Live your purpose. Sounds great but what is it??

Two things have just come together for me today.

First, me being curious about Japanese people and their approach to life in general. - How come there are so many people in Japan who live for much longer than a so called average? - How do Japanese people manage to keep going in life when their islands get destroyed by earthquakes regularly? Where do they find the strength and motivation to build their lives again all over and over? - What is it they have in themselves that makes them keep going? These questions have been on my mind for quite a while but I never tried to find the answers.

And second, looking for my own purpose and specific direction in coaching or similar area. I have been drilling a little bit deeper to see where my unique skills, experience and personality can be of best use and need for something greater, knowing I need to step up.

These two might not seem to connect at the first glance but knowing more about Igikai, my opinion is they certainly do.

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IKIGAI has crossed my path three times in the past few months. First time in a book I was reading and I underlined it to look into it later. Second time in a post on facebook. And third time mentioned by a lady I have been coaching.

By the way this is one of the reasons I love coaching, because for some reason all the people who come to me are people who are bringing me something I need to know. It works like magic.

So after three hints, today I finally looked at Ikigai.

So what is Ikigai?

And can it be a way to answer the big question or get closer to it?

Igikai is a Japanese concept meaning ‘a reason for being’ or ‘a meaning for life’. The term is made of two Japanese words: iki - meaning life and kai - meaning result or effect. Igikai can also be interpreted ‘a reason to get up in the morning’ which I think is a nice practical way of connecting to what it represents.

Each person will have their unique Ikigai which is specific to their unique skills, experience, values, beliefs, situation and can be changing throughout life as we grow, develop, learn and get new experiences and values and our beliefs change.

The principle seemed quite simple and I thought it can’t be it as it is too simple. But I know some of my funny thoughts so took a piece of paper and gave it a go.

For me worked a cup of tea, nice background music and going step by step. With curiosity of what comes out of this at the end!

To find your Ikigai, ask yourself these four questions and note down keywords and phrases which come to your mind. Take the questions one after another and immerse yourself in the moment, let the thoughts and ideas flow and write them as they arrive to allow for more to appear.

1. What do you love? what’s exciting for you, what would you do if you didn’t need to earn money, what do you feel happy doing

2. What are you good at? what are your personal talents, skills, what do you excel at, what others highlight about you

3. What does the world need? what would you like to solve in the world, what bothers you, what issues really touch you, what do you care about

4. What can you be paid for? where is the value you could offer, what others might pay for

Once you are done, see where all of these overlap and it might give you a good idea already. If not, don’t pressure yourself into immediate result, leave it for a few days, keep adding to the lists as you think of more things and see where it takes you in a few days.

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Knowing or getting closer to your Ikigai will help you understand what is most important to you, what has a real value for you and this will help you make decisions which are right for you, with more clarity and confidence.

What's your success you have not tapped into yet?

Veronika Sucha

Personal Wellbeing and Business Coach

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