A Research Paper By Ivana Braam, Overseas Filipino Workers Coach, NETHERLANDS
The Concept of Ikigai, Its Background, and History, Along with the Different Frameworks
In the summer of 2022, I ticked off the last thing in my long list of things I want to become, or accomplish before the age of forty. It was a list I started in 2007 and I was able to complete them all in fifteen years which is five years earlier than I planned. This is such a significant milestone for me and I felt so much proud of my accomplishment.
However, instead of feeling good and positive, those thoughts were replaced by negative ones right away. That feeling of happiness and pride was gone more quickly than I could imagine. It was replaced with regret, a feeling of worthlessness, fear, and anxiety about what was next. I realized that within the fifteen years that had passed, several events had stuck in me. I still hadn’t fully recovered from my father’s passing, dealing with the changes everyone needed to face due to the pandemic, the friends I had lost when I moved cities, the colleagues I missed when jumping from one job to another, the holidays I skipped because I had to focus on work, the important dates that I had neglected because I was preoccupied with my to-do list. After I managed to tick off all the items on my list, I felt lost and I didn’t know what to do next. I had lost my motivation and commitment all of a sudden.
This paper tells how coaching helped me find my reason for being that I am committed to taking action in the foreseeable future. This paper looks at the concept of Ikigai, its background, and history, along with the different frameworks around it. Zooming in one of the models, this paper fleshes out the components of how to find one’s reason for being. This paper aims to hopefully inspire and encourage those who are experiencing a difficult time to believe that it is possible to create their path rooted in the concept of Ikigai which promises to find purpose and happiness in one’s life through coaching.
Ikigai Definition
Over time, many have tried to define what the meaning of life truly is to someone. Philosophers, religious leaders, psychologists, and scholars from different backgrounds will suggest different ways how to live a life with purpose. However, in Japan, a country known to have one of the highest life expectancies in the world, a concept called Ikigai has long been known. It was first popularised by Japanese psychiatrist and academic Mieko Kamiya in her 1966 book “Ikiagi ni tsuite” which is not translated into English yet. Finding one’s Ikigai is believed to be a reason for the secret of Japanese people’s long life.
Recently, the Ikigai concept has gained global popularity due to the publishing of the book: “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life” written by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles. It is a book that analyses the habits and beliefs of the world’s longest-living people after the authors interviewed more than 100 people living in Ogimi which is known as the village of longevity.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that can be traced back to the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa, where it is deeply ingrained in the culture. The term itself consists of two Japanese words: “iki,” which means “to live,” and “gai,” which means “worth” or “value.” Together, they convey the idea of “a reason for being” or “a reason to wake up in the morning.” In a simple definition, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, Ikigai is “a motivating force” or generally anything that refers to something that brings pleasure or fulfillment. In Garcia and Miralles’ book, Ikigai translates roughly to the “happiness of always being busy”. Garcia says “When you feel down, just thinking about your Ikigai will change something in you.”
Regardless of the several discussions on what Ikigai’s true definition is, what stood out to me was that Ikigai is rooted in people’s feelings and motivations and the significance it brings to social relationships whether it is with family, friends, peers, pets, etc. Similar to coaching, it starts with a goal – then self-discovery – until insights are attained and actions are committed to reaching self-actualization.
Components of Ikigai
When someone finds their Ikigai, they are engaged in activities that they love, that they excel at, that the world needs, and that can help them meet their financial needs. The Ikigai model defines that the intersection of these four elements creates a sense of purpose and fulfillment in one’s life.
The first step to knowing one’s Ikigai is to sort out one’s thoughts and feelings and ask these four questions that will yield responses about someone:
- What do I love?
- What am I good at?
- What can I get paid for?
- What do I feel the world needs?
“What I love” are activities that one finds joy in and the pursuits that make one feel alive. It’s about identifying the aspects of life that genuinely give one enjoyment, excitement, and energy. Some questions that could be good to ask in coaching questions to determine what one’s love are:
- What moments in your life have brought you the most happiness? What were you doing during that moment?
- What activities make you lose track of time because you enjoy them so much?
- What is the one task you will not get tired of doing every day because it brings you happiness?
- What are the things you find yourself doing even when you don’t have to, just because you enjoy them?
- What are the interests you find yourself doing when you have free time?
“What am I good at” are activities that link to one’s talents, skills, and abilities. It is what one excels at or has the potential to excel at. It is something one is inclined to do or have developed expertise over time.
- What things do you do that you feel the most confident about?
- If you were to teach someone your expertise, what would that be?
- What activities do others seek your help with?
- What skills do you find yourself excelling at even when they are challenging?
- What abilities do you possess that others might find valuable?
“What I can be paid for” are activities that can also be linked to one’s skills and at the same time, generate income and sustain one’s livelihood. This is normally your career or business.
- What tasks have you been paid for in the past?
- What expertise do you have that someone would be willing to pay for?
- What qualifications do you have that can be monetized?
- What skill do you possess that you are not willing to offer for free?
- What are your unique qualities that set you apart from others?
“What do I feel the world needs” are activities that one feels are necessary to fulfill the world’s needs or values. Activities that make one feel having an impact or contribution to the society, community, or people surrounding oneself.
- If you could make a significant impact on the world, what cause or issue would you focus on?
- If you had the power to make a difference in the world, what initiatives would you do?
- What tasks do you do that make you feel like contributing to the world’s needs?
- What actions can you take to make this world a better place for you?
- What societal issues align with your core beliefs?
When intersecting the two components, it is defined that what someone loves to do and one’s skills and capabilities are called passions. While the overlap of someone’s skills and what they can get paid for is called a profession. Similarly, what someone loves doing along with what they think the world needs means they work towards a mission. Finally, if they engage in activities that they feel the world needs while getting paid at the same time, it is called a vocation.
- What I love + What I am good at = Passion
- What I am good at + What I can get paid for = Profession
- What I love + What the world needs = Mission
- What the world needs + What I can get paid for = Vocation
It is also good to note that the model suggests that lacking one of these components can lead to certain scenarios that are suboptimal. Hence, the ideal scenario to build one’s Ikigai is the intersection of all four elements. Such as, when someone does things without taking into account what the world needs, it may make someone feel useless. While doing things without passion leads to emptiness, someone is said to be full of uncertainty if they do things that they lack the skill of. Lastly, engaging in activities without being paid means no wealth. Interestingly, lacking one element results in an emotional need not being met except for lack of wealth which seems to be an important aspect to fulfill one’s physiological needs as defined in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
- What I love + What I am good at + What I can get paid for = feeling of useless
- What the world needs + What I am good at + What I can get paid for = emptiness
- What I love + What the world needs + What I can get paid for = uncertainty
- What I love + What I am good at + What the world needs = no wealth
Other Ikigai Models
The model mentioned in the book of Garcia and Miralles has been challenged by other authors because they claim that Ikigai should not be a complex model that is hard to attain or follow. Rather, it should be very simple and sometimes even trivial – as simple as walking a dog every morning or having a regular matcha with friends. “Ikigai is all about making these small actions into pleasurable rewarding experiences” according to Ken Mogi in his book The Little Book of Ikigai. The Ikigai diagram that Garcia and Miralles also showed in their book is said to not have originated from Japan but rather already Westernised.
The framework that was conceptualized by Mogi reveals that he created 5 pillars of Ikigai only after finishing writing the book and analyzing the themes of what he knows Ikigai is about. In Mogi’s framework, Ikigai is about starting small, releasing oneself, harmony and sustainability, the joy of little things, and being in the here and now.
Starting small means taking small steps toward a goal someone has. This is about creating milestones that lead to a bigger goal in life. Releasing oneself means accepting ourselves as a whole which includes our flaws and imperfections. One important step to accepting oneself is through increasing self-awareness. The third pillar is about harmony and sustainability which is being mindful of the impact one has on others and society. Finding joy and happiness in small things relates to celebrating milestones and small successes. Finally, being in the here and now means being fully present in the moment avoiding thoughts about the past and future.
In 2022 when Nicholas Kemp wrote a book entitled Ikigai-Kan, he explained that the Mieko Kamiya model is focused on seven types of personal needs that must be satisfied. These include the need for life satisfaction, change, and growth, a bright future, resonance, freedom, self-actualization, and the need for meaning and value.
The Essence of Ikigai
While the word Ikigai came from Japanese origin and roots, the interpretation and framework vary depending on how one sees it. Regardless of the differences, what is important is that the essence of Ikigai is rooted in humans wanting to find their meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in life. To live each day with the joy of simply being alive. Whether it is based on doing things aligned with one’s passions, skills, values, and contribution to society or starting small and living the moment (carpe diem), individuals may find that their journey is as significant as the destination. Finding one’s Ikigai is a journey that may change over time depending on life’s circumstances. It is not meant to be restrictive and complex, but rather, the north star to our goals and dreams. It encourages someone to slow down, look within, and embrace one’s passions and values living in this fast-paced and demanding world.
Just like coaching, it starts with having a goal in mind. From wanting to take action on something, navigating challenges, or finding clarity, it is imperative to know the outcome someone wants. By evoking one’s awareness through coaching, it encourages self-discovery and acceptance of oneself leading to renewed perspectives (or not), intentional choices, and committed actions.
References
Kamiya, Mieko (1980). On the Meaning of Life (in Japanese). Misuzu Shobo.
García, L. S., & Miralles, H. (2017). Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. Penguin Random House.
Mogi, K. (2017). The Little Book of Ikigai. Quercus Books.
Kemp, N. (2022). Ikigai-Kan: Feel a Life Worth Living. Intertype Publishing and Printing.