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Ikigai, loosely translated from Japanese, means finding your purpose or reason for being – the motivation that gets you out of bed each morning.
Bob Dylan’s quote brilliantly captures the essence of Ikigai:
“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between, he does what he wants to do.”
Every Monday, one person drags themselves out of bed, dreading the day ahead, while the other embraces the morning with excitement and determination.
In the office, one person struggles through the day, counting minutes until they’re free again, while the other immerses themselves in their work with passion and effortless flow.
At the end of the day, one person faces exhaustion in the mirror, while the other goes to bed, fulfilled and content.
What is the difference between them?
The fulfilled person knows their Ikigai!
Content – Ikigai – How to, Examples And Tips
What is Ikigai? What does Ikigai mean? – Definition
Ikigai is a holistic orientation framework and approach to life rooted in Japanese philosophy. It aims to align one’s individual talents, strengths, and passions with society’s and the environment’s needs.
Those who successfully blend these factors lead an authentic life filled with fulfillment, satisfaction, and joy. The result is genuine and holistic “prosperity” that encompasses both spiritual and material aspects of life.
What are the four questions in the Ikigai model?
- Passion and Purpose (What do I love?)
- Vocation (Where do my talents and strengths lie?)
- Mission and Calling (What does the world need?)
- Profession (What can I be paid for?)
Discover how to make the most of these answers below.
Why Should I Integrate Ikigai In My Life?
No one exists in complete isolation; we coexist with others in various ways. We and our environment mutually influence each other and are somewhat interdependent. The key to a fulfilled life lies in harmonizing our nature with our environment to create an optimal interplay between ourselves and our surroundings.
Ikigai guides us in aligning our personality, talents, abilities, interests, and passions with our environment. It provides an orientation framework for understanding and exploring our true selves.
Once achieved, we can consider how to find our place in society and express our potential fully. The result is a harmonious, fulfilled, successful, satisfied, and, above all, authentic life. Ikigai embodies the ideal flow state across all areas of our lives.
Engaging with Ikigai helps you learn to pursue your own values. It also enables you to recognize where you have been led away from the core of your own personality by your upbringing, education, or society. As a result, many people do not live their own lives but rather ones that lead to conflict, dissatisfaction, inner emptiness, and illness.
Ikigai Chart and Infographic
This detailed Ikigai circle diagram is a visual overview of the Japanese concept.
How to find my Ikigai?
In theory, someone discovers their Ikigai by identifying the intersection of their passions, mission, calling, and what the world needs and making it their profession.
In practice, however, Ikigai is not a blueprint or method that leads you to a goal in a fixed number of steps. Instead, it is a lifelong orientation framework that guides your personal and professional life.
It is about more than finding your “dream job.” In the best-case scenario, your entire life will be based on the idea and elements of Ikigai.
Implementing and awakening my Ikigai
The Ikigai concept begins with getting to know and examining our own personality. We identify our talents, abilities, and inclinations and examine these in detail.
It helps to start by analyzing and listing all the things you are particularly good at and have a talent for.
The key question is: What are my talents and strengths?
Now it’s time to focus on our passions and the values that are important to us. The guiding questions are: “What do I love?”, “What moves me?” “What inspires me?”
Once we have become aware of our talents and passions, we use these insights to develop an intersection in order to define our careers, hobbies, and focus for our lives.
This involves harmonizing the talents, skills, and passions we have identified and considering how they can be brought to bear in our professional and personal lives. Here’s a great Ikigai exercise and worlsheet to harmonize those elements.
Examples of people who found their Ikigai
An example would be someone who combines their love of nature with their talent for photography. This person decides to become a nature photographer.
Another example would be a person who combines their passion for music with their organizational talent. As a result the person decides to organize music festivals or concerts.
Another person combines their love of cooking with their talent for teaching. The idea could be to offer cooking classes or start a cooking school.
In this phase, the focus is still entirely on the individual person, the „I. “
From Individual Focus to Holistic Perspective
Only in the next step towards finding Ikigai are the environment in the form of family, friends, colleagues, society, and local circumstances considered in this analysis.
We determine how this environment and the society in which we live can be aligned with it. The objective is to assess whether our surroundings and work provide a suitable breeding ground for fully unleashing our talents and passions.
Similar to a seed that can only thrive and blossom into its full glory in a specific environment and suitable climate.
An important consideration is whether the current social environment is conducive to personal growth or if one should seek an environment that better aligns with one’s values, preferences, aspirations, and goals.
Two examples to make this more tangible:
- A person aspiring to work in the tech industry may move to Silicon Valley, California, to be part of its thriving tech ecosystem, access venture capital, and collaborate with like-minded individuals.
- A passionate surfer may relocate to a place like Hawaii, known for its world-class waves, to immerse themselves in their love for surfing and join a community that shares their passion.
Appreciation – Feedback from My Environment
In the final step, we assess whether the chosen profession receives sufficient recognition and appreciation in society, allowing us to obtain an adequate financial return for our efforts.
The aim is to ensure that the life choices we make in line with our talents and passions are financially viable.
Determining if the chosen career path offers sufficient financial stability to meet personal needs is particularly important. It is possible to conclude that talents and passions are challenging to turn into a profession.
In such cases, one may consider alternative options to express these ideals, passions, and talents as frequently as possible through hobbies or social engagement.
We then identify additional talents and passions to help us choose a different career that fulfills us, aligns with our skills, and provides enough income to sustain our desired lifestyle.
Does the world need and want what I have to offer?
Using the example of nature photography could mean realizing that there is high demand for landscape and wildlife photography. One could find success selling their photos to nature magazines or creating advertising shots for outdoor clothing companies.
On the other hand, one might discover that although there is demand for nature photography, the will to pay is insufficient to sustain their lifestyle.
In such a scenario, the person could explore alternative ways to utilize their skills and talents as a professional photographer. They might find significant demand for event, real estate, or product photographers.
This way, they can pursue a career in photography while still using their beloved nature shots in their free time, allowing them to continue finding fulfillment.
Ultimately, Ikigai revolves around each individual using their talents and passions in a fulfilling and practically sustainable way. Identifying and evaluating opportunities and alternatives in alignment with personal interests and the demands and needs of the environment enables informed decision-making about the best approach for a fulfilling life.
The goal of Ikigai is to achieve true prosperity by combining these various aspects.
True prosperity, beyond material success, means leading a fulfilling and happy life beyond financial aspects. It encompasses emotional well-being, deep interpersonal relationships, personal growth, mental and physical health, and the ability to enjoy life to the fullest.
This prosperity also includes a sense of fulfillment through realizing personal goals, living according to one’s values, and having the opportunity to positively impact others and the world.
Ikigai Compared to Other Coaching Concepts
Unlike many coaching concepts, Ikigai largely involves the interaction of the individual with their environment and society. It goes beyond systemic coaching, focusing more on immediate surroundings such as family or colleagues.
Ikigai takes into account not only the individual but also the entire social environment.
This is significant because the social context strongly influences us and can lead us away from our nature and personality. Ikigai applies the “product-market fit” known from economics to personal development.
Engaging with Ikigai prompts individuals to contemplate their passions, talents, values, beliefs, and vocation. Ideally, they form an intersection of these elements with the world around them.
Ikigai – Everything is connected
After all, no human being functions independently. We are all part of a system and an environment we must navigate to find satisfaction and fulfillment.
This idea can lead some people to the conclusion that true fulfillment is unattainable in their current environment. Whether it’s their family, colleagues, profession, or even the country they live in. They may find that their values and ideas are incompatible with their surroundings.
Ikigai, therefore, involves developing one’s potential based on talents, inclinations, values, and passions and matching these aspects to the environment and society in which one wants to live or into which one was born.
Ikigai: The Journey is the Destination
Discovering your Ikigai isn’t a one-afternoon task. It’s an ongoing process that leads to continuous personal growth. Your Ikigai isn’t set in stone either. As we evolve, so do our desires, values, passions, and priorities.
Living in alignment with your Ikigai often requires adjusting your lifestyle to fit these new realities. Just as we change, so does the world around us. What’s deemed valuable today may hold a different weight in 20 years.
Ideally, we’re in a constant flow state with ourselves and the world. Think of Ikigai as a fulfillment concept and adaptable compass for the journey ahead.
The exercises and worksheets in the Ikigai Coaching Toolkit serve as guiding lights along the way.
Wishing you success in uncovering your personal Ikigai and living a genuine, joyful, and content life!
