Ikigai is a Japanese word that consists of two characters: “iki” – which means to live, and “gai” – which means reason. In English, it roughly translates to “the meaning of your life.” It has been described as the reason that you get out of bed in the morning. Finding your ikigai is a life-long process because it will change as you enter and exit the different stages of your life.
- When you are a young child, your ikigai is to play and explore the world around you so that you can find out what you like and what you are good at.
- Your school years are dedicated to further exploring as well as learning the skills necessary to become proficient enough to earn an income from wherever your interests may lie.
- Once you finish your formal education, your job or profession provides an income to sustain yourself. When you reach mid-career, hopefully your income is substantial and stable enough so that you can devote more time to meaningful pursuits such as family and community.
- In later life, finding your ikigai is crucial to an inspired retirement. The people of Okinawa, Japan, are a prime of example of how having ikigai is one of the secrets of living a long and happy life.
Karatsu Castle
I am a third-generation Japanese-American. My grandparents came to the United States from Japan in the1920’s. I’ve never been to Japan but was planning a trip in 2020 before the pandemic hit and dashed those plans. Now I am planning to go as soon as travel restrictions are lifted, and one of the places that I’m looking forward to exploring is Okinawa, a chain of islands in southern Japan, where my maternal grandparents are from. My grandmother, who lived to be 102 years old, was from the town of Nago, which is a short distance from a village called Ohgimi-son, which has the longest life expectancy in all of Japan, which is saying something because, according to the World Health Organization, Japan has the longest life expectancy of any country in the world. Okinawans have been studied extensively in recent years in such books as The Okinawan Program, Healthy at 100, and The Blue Zones to try to determine the secret of their long lives. Among the findings, longevity factors included such things as a local diet rich in home-grown fruits and vegetables, having a strong sense of community, and ikigai.
The Japanese Version of Ikigai
I first heard the term “ikigai” in a TED Talk by Tim Tamashiro. Although we have never met, watching his talk felt very familiar. Tim is about my age and we have similar backgrounds. In fact, my mother’s maiden name is a derivation of his last name, so there’s a chance that we might be distant relatives. He also mentions his Okinawan roots and his desire to visit his ancestral homeland. His talk piqued my curiosity in ikigai, which led me to the book Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day by Ken Mogi. Mogi is Japanese neuroscientist, and his book explains ikigai from a Japanese perspective. There are five pillars in Mogi’s model.
Pillar 1: Starting small
Pillar 2: Releasing yourself
Pillar 3: Harmony and sustainability
Pillar 4: The joy of small things
Pillar 5: Being in the here and now
Mogi uses uniquely Japanese cultural references such as anime, sushi-making, forest bathing and sumo wrestling to explain ikigai. As such, it may be a little esoteric and hard to follow for non-Japanese. I think a better explanation can be found in Ikigai – The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.
The Western Version of Ikigai
Garcia and Miralles’ book, originally written in Spanish and later translated into English, became a New York Times best-seller in 2016 because it appealed to Western sensibilities. As the authors explain, ikigai focuses on four main ideas:
- What you love
- What you are good at
- What you can get paid for
- What the world needs
Where two of these ideas overlap, you will find your passion, mission, profession, and vocation (see the diagram below.
Where all four circles intersect is where you will find your ikigai.
Finding My Ikigai in Retirement
Let me explain how you can find your ikigai by telling the story of how I found my ikigai in retirement.
About six months after I retired, I began to feel a little lost. I knew that I no longer wanted to work at my job, but I didn’t know what to do with the extra 40 hours a week that I had on hand. At first, it was nice to have the time freedom to relax and unwind after working for nearly 40 years, but I knew that life wasn’t done with me just yet. There was something more in store for me. That’s when I discovered Tim Tamashiro’s TED Talk and began to search for my ikigai.
The first circle that I examined was the one that dealt with what I love. That was easy: Music. Ever since junior high school, I listened to all types of music nearly every day. Unfortunately, I never learned to play an instrument and I can’t sing, so asking what I am good at was also easy: Not music. Where those two circles intersect lies my passion.
Next, I looked back at my career to think about what I got paid to do. Since I was at my job for a long time, I got pretty good at it, especially writing training manuals and editing operating procedures. What I was good at and what I got paid for was my profession.
Another aspect of my job that suited me was the training of new employees. I am blessed with a calm and patient demeanor, which served me well in my role as a teacher. In fact, I also tutored high school students as a part-time job because I wanted to help those who were struggling with math or science. I felt that it was something that the world needed, and I got paid for it, so that was my vocation.
The thing that I loved most about tutoring was seeing the light bulb flash when a student figured out a math problem or understood a science concept. After I retired, I began volunteering with an organization that works with former foster youth, and I get that same feeling when I can help them figure out a life problem. This is what I love, and the world definitely needs it, so that has become my mission.
In summary, this is what I came up with: My passion is music, profession is writer, vocation is teacher, and mission is helping others. I really don’t know how I came up with the idea to start a blog (I wasn’t even sure what a blog was at the time), but I knew that it felt right. This is my ikigai. I get to write about and share things that I find interesting and inspiring. Hopefully, you will find them informative and inspired as well. As for my passion, I created a weekly blog newsletter where I can share the music that I’m listening to and get recommendations from my readers. That’s my favorite part of the blog – I love turning people on to new music as well as hearing what others are listening to. I’d love for you to join in the conversation!
Finding Your Ikigai in Retirement
For most, much of life is spent working. It can be difficult to find your ikigai because most of the focus is placed on vocation and profession at the expense of passion and mission. But retirement can provide a golden opportunity to explore the latter two.
Retirement can be an exciting time to explore and pursue your passion and mission, but it can also be confusing and scary. If you focused primarily on your vocation or profession in your earlier years, you may feel lost and without purpose or drive; it can be difficult to switch gears and adjust to a slower paced, less structured way of life. And even if you hated your job, retirement can mean a loss of identity which can lead to depression or anxiety. Whether it involves doing volunteer work, finding a part-time job, or taking up a new hobby, finding your ikigai can go a long way towards avoiding these mental health issues. Please, however, do not take this as medical advice. If you feel like you might need to seek the help of a mental health professional, please read this article.
I hope that my example of how I found my ikigai can be a useful roadmap to help you find yours. I started by looking back at my life from as far back as I can remember, and searching for recurring themes or patterns. This is where you will find the answers to the four main questions. From these, look for how your answers relate to each other; this is where you will find your passion, profession, vocation, and mission. Once you determine these, I think everyone’s process will be a little different. I sat and meditated for a long time before the idea of creating a blog came to me. Others might pray on it. Linear thinkers can create a spreadsheet. Still others find it helpful to talk it out with close friends or family. Just don’t overthink it!
In addition, there are online tests and questionnaires that help you to discover your ikigai; several can be found at PositivePsychology.com. Here are a few questions that can help you get started:
- When I was a child, what did I love to do?
- When was the last time that I was so involved in an activity that I lost all track of time and what was I doing?
- If I didn’t care what others thought of me, what would I do?
- When am I the most happy with who I am?
- If I were to die tomorrow, what would I regret NOT doing?
Take your time answering these questions and allow your mind to wander. Write down your answers and any other questions that may arise. Finding your ikigai isn’t always easy, but it is well worth the effort. And remember that ikigai is not a destination, but rather a journey of self-discovery. Enjoy the ride!