What’s Your Ikigai?

In Japan, there’s a concept called ikigai. It’s loosely translated as that which makes life worthwhile or your reason to get up in the morning. It’s akin to your life’s purpose. If you should ever feel lost, it can give you direction and help you find your way.

Ikigai can exert a powerful effect on one’s life force. Studies have linked the lack of ikigai as an independent risk factor for poor general health, cognitive decline and even mortality in aging Japanese populations.

If you are uncertain what you ikigai is, here are some tips to discover it:

• Keep a journal and review themes that crop up over and over again.
• Speak with a mentor or counselor.
• Consider what you spend your spare time doing.
• Reflect on your most important core values.
• What are you told you excel at?
• Spend time volunteering for a cause you believe in.
• Consider what subjects occupy your dreams.
• What activities engross you so much that you “lose time” when doing them?.
• Meditate or practice mindfulness.
• What were you passionate about as a child?
• Seek feedback from family and friends who know you well.
• Think about what you would spend time doing if you only had a short time to live.

Finding your ikigai may not only help you live a more meaningful life, but a longer one too.

 

Source

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170807-ikigai-a-japanese-concept-to-improve-work-and-life