5MR#11 Ikigai

Okinawans live by a principle of ‘ichariba chode’ which means “treat everyone as brother, even if you don’t meet them before”. It turns out that it is one of the secrets to happiness. “Ichariba chode” promotes brotherhood and teamwork which makes people used to helping one another.

Ikigai : Your Reason for Being

The word ikigai is essentially the Japanese equivalent of the French raison d'être, meaning a person’s reason for existing, or life purpose. According to the Japanese, each of us has a different ikigai. Your ikigai could center on an art or craft, a sport, your job, or any number of things. Furthermore, you don’t necessarily have just a single ikigai. Einstein, for example, had two: physics and playing the violin. He said that if he hadn’t been a physicist, he would have devoted his life to music. This section of the book tells us the art of staying young while growing old. Having clearly defined ikigai brings satisfaction, happiness, and meaning to our lives. For that, it is extremely important to do what you love. And once you find it, you do it until your health allows.

Here is a diagram from the book, that explains that how you can find your ikigai.

Japanese never really retire; they keep doing what they love for as long as their health allows. There is no such word that means ‘retire’ in Japanese, instead, they use ‘Leaving the workforce for good’. Doing what you love is directly proportional to a long and happy life.

The ten rules of ikigai

1.Stay active and don’t retire. Don’t give up what you love because you will lose purpose.

When you truly find what you love to do then continue it till your body gives up. Japanese people do what they love to do till their health support it. The reason, when you find what you truly love to do you get continuous joy and it becomes necessary to preserve it. Doing things that you love will make you excel in that work, and it will be the source of your happiness. At end of the day, everyone wants to be happy. And nothing can give you more happiness than doing what you truly love to do.

2. Take it slow. Don’t hurry for anything as the old saying, “walk slowly to go far.” Most people want to make money faster, want to settle faster, want pleasures faster. But hurrying is inversely proportional to the quality of life.

We are living in the information age where everything is available on fingertips. But life doesn’t work like that. Hurrying will only lead to recklessness, stress, and poor quality of life.

3. Don’t fill your stomach. Don’t forget the 80% rule. When your stomach is 80% full stop eating.

Overeating has significant health problems like obesity. Overeating only damages your health and makes you lazier. You will notice that after overeating, you feel sleepy and lazy. In the long run, overeating has severe negative effects on health and longevity. All Okinawans eat till their stomach is 80% full and believe it helps them to live a long and active life.

4.Surround yourself with good friends. Friends are the best medicine. Find a good friend circle where you can live with integrity.

You become essentially, what your company is. Be accompanied by good friends. Friendship is a wonderful and perhaps the best relationship to be in. Problems like loneliness, social anxiety, etc can be resolved with friendship. Friends give you healthy emotional support and encouragement in bad times. There is no good asset in the world to invest in than good friends. Research from time to time proved that good friends matter to a great degree for having a healthy and successful life.

5. Get in shape. Take care of your physical health, it is the only instrument from which you will experience the world.

Everything in the world you achieve, is through your body, keep it healthy and fit. There is a saying which goes like, health, wealth, and happiness. This means, to live a satisfying life you need health, wealth, and happiness. First, it comes your health and then other things. Get in good shape doesn’t mean you need to have big muscles. But have a healthy routine in your life. Do at least 20 minutes of exercise on daily basis. You can choose different exercises that you prefer like jogging, aerobics, body stretching, etc. You can do yoga, meditation, and other gentle exercises to keep yourself fit.

6. Smile. A cheerful attitude in today’s life is what a smile describes. I have mentioned about it in the book summary for How to win friends and influence people. Smile always keeps you and people around you in good mood. A cheerful attitude brings joy and happiness in our lives as it shows optimism towards the world.

Participate in activities that bring you a smile. Activities like hanging with your friends, a picnic, a family trip, a reunion, etc bring joy and positivity to our life. Always keep a positive attitude towards life and it will reward you with happiness and joy in return.

7. Reconnect with nature. Travel more often to villages, forests, mountains, rivers, etc. Try to come close to nature. It will give you peace of mind.

In today’s world, we are too busy with our phones and laptops that we almost forget our union with nature. From time to time visit natural places and enjoy the natural scenery. Make your life more adventurous, visit a national park or sanctuary, hiking or trekking also can be a good option. Just spending some time under a tree or on the bank of a river will make you feel lighter and happier. Travel villages, mountains, and forests and make your life adventurous. Nature will reward you with happiness and peace.

My biggest and greatest learning from Nature is “Giving” and “Living for others” – Rivers don’t drink their own water, trees don’t eat their own fruit , the sun doesn’t shine for itself and flowers don’t spread fragrance for themselves. I can vouch for connect with nature.

8. Be Grateful - Be thankful for nature, your ancestors, friends, family, and colleagues. And be grateful for the food you eat, the water you drink, the air you inhale, and nature. The stockpile of your happiness will grow.

Be thankful for what you have. We have Thanksgiving Day on 25th November for a reason. It will remind you of all people who helped you to achieve your success. Being grateful makes you less egoistic and proud. Be thankful to everyone who helps you by any means and it will help you to preserve relationships.

I have experienced being grateful and journaling it is a good practice for mindfulness and helps us to connect with our emotions and feelings.

9. Live in the moment. What is there is in today. Make your day worth living.

Yesterday is history and tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift and that’s why we call it present ??. Life is in today, not in past, and not in the future.

Whatever happened forget it and what must happen don’t worry about it. Make your present-day worth living. Every night before you sleep, ask yourself that was the day worth living? Make small but consistent steps to make your every day fulfillment. In today’s date, it’s very easy to waste time in leisure activities. But working towards your future makes your day worth living. You don’t need to stop doing all leisure activities but keep the proportion of work more than leisure. Work can be anything that makes you a better person. It can be reading books, watching documentaries, studying, learning a new skill, etc.

10. Follow your ikigai. There is a passion inside you, follow it until the end. Don’t give up what made you. It takes a very long time to build meaningful passion, don’t give up on it. It takes a long time to build things, don’t break them in an instance. Once you develop healthy habits like exercising, meeting friends, making life more adventurous, following your passion, etc, then don’t quit doing it. Continue your ikigai as long as your health supports it.

Conclusion:

Everyone’s ‘ikigai’ is different! It is not a simple word but a concept. Everyone needs to find out their ikigai, or your path to happiness.

There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet, as Viktor Frankl says, your mission is to discover it. (Note: Viktor Frankl is the author of Man’s Search for Meaning)

Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning. When we spend our days feeling connected to what is meaningful to us, we live more fully; when we lose the connection, we feel despair. Our ikigai is hidden deep inside each of us, and finding it requires a patient search. According to those born on Okinawa, the island with the most centenarians in the world, our ikigai is the reason we get up in the morning.

Once you discover your ikigai, pursuing it and nurturing it every day will bring meaning to your life. They have an important purpose in life, or several. They have an ikigai, but they don’t take it too seriously. They are relaxed and enjoy all that they do.

One thing that everyone with a clearly defined ikigai has in common is that they pursue their passion no matter what.

What next ? Explore and find your Ikigai while I am still discovering it :) ! Recommend to read the complete book for details of tools that show ways to get the most out of this book.

Good Day! Thanks for your time. Stay Safe.