Do You Know Your Purpose
On Living and Realizing That Which You Hope For
Recently, I happened to stumble upon a Japanese concept called “ikigai” (pronounced ee key guy) and I found it quite intriguing. Essentially, ikigai is loosely translated to mean “reason for being”. Ikigai is made up of “ikiru” which means “to live”, and “gai” means “the realization of what one hopes for” (thanks to the Performance Excellence Network blog for the definitions!). A popular illustration of the ikigai can be found in a couple of different Venn diagram pictorials which both place the ikigai at the center of four main aspects of life. Those concepts are:
1. What you love
2. What the world needs
3. What you can be paid for
4. What you are good at
The assertion is that as you get closer to the center of the diagram (your ikigai), you also get closer to your reason for being. The inner components of the diagram include:
· Passion
· Mission
· Vocation
· Profession
The above illustration is from the ikigai test website and is a bit different in its pictorial of the ikigai Venn diagram shared previously. I took some time to study the diagrams above, and I must say that while it took a bit of brain power to understand how the Venn diagrams worked, I still couldn’t reconcile the two because the components were a bit different in the areas closest to the ikigai (center). The reason was clear once I realized one of the two diagrams was being used to identify different personality types and the other was being used to focus on personal fulfillment.
Needless to say I was still very interested in learning more because I didn’t simply surf away from the web pages and continued to research this concept. I then turned to YouTube however where I was lucky enough to find a two minute video that explained ikigai in a way that made much more sense (thanks to Dr. Thomas P. Seager for the video). I was happy to have found a better explanation in a format that wasn’t a Venn diagram, but I didn’t stop there! In order for me to form any sort of informed opinion, I needed a contrarian view to challenge my new found conceptual knowledge. I was fortunate to find another YouTube video by James Stuber that pointed out the problem with the ikigai assertions as it was being explained. In his video, Stuber shares a bit of history on the ikigai and how the concept came to be widely known outside of Japan. He asked logical questions and referenced information that seemingly clashes with the popular explanations. Stuber also provided some historical research to support his opinions. I was quite happy to find the contrarian views because it caused me to think a bit more deeply and draw my own conclusions about the purpose of the ikigai Venn diagram.
My thoughts on the ikigai Venn diagram, and the concept is that there is a benefit to thinking deeply about how to find inner fulfillment, but it seems to me that you can find fulfillment if you have less then all four aspects in the diagram present in your life. I do not think there is a perfect overlap in all four but it seems that three of the four is very possible in more than one combination. Overlaps that exist are good and will likely aid you in your ability to be fulfilled in many aspects of life. At a minimum, if you spend time thinking about your reason for being, you will be more likely to consistently walk in it and more importantly, you should find consistent and ongoing fulfillment. Here’s to you finding your ikigai!
Hope Byus Coaching LLC can help
What decision do you need to make that will move you toward your goals? What steps does this decision involve? Without limits, what does a fulfilled life look like for you? Are you excited about your future or are you facing it with apprehension and fear?
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