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A Practical Guide to Ikigai, Your Reason for Being
By now, most of you have seen or heard of this beautiful word ikigai (EE-kee-guy). In brief, ikigai is a Japanese concept for someone’s direction and purpose in life. It’s their reason for being.
The ikigai concept and framework have gotten a lot of attention for their association with happiness and longevity. Indeed, the idea comes from Okinawa, where residents have some of the highest life expectancies in the world.
But I’m more interested in its value right here, right now. I love ikigai as a tool for my clients when they’re thinking through what’s next. I love ikigai for me and how I think about purpose in life. Here is what the ikigai model looks like:
In the ikigai model, there are four main areas of inquiry:
- What you’re good at
- What you love
- What the world needs
- What you can be paid for
Which lead to four intersections and outcomes of:
- Passion
- Mission
- Vocation
- Profession
