Living a long, happy life: isn’t that the dream?

My 16-year-old niece, the other day, jokingly said she is going through a quarter-life crisis (her word for something similar to a mid-life crisis) and would like to do something fun to motivate her. I was tasked with taking her out and helping her destress. A movie, ice cream, and a couple of hours of venting session later, she said she felt better enough to go tackle her school work.?

It's not always this easy though. As humans we all share a common goal in life, to live happily. But often, we struggle to achieve this goal. Between finding what we want to do, and doing what we should be doing, we feel lost. Across all age groups, this is a feeling we are all accustomed to.?

“Existential crisis is typical of modern societies in which people do what they are told to do, or what others do, rather than what they want to do. They often try to fill the gap between what is expected of them and what they want for themselves with economic power or physical pleasure, or by numbing their senses." (Héctor García and Francesc Miralles)

Without the obligations and commitments of the workweek, what motivates us to wake up in the morning and keep us going??

As we take on the role of parents and teachers, it becomes even more pressing that we know the answers so we can help the next generation find their purpose and lead happy and fulfilling lives.?

Enter Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, bringing us the concept of ikigai and the answers to our questions.?

(Note: What we will be discussing here is a very simplistic version of ideas narrated over many chapters in the book. To really understand it in detail, I urge you to pick up the book and read the chapters that interest you.)?

What is ikigai??

The concept of ikigai has long existed in Japanese culture and was first popularized by Japanese psychiatrist and academic Mieko Kamiya. Later, Garcia and Miralles wrote about their research on the extraordinary longevity of the Japanese, especially on the island of Okinawa, and how ikigai shapes their lives. So what is this mysterious word??

Ikigai is composed of two words: iki, which means life, and gai, which describes value or worth. It is all about finding joy in life through purpose.

“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.” (Héctor García and Francesc Miralles)

Our pressing desire to lead a meaningful life

Victor Emil Frankl (1905 – 1997), Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor devoted his life to studying, understanding, and promoting “meaning.” His famous book, Man’s Search for Meaning, tells his story of how he survived the Holocaust by finding personal meaning in the experience, which helped him survive. Later, he established a new school of existential therapy called logotherapy, based on the premise that the primary motivational force of an individual is to find meaning in life.

"In German concentration camps, as in those that would later be built in Japan and Korea, psychiatrists confirmed that the prisoners with the greatest chance of survival were those who had things they wanted to accomplish outside the camp, those who felt a strong need to get out of there alive."

The concept of logotherapy and Ikigai are kind of similar. They both nudge us to search for things that give us meaning in our lives.?

And it’s not something you can find tomorrow. Just like you, your ikigai will evolve over time.? The westernized version depicts ikigai as overlapping spheres covering what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for.?

However, there is a healthy debate about whether the diagram best represents the traditional Japanese concept of ikigai. They believe that the traditional Japanese concept of ikigai is closer to:

“…embracing the joy of little things, being in the here and now, reflecting on past happy memories, and having a frame of mind that one can build a happy and active life.” (Ikigai Tribe, 2019)

Finding your Ikigai

I believe we each can interpret it in a way that makes sense to us. To help you on the path to finding your ikigai, here are some questions you can try to answer.?

1. What motivates you to get up in the morning??
2. Do you practice a morning routine (hydration, light exercise, meditation, reading, journaling, etc.)?
3. What are your core values, which define who you are??
4. What is an activity or a hobby that allows you to express yourself creatively?
5. What is your role at work or within your family or social group? Does it give you a sense of purpose? What role would you like to take on? What are you doing to make it happen??
6. Being in the state of flow can be described as “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.” Which activities in your life make you enter flow.?
7. Do you see your good friends often?
8. What are some small things in your daily life that give you joy?

In the answers to these questions, you might find the underlying ikigai that drives your life. If you don’t, then keep searching by going deeper into what you like by spending more of your time in the activities that give you pleasure.?

Does ikigai contribute to living a long life??

Ikigai brings satisfaction, happiness, and meaning to our lives. And you would see plenty of that on the island of Okinawa, where people live the longest. There are 24.55 centenarians (people over the age of 100) for every 100,000 inhabitants. Many of these centenarians are free of illness and enjoy enviable levels of vitality and health that would be unthinkable for people of advanced age elsewhere. And research indicates that the Okinawans’ focus on ikigai plays an important role in their health and longevity. Isn’t that fascinating? Let’s take a closer look at their lifestyle.

Okinawan secrets to a long life: ikigai, moai and hara hachi bu

Okinawans have a strong sense of purpose in life, a driving force that is their ikigai. But other elements contribute to their longevity.?

Hara Hachi Bu?

Okinawans stop eating when they feel their stomachs reach 80 percent of their capacity, rather than overeating. Their diet is rich in tofu, sweet potatoes, fish (three times per week), and vegetables (roughly 11 ounces per day).

Exercise

They don’t do strenuous exercise, but they do move every day, taking walks and working in their vegetable gardens.

Moai

In small neighborhoods across Okinawa, friends “meet for a common purpose” (sometimes daily and sometimes a couple of days a week) to gossip, experience life, and share advice and even financial assistance when needed. They call these groups their moai. We can imagine it to be something like a social support network. Serving the community becomes part of their ikigai.?

More key elements of ikigai that contribute to a happy life

Have an active mind?

Our neurons start to age in our twenties. However, we can slow the process by keeping an active mind. Dealing with new situations, learning something new every day, playing games, and interacting with other people—are anti-aging strategies for the mind.?

“You begin exercising your brain by doing a certain task for the first time. And at first, it seems very difficult, but as you learn how to do it, the training is already working. The second time, you realize that it’s easier, not harder, to do, because you’re getting better at it. This has a fantastic effect on a person’s mood. In and of itself, it is a transformation that affects not only the results obtained but also his or her self-image.” (Collins Hemingway and Shlomo Breznitz in their book Maximum Brainpower: Challenging the Brain for Health and Wisdom)

Reduce stress in your life

Stress has a degenerative effect over time. Dr. Howard S. Friedman, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, concluded that a small dose of stress is a positive thing, as those who live with low levels of stress tend to develop healthier habits, smoke less, and drink less alcohol.

“The secret to a long life is going to bed early, waking up early, and going for a walk. Living peacefully and enjoying the little things. Getting along with your friends. Spring, summer, fall, winter . . . enjoying each season, happily” —A resident in Ogimi, a rural town in Okinawa

Get sufficient hours of sleep

When we sleep we generate melatonin, a powerful antioxidant. It strengthens the immune system, reduces the risk of getting cancer, and heart diseases, and slows the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Adopt a positive attitude

A study conducted at Yeshiva University found that the people who live the longest have two dispositional traits in common: a positive attitude and a high degree of emotional awareness. In other words, those who face challenges with a positive outlook and can manage their emotions are already well on their way toward longevity.

“I’m ninety-eight, but consider myself young. I still have so much to do.” —A resident in the town of Ogimi.?

Finding ‘flow’ in everything we do

You know how sometimes weekends seem to fly by quickly while the weekdays feel lengthy and like a lifetime. When we are doing something we enjoy like reading a book or baking, we lose ourselves in the activity and don't notice the time going by. The experience of being completely immersed in what we are doing is called the “flow."

The book talks about different personalities with strong and clear ikigais. One such example that inspired me was that of Hayao Miyazaki, the director of the animated films produced by Studio Ghibli. Considered a national treasure by the Japanese government, Miyazaki is an artist capable of becoming completely absorbed in his art. In 2013, Miyazaki announced he was going to retire. However, the day after his “retirement,” he went to Studio Ghibli and sat down to draw.

Did you know that no word in Japanese means retire in the sense of “leaving the workforce for good” as in English??

The last thing Einstein wrote before closing his eyes forever was a formula that attempted to unite all the forces of the universe in a single theory. When he died, he was still doing what he loved.?

And it’s not just about being in the flow when you are working or pursuing a hobby. It’s also about enjoying the mundane everyday tasks.?

“We’ve all been bored in a class or at a conference and started doodling to keep ourselves entertained. Or whistled while painting a wall. If we’re not truly being challenged, we get bored and add a layer of complexity to amuse ourselves. Our ability to turn routine tasks into moments of microflow, into something we enjoy, is key to our being happy since we all have to do such tasks.” (Héctor García and Francesc Miralles)

The book cites the example of Bill Gates and how he enjoys doing the dishes every night. The activity helps him relax and clear his mind, and he tries to do it a little better each day, following an established order or set of rules he’s made for himself: plates first, forks second, and so on.

Identify the activities in your life that make you enter flow. In doing so, it might help you find your ikigai that drives your life.?

“There is no perfect strategy to connecting with our ikigai. But what we learned from the Okinawans is that we should not worry too much about finding it. Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you.” (Héctor García and Francesc Miralles)