Have you heard of the Japanese term Ikigai? For me, it’s finding the magic in life. The concept of Ikigai became popular with the book “Ikigai – The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life” by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia. Simply put, Ikigai talks about the reason for living. According to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding ikigai is the key to living a happier, hence longer life. Finding Ikigai is finding that something that you love, you’re good at, you can get paid for, and what the world needs. Once you find something where all these overlaps, you have your ikigai! Now you have a reason to wake up every day and work on something that you feel joyous about.

How can you find your ikigai?

Passion: If you have something that you love and are really good at- you have your passion. Unfortunately, many people who have found their passion feel it’s not impactful enough. Now, they need to find a way to make their passion more meaningful and gain more traction to find your ikigai.

Mission: If you got something that you love and also something the world needs, you got your mission which will get your self-fulfilment needs met. However, you might not be getting paid enough for it. Now, you need to get some formal training or education to be better at what you love and get better compensation to step into your ikigai.

Profession: You are good at something and getting paid for it, that’s your profession. Alas, you have all the money but so self-fulfillment. Now is the time for you to change how you live your life. Find a way to make a difference in your profession. Maybe you are a teacher, now you could work at a community school for once a week to meet your self-fulfillment goal and find your ikigai.

Vocation: You are in something that the world needs and are also getting paid for it, you got your vocation. However, maybe you’re not happy with it. Now is the time you reflect on yourself. Why aren’t you happy with it? Perhaps the work is tedious or stressful? You can always find a way to relieve your stress. Maybe once a week into self-care, a little bit of yoga or exercise, and eating healthy?

So, what do you have right now? What else do you need to find your ikigai? Have you thought about how you will get it?

Written by

Sanjida Sultana, MPH

Lecturer of Psychology, School of General Education

BRAC University

Associate, WSIF