Ikigai (ee-key-guy) is a Japanese notion that combines the words iki, which means “alive” or “life,” and gai, which means “benefit” or “value.” When these phrases are combined, they indicate something which provides your life value, significance, or goal.

The notion of ikigai is claimed to have originated from traditional Japanese medicine’s core health and wellness concepts. According to this medical tradition, one’s physiological well-being is influenced by one’s mental wellbeing and perception of meaning in life

Explanations of ikigai are frequently associated with components of social identity, such as job and family life, but it is also explained as something more. It is the concept of finding meaning in all you are doing in life. Interests, relationships, public service and traveling all contribute to your ikigai.

Ikigai is frequently connected with a Venn diagram depicting the points where the following elements overlap:

• What you love
• What you are good at
• What the world needs
• What you can be paid for

THE DIFFERENT SPHERES OF IKIGAI

WHAT YOU LOVE

This sphere contains everything we do or encounter in life that offers us the most joy and helps us feel the most lively and satisfied. What matters is that we give ourselves permission to think very carefully as to what we enjoy, without regard for whether we are excellent at it, whether the world needs it, or if we can be paid to do it.

WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT

This sphere contains whatever you are exceptionally great at, such as abilities you’ve learned, interests you’ve pursued, talents you’ve demonstrated since a young age, and so on. It’s possible that you’re excellent at something. This category includes skills or capabilities, regardless of if you are passionate about them, if the world needs them, or if you can be compensated for them.

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS

The “world” here could refer to mankind overall, a local group with whom you are in contact, or somewhere in between. Whatever the world requires may be established based on your perceptions or the requirements voiced by others. Outside one’s own needs, this area of ikigai links most directly with other people and doing good for others.

WHAT YOU CAN BE PAID FOR

This domain of the diagram also alludes to the world or society as a whole, because it involves what somebody else is prepared to pay you for. Whether you can get compensated for your interests or skills is determined by circumstances such as the condition of the economy, the demand for your passions/talents, and so on.

A “balance point” in this ikigai diagram would thus include something that you are passionate about, are also skilled at, that perhaps the world really needs currently, and for which you will get paid.

IN PURSUIT OF A PURPOSE

Everybody, according to the Japanese culture, possesses ikigai. It denotes the worth that one discovers in their life or the things which make one feel as though their life is worthwhile. It pertains to both mental and spiritual situations that give one the impression that their existence has meaning.

What particularly appeals to me about ikigai is its interchangeability. It is unique to each individual and recognises that the concept of “happy” is really rather complex. Ikigai, as an idea, can grow alongside you. If one route of purpose is no longer available, you may adapt, shift, and follow other pursuits with purpose. This is accommodated by Ikigai.

Even though the present really doesn’t seem right, if you do not feel genuinely valued in your current condition but have a great desire to strive towards, you will have discovered your ikigai.

We frequently measure ourselves to everyone else, and when people around us appear to be doing better than us, we might feel like losers We soon overlook what we’re aiming for and we reject our current journey. This is where I believe ikigai may truly help. When we follow the concepts of ikigai, we are brought back to ourselves, towards our own purposes, and to the road we are taking to get there. Ikigai is just as much about adjustments, difficulties, and blunders as it is about achieving the “ideal” goal of a contented existence.

The concept in itself is not innovative or revolutionary, but it’s worth remembering.