The True Meaning of Ikigai and How it Can Help You Connect More With Your Purpose
Hey Fam!
I’ve been thinking about the body’s wisdom and connecting more with my animal nature.
This Week:
🎨Visual of The Week: All or Nothing Gets You Very Little
⚡️The True Meaning of Ikigai and How it Can Help You Connect More With Your Purpose
🧘🏽♀️Mindful Dose: Remember You’re an Animal To Ground Yourself and Take Better Care
🍅Sauce: A song that reminds me to stay connected to my purpose and protect my energy
Have an amazing rest of your week,
Kyle
Visual Of The Week
Ikigai: The True Meaning Of The Japanese Concept and How It Can Help You Connect More With Your Purpose
(Image from the cover of “My Little Ikigai Journal” by Amanda Kudo)
I’ve seen the ikigai concept popping up a bunch recently, so I did a deep dive to learn more about it.
Ikigai is a Japanese term that translates to “reason for being” and can be used to learn more about yourself and ways you want to show up in the world.
In his TED Talk, speaker and artist, Tim Tamashiro, described ikigai “like a treasure map. And this treasure map can help you find your way to finding wonderful things about yourself that you can share with the world, and the world will say ‘thank you for it’”
The first ikigai graphic shared considers ways you can make a difference, but doesn’t equate that to your work or profession like some ikigai graphics do.
The common ikigai graphic that’s shared these days is the one below, which is more of a western interpretation of the concept.
Ikigai isn’t necessarily about your work.
“In a survey of 2,000 Japanese men and women conducted by Central Research Services in 2010, just 31% of recipients considered work as their ikigai. Someone’s value in life can be work – but is certainly not limited to that.” — BBC
Ikigai gives people a sense of a life worth living because they feel aligned in ways that benefit themselves and the world, but the original concept isn’t necessarily related to economic status.
Noriyuki Nakanishi a researcher at the Osaka University Medical School shared, “Behaviors which make one feel ikigai are not actions which individuals are forced to take, but they are spontaneous activities which people undertake willingly…Needs associated with ikigai are not simply equal to the desires for biological satisfaction or the desires of humans as social creatures. They are individual desires of humans as spiritual beings.”
Other things to note about ikigai:
You can have more than one ikigai in life
It doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. The referenced Japanese elders approached their ikigai with a sense of ease and enjoyment. They focused on the immersion in the process rather than a final result.
To apply the concept, here are “10 Rules of Ikigai”:
(from the book, “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor Garcia and Francesc Miralles)
Stay active; don’t retire
Take it slow
Don’t fill your stomach
Surround yourself with good friends
Get in shape for your next birthday
Smile
Reconnect with nature
Give thanks
Live in the moment
Follow your ikigai
Sources:
https://www.sloww.co/ikigai/
https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/28/3/323/31016
https://books.google.com/books?id=20kAa87zzUYC&pg=PA3&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false
Mindful Dose🧘🏽♀️: Remember You’re An Animal
It may sound silly, but reminding myself I’m an animal helps me take better care of myself and helps me to ground myself when I’m in my head.
To put this in practice, connect with your 5 senses and consider how you’d take care of another living thing like a pet or a plant. That might mean getting a daily dose of movement, sitting in the sun or giving yourself more rest.
Sauce🍅
A jam that reminds be to stay connected to my purpose and take care of my energy.
Thanks so much for your time and attention.
-K