6 life-changing tips on finding your Ikigai

ikigai sine wave syndrome
There are other hormones and neurotransmitters that could impact your mood are melatonin – which helps you to fall asleep quicker. There is also norepinephrine – which is the excitement hormone. Furthermore, there is phenylethylamine – which aids in improving athletic performance, depression, weight loss, and improved mood, and attention. It works similarly to the drug ‘amphetamine’. Lastly, there is acetylcholine – which contracts smooth muscles, dilates blood vessels, increases bodily secretions, and slows the heart rate.

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Ikigai – pronounced as ‘ee-key-guy’ means ‘a reason for being.’ It will help you to find out what your purpose is in life. It does not matter how young or how old you are. Just know that it is never too late to find out what your passion is or your reason for being.

Some adults still have not figured it out for themselves and probably never will. We all know that life has many opportunities, perhaps a bit too many. We are expected to decide what we want to do in life at a very young age.

It can help you find out how you can become happy and find your purpose in life. What drives you to get out of bed every single day? And is that alone worth living for? The French namethis phenomenon: ‘raison d’être.’

What does the Japanese word ikigai mean

As stated before, ikigai means ‘a reason for being’. It is about how to get in a particular state of flow. The word ikigai is formed from two Kanji characters: ‘iki’「生き」meaning life, and ‘gai’ 「甲斐」, which means worth

What is your ikigai

I came across this Dutch article from AVOC about Ikigai, and it provided me with a lot of inspiration and information. Therefore, I wanted to give them a well-deserved shoutout.

The Ikigai model: A reason for being

Ikigai is all about finding what you are passionate about. A few areas are shown in the picture below that can be used as a signal point for your current life. For example, if you are feeling satisfied but rather useless. That means that you are not contributing anything to what the world needs. So, what are your passion and reason for being?

Ikigai model
Ikigai Model by AVOC

The Ikigai consists of four dimensions, as seen in the image above: The first is that you are doing what you love and what the world needs. That is known as a mission. The second thing is doing what the world needs and where you get paid for. This is called your vocation.

Thirdly, if you are doing what you are good at and getting paid for it, that is called a profession. Lastly, your passion is what you love doing the most and what you are good at. When we do the right things with the right mindset, we will enter a state of flow

Everyone is good at something

In 1983 American developmental psychologist Howard Gardener described 9 types of intelligence. Adioma wrote an amazing article about that if you wish to discover more about it.

types of intelligence
The 9 Types of Intelligence by Adioma

There are many different things you could particularly be good at. For instance: spatial, naturalist, musical, logical or mathematical, existential, interpersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, linguistic, intrapersonal, and spatial.

I do believe that one can be good at multiple things are shown in the image above. It is good that you know which area you are good at.

If you do what you like doing most – for instance, if you have figured out your Ikigai – you will do your work with almost no effort. That is the beauty of effort.

So, what is the right thing to do in life?

The Ikigai covers four different dimensions. Those are passion, vocation, mission, and vocation – which means employment. Finding your Ikigai means that you figured out a well-balanced mix between all these four dimensions. It is something one is particularly good at. Therefore, it is essential to realize that everyone has different skill sets, even though you doubt them. 

Don’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree

Albert Einstein

Most people focus on the things that they are bad at. Some even spend a lifetime trying to repair that. But one should always try to focus on something that he or she is naturally good at and loves to do as well.

Something that we love to do

Skills can be measured, but knowing what someone loves to do is more subjective. This makes it a bit harder. Therefore, you need to rely on your intuition. Take some time to find out what you love doing the most.

Something the world should need

Our activity should benefit the world. This is important if you want to find out what your passion is. And this can be something simple – not in a wrong way – as a sanitation worker, for instance. Without them, there would be a lot of trash or filth everywhere. Just ask yourself what you can do to make the world a better place.

Something that pays the bill

We have to get paid. Money is necessary to pay the bill. Otherwise, the thing that you are doing is a hobby. And that is not, particularly, a bad thing. But it does probably mean you are doing a job that you are not passionate about.

How to find your purpose in life?

I always advise people to write things down for themselves. Warren Buffet once said that you need to seclude yourself and clear any source of distractions. Once you have done that, write 25 things down that you would love to do or achieve in your life. After doing that, eliminate 22 of them and prevent yourself from ever completing those tasks.

Although this speech of Stephen Duneier inspired me as well, not only did he make that list I mentioned before, but he managed to do many things on that list in his life. Even though he cannot concentrate for an extended amount of time. I highly suggest you check it out.
I would appreciate it if you bought this book – which is also a fantastic book that I highly recommend – using my link below. It does not cost you any extra, but you will help me pay for the hosting…

I would really appreciate that! If I compare this blog to my personal ikigai, it covers almost everything except for getting paid for it. So, it does bring me delight and a feeling of fullness, but no wealth.

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