Forget hygge, the world has moved on to ikigai.
Ikigai, pronounced, ‘Ick-ee-guy’, may be a word you’ve seen floating around on the internet but never really known what it’s about.
According to Japanese culture, everyone has an ikigai, a “reason for being” which is what the word translates to.
It is said that ikigai may also be the answer to a longer and happier life.
Hector Garcia, the co-author of Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life wrote that ikigai is “the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning” in the Guardian.
Finding your ikigai requires answering four simple statements:
1.) What you love
2.) What you are good at
3.) What the world needs
4.) What you can be paid for
The idea is that after establishing the answers to these four statements, you discover your ikigai.
“The lesson we can draw from the people of Japan – and specifically the residents of Okinawa – is that we should do less when we are feeling overwhelmed, but keep busy when we feel like doing nothing. Don’t overwork, but don’t fritter those hours away either. The answer to longevity may well rely on a balance between the two,” wrote Hector Garcia.
“In Japan, people over retirement age don’t put their feet up. They harness their ikigai.”
Garcia also says that finding your ikigai is: “felt to be crucial to longevity and a life full of meaning.”
Perhaps it’s time to answer those four statements and discover what truly gets you out of bed in the morning!
