What's Your Ikigai?

Recently, a prospective client asked me what the most common issue people come to see me for. I responded a lack of clarity and direction in their lives. Of course, there are other things like stress management and financial growth, however, clients’ struggles typically fall under a lack of personal and professional fulfillment like feeling stuck or unclear about next steps or what’s of value to them.

I’m not surprised, we as humans are meaning makers and when we lack meaning or direction it can affect us in so many ways. History is full of providing answers to existential questions from fables and mythology to philosophy and psychology.

One such approach is called ikigai. Ikigai (ee-key-guy) is the Japanese way for discovering your reason for being. It’s the sweet spot of existence so to speak. It factors in passion, mission, profession, and vocation. Apparently, ikigai evolved from traditional Japanese medicine which believes that one’s physical health is affected by one’s mental and emotional wellbeing and sense of purpose in life. Something that I can attest to from my own experience and from what I observe in my coaching practice. Many scientific studies back up the mind-body connection as well.

Here's a diagram to illustrate ikigai:

Apparently, ikigai started as just passion and mission, but evolved by adding profession and vocation through the ages. As you can see, your ikigai, or “reason for being,” intersects passion, mission, profession, and vocation.

To find your ikigai you’d need to answer what you love doing (passion and mission), what you’re good at (passion and profession), what the world needs (mission and vocation), and what you can be paid for (profession and vocation). With ikigai you cannot have meaning and purpose in your life without contributing to the good of others. I can say this is true from what I’ve observed in my practice for the past 10 years: fulfillment and meaning is directly related to contributing in some way and providing value to others. This is true for me too and one of the reasons I love doing what I do.

Answering these questions, or ikigai areas, can be easier said than done, however. In some cases, it’ll take time (more experience), experimenting, effort, and deep self-reflection to figure some of the categories. You can also try to find clarity through speaking with a mentor or working with a career and/or life coach.

The thing you don’t want to do when figuring out your ikigai or “reason to wake up in the morning,” is to put pressure on yourself to figure it out immediately. From my understanding, and from the work I do, it’s a process. You can read more about this here if interested.

Understanding ikigai helps define the difference between a job, a career, and a calling. When there is meaning and purpose in what you do there’s harmony in you and what you do for others. Sounds like a sweet spot to me.

If you feel you’d like guidance with figuring some of this out, schedule a Get Acquainted & Strategy Session to explore next steps.

Best,