.
• What are you good at? These are your skills or superpowers. They might be job-related skills, but they can also be skills you’ve learned from hobbies or volunteer work.
• What does the world need? Consider needs in your family, your community, or in the world at large. What problems can you help solve? How can you use your superpowers to help others?
• What kind of work could you do and be paid for? Consider how you can turn your passions and skills into a source of income.

After you’ve made your four lists, examine them and look for overlap. This will give you some ideas on activities where you can find purpose and fulfillment.

Let’s look at a simple example. If you’re a good writer and find you lose all track of time when you’re writing, you’d list writing as both something you love to do and a skill you’re good at. The next step is to consider how you can use those skills to earn a living or meet a need in your community. In terms of what the world needs, consider if there’s a charitable organization that could use your help. Perhaps they need help writing fundraising letters or creating content for their website. You might also be able to find paid work as a writer.

It will take a little time and creativity to work through your list and identify opportunities. Once you’ve made your inventory of skills and passions, ask a friend, co-worker or family member to give you some ideas on how to use them to fuel your Ikigai.

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It’s clear that Ikigai is the secret to unlocking greater levels of wellbeing and happiness. Drop me a comment below and let me know how you’re applying it to your life.

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