According to this Japanese phenomenon, you will discover the meaning of life.
Discovering the meaning of life: that seems to me not only incredibly nice but also mega impossible, to be honest. Many philosophers have of course already dared to tackle it, but to say that we are all a bit wiser about why we are walking around on this earth seems a bit exaggerated to me. Nevertheless, Japanese researchers have come up with a formula that allows you to discover the meaning of your life. They call it ‘Ikigai’ and it is derived from two Japanese words: ‘iki’, which means life, and ‘kai’, which stands for result, value, and benefit.
According to these researchers, finding your Ikigai enables you to find value and meaning and helps you discover your purpose in life. Well, that all sounds promising, but how do you precisely find your Ikigai?
The core of your Ikigai can be found at the intersection of your passion (what are you good at and what do you love), your mission (what do you love and what does the world need), your vocation (what does the world need and what can you be paid for), and your profession (what can you be paid for and what are you good at). You do this by asking yourself questions in four categories:
1. What do you love?
Ask yourself: what is most important to you in your life, with which people do you prefer to spend your time, what makes you happy and calm, and what do you feel when you are happy?
2. What does the world need?
Ask yourself: what should people do more or differently, what is the world currently lacking, and how do you like to help others?
3. What can you be paid for?
Ask yourself: what would you do if you had more money, what kind of job would you want, how much money do you need to get by, and which companies are looking for people with your skills?
4. What are you good at?
Ask yourself: what comes easily to you, what does success mean to you, what do you do in your free time, and what have you achieved so far?
The next step is to find your passion, mission, vocation, and profession through these questions. By combining the answers from question 1 and 2, you find your mission. Combine your answers to questions 2 and 3 and you find your vocation. By combining your answers to questions 3 and 4, you find the profession that suits you, and if you combine your answers to questions 4 and 1, you should have discovered your passion. Write down what comes out of these four combinations and try to make one sentence from each combination, resulting in four sentences.
In the final step, you will combine those four sentences into one sentence or one small paragraph. Look closely at how they complement each other. Sometimes this fits together well in one go, sometimes you will need to rewrite it a few times until it becomes a coherent story that you feel good about. It’s okay if this takes some time, as this last piece is your Ikigai, or your purpose in life.
It is good to know that your answers may change depending on the phase your life is in. The most important thing is that you are able to remember what your purpose is in this life at any moment and that you determine what makes you happy in all phases of your life.
Source: Institute of You
