Family game night with three generations of lexofiles so of course we break out the Scrabble. The situation was dire - 4 vowels and three basically useless consonants. Out of the ashes, though, clarity appears - I triumphantly place down five of my random hand, spelling ikigai.
Eleven and the double word makes twenty-two.
The eyes across from me raise suspiciously. That's not a word.
Smirking back confidently, I volley back the challenge. Yes, it is - it means your life's purpose. Look it up.
Spoiler - I was right.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that translates to "reason for being" or "that which makes one's life worth living." In other words, it's the intersection of your passions, skills, mission, and vocation. Sometimes it's represented visually in a Venn diagram like this:
If you're feeling stuck and mindlessly going through the motions day after day, now is a great time to take a step back and think about your ikigai. Who doesn't want a fulfilling career and a sense of purpose in your life? Get out your favorite journal (the one with the really nice paper that you're afraid to write in), set a timer for 20 minutes, and start brainstorming. You want to identify what you're truly passionate about, what skills you have, what you can do to make a difference in the world, and how you can make a living doing it. This practice will help you begin to identify the types of roles and companies that will be a good fit for you.
Another way to find your ikigai is to focus on the impact that you want to make, rather than what you want to get out of a job. If you were able to make the impact that interests you, using your unique skills and abilities, what would that mean to an organization and to the world? Answering this question will allow you to find work that is more meaningful and aligned with your purpose.
Keep in mind that your ikigai may change over time alongside your skills, interests, and values may change. You might find yourself wondering why your formerly comfortable job is starting to feel like an old, worn-out concert t-shirt. normal! As humans we are meant to learn, grow and evolve, not stagnate. It's never too late - at 50 Julia Child wrote her first cookbook, Betty White joined the Mary Tyler Moore show at 51, Henry Ford released the first Model T at 45, and Harland Sanders franchised the first KFC at 62. Grandma Moses didn't even start painting until she was 78.
Finding your ikigai can be challenging, but it's not impossible. By understanding your own skills, interests, and values, focusing on the impact you want to make, and being open to change, you can find a new job that is fulfilling and satisfying. Remember to be patient with yourself and don't give up on finding your purpose - ikigai is a lifelong journey. Life is too short to be in a job you hate. The world needs your unique spark, so go out there and find it.
Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning. When we spend our days feeling connected to what is meaningful to us, we live more fully; when we lose the connection, we feel despair.
- Hector Garcia Puigcerver
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