Do you believe that every human being has a purpose, something that justifies our existence and our stay in this world? Because if you believe that, know that you can transform this mystical and divine idea into something very concrete, and that with the help of a Japanese concept called ikigai!
What is Ikigai?
The Japanese term “ikigai” means nothing less than “reason for being”. There are still those who argue that it is a combination of “iki” (“life”) and “gai” (“to be worth it”). And that already demonstrates what that word means: the reason we get out of bed every day, chase our dreams and live our lives.
Of course, no one is in life for a single reason: we have family, dreams, loves, hobbies, friends, desires... But, according to this ikigai theory, we all have, deep inside, something quite remarkable and that determines who we are and who we are. the trajectory that our life will take, which is our purpose.
Before we set out to explore how to discover your ikigai (your purpose), let's understand a little more about the origin of this term and this concept.
How did ikigai come about?
The first records of the concept of ikigai date back to the Heian period (794 to 1185), but Japanese historians estimate that it was already quite popular even before it was first recorded. It is not known for sure how it came about or who created it, only that it had been part of society for a long time.
As an ancient concept in Japanese culture, ikigai is already quite ingrained in the mentality of the people of this eastern country, which is why the Japanese take their professional life and their purpose so seriously, to the point of suffering from problems such as depression when things don't turn out as they imagine.
How to discover your ikigai?
Typically, ikigai is illustrated by joining four circles. Each circle represents a question you should ask yourself. These circles, when arranged in a + sign format, form intersections: each circle meets two other circles. In the end, ikigai is the center where all these circles come together, uniting all the concepts and questions you should ask yourself.
First of all, let's understand the four questions you need to ask yourself:
The questions
1 – Interest – what do you love?
That's the starting point. In this topic, you should think about the activities you like to do the most, regardless of whether they are paid or not. In fact, a good way is to think: “If there was no need to work and earn money, what would I occupy my time with?”.
2 – Skill – what are you good at?
We often love something very much, but unfortunately we are not very good at it. In others, we are very good at something we don't really like… If in the first topic you thought about your passions and interests, in this topic you consider your abilities and skills.
3 – Need – what does the world need?
What do you think is missing in the world? And by “world”, you can reduce this scale: what is missing in your state, in your city, in your neighborhood, in your social networks, on the internet as a whole? Anyway, start thinking about what you would like to see more of in the world, something that is plausible.
4 – Remuneration — what can you get paid for?
And now is the time when you look at your interests and passions, your abilities and skills, what the world needs and try to conclude: “Among all these things, what can I get paid for and live a comfortable life on that basis? How can my interests, skills and worldview come together?”
The concepts
Now that you know the questions, you can move on to the concepts. There are 4 concepts, all of them adding up to two of the questions asked above, which will be summarized in this topic with the word that starts each of the questions:
1 – Passion = skill + interest
When you think of something you love to do and you know you're a good performer at it, that's your passion. Because, while she motivates you, she rewards you with a good performance.
2 – Mission = interest + need
If you can combine something you're interested in with a need that exists in the world, that's your mission, the task you need to accomplish. For she will unite what moves you, what you love, with what the world needs.
3 – Vocation = need + remuneration
We say that a person who fulfills a goal well and is paid for it has a vocation for a role. That's why, when you add a need that you supply in the world and you are paid for it, that's your vocation.
4 – Profession = remuneration + skill
Why do we call a carpenter a carpenter? Because he is very skilled with wood and therefore earns money handling this resource. That's why our profession brings together what we're good at, so we get paid for it.
Finally, ikigai is the sum of all this: passion combined with mission, together with vocation and embedded in a profession. When we manage to fit all these things together and make them work as allies and companions, then we discover our purpose and we can seek to fulfill it in the best possible way.
And how to get to ikigai? It's simple: discovering your interests, your skills, the needs of the world and how to get paid for it all, you discover your passion, your mission, your vocation and your profession. And the coming together of all that is your ikigai, your purpose.
And that's because it's uniting what you love (passion), what you're good at (vocation), what the world needs you to accomplish (mission) and, finally, what pays you fairly.
Do we all need to have an ikigai?
Not. You are free to think about whether this concept makes sense to you – and then, if it does, apply it to your life. If you don't believe in purpose, that's fine too, as ikigai is not an absolute truth nor is it intended to be. Therefore, you have every right to disagree with the application and how it works.
a practical example
Let's take a practical example! We've created fictional answers to the questions and concepts of ikigai to help illustrate how it works. Look:
The questions
- 1 – Interest – “Listening to people and their stories”.
- 2 – Ability — “Advise and guide people, welcome, care”.
- 3 – Need – “The world needs more empathy, attentive ears”.
- 4 – Remuneration – “People are willing to pay for listening ears”.
Now that we know that this person loves listening to other people, it feels good to advise them, considering that the world needs this attentive presence and that people are willing to pay someone for it, let's get to the concepts.
The concepts
1 – Passion = “Being in the presence of people, communicating with them, listening to what they have to say and speaking when you think it is pertinent”.
2 – Mission = “Help people, listen to them and welcome them, improving the world through the improvement of individuals”.
3 – Vocation = “People are willing to pay someone who has a listening ear and gives accurate advice, so this skill and passion can become a profession”.
4 – Profession = “Psychologists listen to people about their lives, make comments, help in the process of self-knowledge, advise when relevant and, finally, earn money for it”.
We can see, from the example described above, that the psychologist profession suits this person a lot, because she has a vocation for this role, for having the mission of helping the world through helping people, since she is passionate about listening to stories and people's problems, as well as advising them.
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More than pointing out a profession, ikigai here can be summarized as: this person has the purpose of helping the world evolve from the individual evolution of those with whom he connects, because he listens carefully, welcomes, snuggles and also advises and speaks, when he thinks it's appropriate.
Anyway, now that you know what ikigai is and have discovered how to unravel yours, new horizons can open up in your life, making it clearer who you are and what your role is in this world. What's up? Does ikigai make sense to you?
