Ikigai
The secret to a long happy, meaningful life
I have been obsessed with the Japanese concept of Ikigai since I came across the term when it became widely discussed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2018. WEF is an organization and an annual gathering of the world's elite movers and shakers that takes place in Davos, Switzerland. (Think TED for world leaders and captains of industry in an area like Aspen.)
At the annual meeting in 2018, the theme was the Future of Work based on a report they had just commissioned that estimated that by 2030, as many as 375 milion workers would have to change jobs or find new skills. The primary reason was the impact of automation. Of course, we know today that that number might be grossly underestimated due to the acceleration of artificial intelligence.
That was a sobering report and caused folks to think societally and personally about their reason for being. And that's where this ancient Japanese concept re-emerged in Western consciousness and created such interest. In simplistic terms, ikigai helps to define one's reason for being by posing four simple questions:
- What do you love?
- What are you good at?
- What does the world need from you?
- What can you get paid for?
The answers can be merged into concentric circles where the intersection in the middle (see image) represents for each person what they could or should do to lead a meaningful life.
I'll be the first to admit that I love frameworks, and this one really resonates with me. As a person who has constantly been searching for my purpose in life, I have found this to be a useful compass. That compass is constantly changing due to internal or external factors, so I re-visit the framework often.
I hope you find it useful too.
