I’ve always been intrigued by the 4 blue zones in the world, and especially now that my oldest son is living in Okinawa. That is why I read Thomas Oppong’s* article about ikigai with great interest.
Ikigai or your reason for getting out of bed in the morning.
I think finding your ikigai, finding out what is your purpose in life, is the most important thing in life.
Having a purpose gives meaning to your life.
Finding meaning in what you do, makes you feel content.
Being content leads to feeling happy.
And it’s proven that places where people have ikigai, like Okinawa, have the largest population of centenarians.
A lot of authors have written about finding your purpose and I love the suggestion of Dan Buettner.
Make the following 3 lists:
Your values
Things you like to do.
Things you are good at.
The cross-section of these 3 lists is your ikigai.
Write those 3 lists down. Look closely at what you care about, and what you’re good at. Start doing more and more things that are aligned with what comes out of the cross-section of your lists. You’ll notice that the more time you spend doing things you believe in, the more life will feel blissful, the more life will feel easier to carry. Even though, what is going on around you, will not necessarily change, but you’ll be looking at it from a higher vibrational frequency. Being on this higher frequency, will make you see even more things you can be grateful for and will make you see solutions instead of focusing on the problems.
So, make the effort and find your ikigai. It’s for your own good and wellbeing.
Look for your reason to get up in the morning.
Ask why your why is your why. Find the ultimate reason, find long term answers.
The more clarity you have about your why in life, about what makes you feel alive, the easier it will be to stick to it when things get tough.
Garcia and Miralles** describe 10 rules which can help people find their own ikigai.
1) Stay active and don’t retire. Suddenly doing nothing is the absolute worst possible avenue to take. Back in the day, lots of people died quite soon after they’d retired. They had lost their purpose, their reason to get up in the morning. Luckily nowadays, people stay active, people are involved in all kinds of activities, people take better care of their bodies, and all this translates in longer and happier living.
2) Leave urgency behind, and adopt a slower pace of life. What’s the rush? Almost everything can wait, almost everything can get done at a slower pace. Banning the constant stress, results in having a healthier body, in feeling emotionally and mentally stronger, in sleeping better, in short, in living a happier life.
3) Only eat what you need, and don’t fill your stomach until it is completely full. We all eat way too much. Once we reduce our food to healthy, nutritious food, we realize that we, not only need way less food, but that we also feel a lot more energized because of eating less and healthy.
4) Surround yourself with good friends, with people that lift you up. Avoid the nay-sayers, the people who are constantly complaining, the ones that only see problems instead of looking for solutions. They bring you to a lower vibrational frequency. They completely drain you from all positivity. Choose your friends wisely.
5) Get/stay in shape by exercising daily and gently. Don’t ‘punish’ your body, just make sure it stays flexible and in shape.
6) Smile and acknowledge people around you. Smiling, being/feeling grateful, being respectful, being compassionate towards every living creature here on this planet will make you vibrate on a higher frequency. The more people vibrating on a higher frequency, the more the whole world will be lifted up towards a better place for all.
7) Reconnect with nature. We are all part of this beautiful planet earth. We are part of nature. That’s where we feel good, where we belong, and that is why it is our duty to do everything in our power to preserve all life on this planet.
8) Give thanks to anything that brightens your day and makes you feel alive. The more grateful we are, the happier we are. The more we look for things to be grateful for, the more things will cross our paths for which we can be grateful for.
9) Live in the moment. So many people write about it, so many people talk about it and yet, all I hear and see, is, people fretting about the past or worrying about the future, and forgetting to enjoy the moment. All we have is now. The rest is gone or not here yet.
10) Follow your IKIGAI.
I invite you all this week, to go out in nature, or to go sit in a quiet space, and put your hands on your heart. Ask yourself:
Who am I?
What are my values?
What brings me joy?
What am I good at?
What makes me feel good?
What can I do to raise my vibrational frequency?
Write it down and come back to it as often as you need. Whenever all gets too much, whenever all feels ‘off’, return to your ikigai.
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Katrien
*”The Little Book of Japanese Concepts for a Good Life.” by Thomas Oppong.
**”Ikigai, the Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.” Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.