Ikigai - "a reason for being"

Hi!

There's a Japanese thing I want to discuss.

From wiki:

Ikigai (生き甲斐, pronounced [ikiɡai]) is a Japanese concept meaning "a reason for being". Everyone, according to the Japanese, has an ikigai. Finding it requires a deep and often lengthy search of self. Such a search is regarded as being very important, since it is believed that discovery of one's ikigai brings satisfaction and meaning to life.

In the culture of Okinawa, ikigai is thought of as "a reason to get up in the morning"; that is, a reason to enjoy life. In a TED Talk, Dan Buettner used ikigai as one of the reasons people in the area had such long lives.

Illustration is 4 spheres:
- what I can do
- what I love to do
- what pays money
- what world needs
Ikigai is their intersection




So, what do you think?

Did you find your Ikigai? Are you looking for it? Does it bother you? Should we, the Jedi, pursue Ikigai as a specialization?

I, myself, have found one for me. But I'm only starting to realize it. After 3 years of studying applied maths and 2 years of industry experience, just now I bring sense into it. Bring my game into it. And I find it much harder to be a master than to be a specialist. Will it be rewarding? Should be.

I don't think, that Ikigai is something metaphysical like being a Jedi. It's much more physical. Much more grounded. Yet, it seems to be relevant, very.

Force, guide us.

Domo arigato den385,

Very interesting, Is there an certain way to search for your personal Ikigai? If Ikigai is a mix from the 4 spheres, how should I combine those to find my personal Ikigai?

~Aqua

So the answer to that puzzle would be to be good at everything and love doing anything while doing what the world needs and getting paid for it!!!!

@Adder - But how are gonna be good at both maths and football to the point that you're getting paid? ))

@Aqua - I am afraid, finding Ikigai is a way of uncertainty and sometimes it can seem quite a labyrinth.

I can discuss how I've found mine, if it would be of any help.

1) I was studying pure higher mathematics in one of Russia's best place for it. I wasn't very good and there were problems distracting. It didn't inspire me, it didn't light fire in my eyes, it didn't make my heart burn, there was no drive. Yet, it was useful.

2) Then I did quite courageous and same time stupid thing - I transferred to much less cool university (MIREA) with applied maths and programming. It was hard to study in that place, but I've started to get what Ikigai is, though I didn't know this word then. The fire came only in tiny pieces - when I planned my programming course projects and reached success in 'em, and when I was meeting interesting people and interesting tasks on programming conferences, which more like a hangout than a serious thing.

3) On last course of MIREA, I started to work as Junior programmer. It was hell of a lot frustrations. You don't know much, people seemed mean sometimes, they didn't want me to grow, just want to be productive. Normal jobs, yet I wasn't much of a fighter that time. I understood, that some life distractions and bad structure of MIREA and much more - my own indecisiveness costed me chances to do my own thing and have precious experience.

4) I changed several jobs in next 3 years. Was searching for "the right thing". Never understanding, that the only "right thing" I was searching was drive from challenges. This search and personal issues rewarded me with frustrations, uncertainty and instability in my career.

5) Finally, due to personal issues and my own lack of experience, I landed up on an awfullest job I ever had. Bad wage, bad tasks, bad people. Anti-drive in overabundance. And here I've understood that Ikigai is your own game above every professional activity there is. I understood that you can have your own rules of craft. But if your rules are not strict enough, they will get you fired. So your rules should be "what is expected of ordinary ok worker" + "what gives you drive: purpose, autonomy, mastery". Sometimes it's something extra on job. Sometimes - a side-project.

6) Now I've left this job with resources for a few months. I can finish my own project and find a decent job.

Over all I can say that finding Ikigai is what Jobs meant by "follow your heart, don't stop" in his famous Stanford lecture. It's not easy, but if you can do it, your working life becomes meaningful and rewarding. And I believe that when you are good at what you love, and if you have will, that is the only right road to success.

Finding Ikigai depends on self confidence. What self confidence is - it's subjective. But when you have your own world, your own vision, your own life, than working just to get paid starts to be a bad deal. And you are on a search for another attitude. I could say, you're searching for your own game wthin the Game of Life.