I asked ChatGPT to help me form my ikigai.

Why do we try so hard?

For years, I've been looking for an answer about what I truly wanted, and what I can do to be fulfilled.

I gave myself many opportunities to try different things over the years. However, I've always struggled to articulate and stick to what I told myself I wanted to do - I didn't have the guts to jump.

Forming my Ikigai

As such, I took up a project to consolidate my experiences to form my ikigai. The key goal is to present myself better as a 'result slip' of the work I've done for the past years, so that I can chart my future path better and clearer.

What is Ikigai

Ikigai is a Japanese term that blends two words: “iki” meaning “to live,” and “gai” meaning “reason,” which translates to “a reason to live.” It's a concept that encourages people to discover what truly matters to them and to live a life filled with purpose and joy containing these 4 components: what you love, what you are good at, what you can be paid for, What the world needs

Data collection

So the natural first step is to prepare the raw materials, which are the data points about me.

This is the toughest step for me to do as it requires one to be honest with oneself. And it also require some experience gathering and validation.

I created a simple table with 4 columns and just agnostically listed down whatever came to my mind daily for almost 4 weeks straight:

Tip: Be as open as possible - don't judge you. There are days when I only have "what I love" and others where I don't have an 'aspect'.

These are how I defined the column names:

• Item/aspects: This is an optional but strongly recommended column. I identify the roles that I often assume and end up doing here. I included the roles which I can complete most of the columns for.

• What you love: these are the things that I enjoy doing, things that make me excited and willing to stay up for.
• What you are good at: I did some self-assessment based on my personal reflections and information collected from people around me. You can also include data points from strengthsfinder if you lack the vocab to describe you.
• What you can be paid for: items here are also based on things that I've been paid for. As such, these require you to explore and validate them.
• What the world needs: The world can benefit from many different things. For this, I included the problems that attracted my attention, and that I cared about.

Data processing using ChatGPT

To process the data collected, I tried 2 methods to get the information:

1. Only input the 4 ikigai factors first, then the roles as the next prompt.
2. Include roles from the beginning.

ChatGPT Prompt

Method 1

Prompt 1
I'm trying to form my ikigai, please help me figure out. These are the info:
What I love:
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>

What I am good at:
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>

What I can be paid for: 
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>

What the world needs
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>

Prompt 2
These are the parts of me that I've identified, please factor that in as well.
<role 1>
<role 2>
<role 3>        

Method 2

Prompt 1
I'm trying to form my ikigai, please help me figure out. These are the info:
What I love:
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>

What I am good at:
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>

What I can be paid for: 
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>

What the world needs
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>

Roles
<list item>
<list item>
<list item>        

Results

Method 1 (the 2-step prompting) gave me more information about the area which I wanted to work on. Layering on the aspects after that gave me more of the position of where I could place myself at.

Method 2 gave me more specific areas, with results like a job title.

Key Takeaways

I appreciated Method 1 more as I'm at a stage of figuring out my personal niche. Having a broader view of my skillset groups and seeing how it could possibly be positioned gave me different perspectives. At the same time, I also noted that there are certain recurring themes that I kept listing over and over again.

At the same time, I can see how method 2 can benefit people who are looking for more quick and direct answers of a certain career or occupation that they want to do.

Ending Note

May this be a casual and fun exercise that assist you in getting some clarity on your journey in a more personalised manner. The journey continues as I continue to chart my path forward with the new insights I found.

I wish you all the best in your purposeful pursuits.

P.S. I'm a little shy to put my results publicly, but happy to chat if there are discoveries you all found! Cheers!