Find your Spark
Discover Your Ikigai
The secret to a long and happy life is to live with purpose every day. Living a life with meaning and value can make you happier, more content, more resilient through hard times, and more likely to influence the lives of others. People can find meaning from many different sources: relationships, work, religion, or hobbies, for example. What gives you a sense of meaning or purpose in life?
According to the Japanese culture, one way to a more meaningful and purposeful life is to discover your ikigai (ee-key-guy). Roughly translated as ‘a reason for being’ or ‘a reason for getting up in the morning,’ finding one’s ikigai provides a reason for living even when faced with adversity, hardship, and suffering. To discover your ikigai, you must first identify: what you love, what the world needs, what you can be paid for, and what you are good at. Ikigai can be found at the point at which these four elements converge.
The Four Elements of Ikigai
What you love
What you are good at
What the world needs
What you can be paid for
Discover Your Ikigai
Finding one’s ikigai is an ongoing process of self-reflection. Your ikigai is likely to change as your circumstances change over time. Therefore, it is beneficial to practice this exercise as often as you can so that you continue to explore different possibilities as your circumstances change.
In the following exercise, you will answer four questions related to your ikigai. Take a few minutes to think about each question. Then write any words, phrases, and ideas in the relevant circle of your ikigai chart . Your ikigai is the point at which your answers to these four questions overlap.
Circle 1. What do you love?
Passion is essential to finding your ikigai; without it, one might argue that you cannot find your reason for living. What do you genuinely feel passionate about? Take a few minutes to think of the things you love in any aspect of life: your work, your family, volunteer activities, or personal interests and hobbies, for example. Perhaps you have a passion for science, gardening, or traveling.
Write your answers in the section of your ikigai chart labeled ‘What you love.’
Circle 2. What does the world need?
Humans are social animals - when we know that we are needed by others, we feel useful, valuable, and full of purpose. This question will help you discover what you can give to the world. Thinking about what the world needs globally might seem like an overwhelming task, so take a step back from the big picture and think about this question in smaller, more local terms. Think about what your friends, family, and immediate community need. These needs can include just about anything: a product, a service, or something as simple as helping one single person.
Write your answers in the section of your ikigai chart labeled ‘What the world needs.’
Circle 3. What can you get paid for?
The concept of ikigai is also related to finances because when you can get paid for doing something that you love, you have the foundation for a happier, more fulfilling life. Yet, finding a job where you can apply your talents, share your passion, and get paid for is often difficult to achieve. Consider your previous employment positions: What were you good at? Did you excel at anything in particular when employed in those roles? Think about the specific skills you have that could make you money today.
Write your answers in the section of your ikigai chart labeled ‘What I can be paid for.’
Circle 4. What are you good at?
Figuring out what you are good at involves a lot of self-evaluation. This question will help you think about your talents and skills. Before answering, take some time to think about your skills, your strengths, and all the things you are capable of doing well - no matter how big or small. Perhaps you have a particular skill or talent that comes naturally to you, that people find helpful, or that you have worked hard to achieve.
Write your answers in the section of your ikigai chart labeled ‘What I am good at.’
Find Overlapping Responses
Now that you have spent some time thinking and writing down your responses, you might notice that some of your answers appear in multiple circles of your ikigai chart or that some answers are closely related. For instance, if you love teaching (what you love) and you believe the world would benefit from more knowledge (what the world needs), there is a clear overlap between these two. In this step, you will look for similarities between the answers in each of the four circles. These overlapping areas will help you find your ikigai.
Any responses that fit into more than one of two adjacent circles should be written in the overlapping section that lies in between these two circles (see Fig. 2). For instance, if a response appears in the circle ‘what you love’ and also in the circle ‘what the world needs,’ then write this response in the overlapping space between the two circles labeled ‘your mission.’ Fill in the remaining sections of your ikigai chart in the same way.
Write any response that fits into all four circles in the center of your ikigai chart. This response is your key to a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
Mission, Vocation, Profession and Passion in the Ikigai Chart
A more detailed description of each possible overlap is described below:
What you love + what you are good at = your passion
If any item listed in ‘what you love’ also appears in ‘what you are good at,’ then you have found your passion. When activities fall into these two categories, you might experience a feeling of satisfaction, but you might also feel that you are not contributing as much to the world as you could. Importantly, no matter how passionate you are about something, if you receive no financial reward for it, it is not sustainable in the long term.
What you love + what the world needs = your mission
If any item listed in ‘what you love’ also appears in ‘what the world needs,’ then you have found your mission. When activities fall into these two categories, you are likely to experience delight and fullness, but you are also likely to notice a distinct absence of income and financial stability.
What you can be paid for + what the world needs = your vocation
If any item listed in ‘what you can be paid for’ also appears in ‘what the world needs,’ then you have found your vocation. These activities can have a positive influence on the world and have the bonus of providing an income. However, not being good at your job can create anxiety, and without love for what you are doing, the experience can feel empty and unfulfilling.
What you are good at + what you can be paid for = your profession
If any item listed in ‘what you are good at’ also appears in ‘what you can be paid for,’ then you have found your profession. You might feel comfortable during these activities; however, doing something that you do not love and that the world does not need can make your work and efforts feel trivial.
All four circles = Your ikigai
Does something appear in all four circles? When any response appears in what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs, you have found your ikigai. Discovering your ikigai means that you have found something that is meaningful, fulfilling, and sustainable.
Interested in learning more? You can learn more about Ikigai here.
-Adapted from the Positive Psychology Toolkit