Ikigai

What is an ikigai?

“Your ikigai is at the intersection of what you are good at and what you love doing,” says Hector Garcia, the co-author of Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.

ikigai is seen as the convergence of four primary elements:

▪️ What you love (your passion)

▪️ What the world needs (your mission)

▪️ What you are good at (your vocation)

▪️ What you can get paid for (your profession)

Discovering your own ikigai is said to bring fulfilment, happiness and make you live longer. Hence, the Japanese island of Okinawa, where ikigai has its origins, is said to be home to the largest population of centenarians in the world.

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In my opinion, one’s ikigai is an escape. It is something that allows you to truly enjoy yourself; in many ways, ikigai can be described as therapy for the soul. My ikigai is difficult to describe: it’s not a common activity.

I enjoy self reflection. I love to sit down with a warm cup of coffee and spend time simply reflecting. I reflect on a variety of topics: my goals, travel plans, my favourite books. I love to create random minimalist journals. I could spend hours just writing and journaling about little things in my life.

For instance, I have a binder titled my travel plans. This binder consists of numerous sheets of paper, each sheet dedicated to a country I'm interested in and is composed of doodles and places I wish to visit. Personally, I find my ikigai to be delightful.

To be honest, if I didn't spend a few minutes of each day reflecting, I think my mental health would be in trouble. It is so easy to be consumed by busy schedules, so easy to forget to take time for ourselves. I’m grateful to have discovered my ikigai early because it has really helped me stay sane these past few years.

My ikigai makes me happy.

When my grade 11 Photography teacher introduced ikigai to me, I immediately connected to the idea.

I simply hope you find the concept of ikigai to be helpful as well.

Please assist yourself by taking the time to discover your ikigai. There's a reason for why the location where ikigai was discovered has the greatest population of centenarians. Discovering your ikigai significantly contributes to a happy, healthier life.

Discover your ikigai, you deserve it :)