Ikigai - 7 Tips for Finding Your Purpose in Life
How to find your purpose
In today’s world, people often discuss the need for a purpose, a reason for being. This desire to be on a purposeful journey seems to be the driving force for many people, particularly the younger generations: Generation X, Y, Z, and the Alpha Generation. They don’t just want the house, the car, or the 9-5 job. They want to identify what makes them get up every day and do what they do.
This isn’t a new idea. Psychologists have researched it for decades, and it is present in cultures worldwide, such as the Japanese concept of ikigai.
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What is ikigai?
Ikigai is a Japanese term meaning “A reason for being”. It’s the concept of identifying something that gives you a sense of purpose or a reason for living, aka your purpose in life. Unlike some theories, the great thing about Ikigai is that it’s not just about passion; being able to make money and being rewarded are also key features.
As you can see, the diagram comprises four essential parts. To find your Ikigai – your purpose in life – you need to think deeply about these. Let’s look at the diagram's different parts and what they mean.
What you love
Let’s start at the top, ‘what you love’. Think about this. What is it that you enjoy doing? If someone were to ask you today, ‘What is it that you are passionate about?’ what would you say? Is it football, fashion, poetry, reading, animals? You might be sitting there thinking, I’m not really into anything.
So, let's ask the question a different way. What would you do if you completely removed money from the equation and could do anything for the rest of your life? It could be anything... be a footballer, an award-winning actress, a full-time parent, a doctor, an artist, anything. Clear your mind and think, what would you do?
You will have something, whether it is big or small.
What the world needs
Next is ‘what the world needs’. This is a big question with so many different answers. You could break it down to think about what the planet needs versus what people need. You can go incredibly deep with this. Do people need hope, happiness or healing? As the world recovers from a global pandemic, what do we need? Following the reports on climate change, what does the world need?
The world and humanity will always need something. Think about what matters to you and start there. Consider simple things like making people laugh, good food, something to believe in, and music.
Nothing is off the table.
What you're good at (skills)
Next, we move on to ‘What you are good at’.
You’re not allowed to say, “I’m not good at anything.” Everyone is good at something. It doesn’t have to be a physical talent. Start simple. Perhaps you’re good at making people laugh. Maybe you’re good at listening to your friends when they need to vent. Perhaps you’re good at finding a bargain. Maybe you are good at throwing together last-minute tasty meals. We don’t often sit and think about what we are good at. We’re more likely to tear ourselves down, thinking about the things we aren’t good at or comparing our skills to those desired in most corporate spaces.
A good tip is to ask your friends and family what they think you are good at. They may spot talents you may not have considered.
What you can be paid for (money)
Finally, we have ‘What you can be paid for”. If you’re naturally a funny person who can make people laugh with your quick one-liners, like:
A ghost walked into a bar and ordered a shot of vodka. The bartender said, "Sorry, we don’t serve spirits here.”
You’re a comedian in the making (we better just stick to debt).
If you’re a warm and approachable person who loves listening to and helping people with their problems, you could be destined to be a counsellor. If you love shopping and have an eye for fashion, that’s how personal shoppers and stylists are born.
List what you are good at and consider how you could be paid.
My reason for being
These four strands make up your reason for being and identify what will give you a sense of fulfilment. It's hard to get it all together, so examples always help...
Let’s say you love tennis. The world needs entertainment, and tennis is a huge sport. There’s one problem: you’re not good at it. We can guarantee that your life purpose is not to be a tennis player. Yes, you can enjoy playing tennis, but it won’t make you wealthy. You might even fall out of love with it if you try to play at a higher level and fail.
Another example could be that you're excellent with computers and have the skill set to be a fantastic computer engineer. The money is great, and you’d be sought after globally. Again, there is a problem. You have no love for being a computer engineer, leaving you unfulfilled.
You need to love what you do.
The Real Debt Guy
What is an example of finding your ikigai?
Finally, here’s a real-life example of a guy working in IT sales. He knew nothing about IT, absolutely nothing. All he knew was that he didn’t want a job that restricted his earnings. He wanted access to uncapped earnings via commission. He was doing well from a young age, but as he started to get older, his job started to get him down. Going to work was a daily grind. Surely this wasn’t his purpose in life? Selling IT solutions didn’t do it for him even though the money was excellent.
He enjoyed meeting people, building relationships, and learning about them, but he was losing his mind doing this job. So, he decided to quit and set up his own business. Gradually, he started to feel a bit better, but the real fulfilment started when he began learning about debt, how banks and debt collectors work, and how to deal with them. Did we just give it away?! (Yes, it’s about someone very close to us.)
After getting under the skin of how the system worked, he began using his knowledge to help people. He experienced taking someone from tears of despair to tears of joy, giving him a feeling like no other. He might have been earning less, but he loved helping people and making people's lives better. He was being paid for what he did; the world needed what he had to offer, and he was very good at it. He finally felt fulfilled, and for the first time, he found his Ikigai.
How to use ikigai
Work through the Ikigai in the following order:
- What do you love?
- Are you good at it?
- Does the world need it?
- How can you earn money from it?
Don’t let money be the driving force behind what you love. If you’re thinking about money first, it’s not your love. Challenge yourself. Would you happily do the thing you love for free forever if you did not need an income?
Now, add another layer to that question...
What is the thing you love, that you are good at, that you would happily do for free forever?
Now, challenge that thing.
What does it bring to the world? How does it positively affect another person? To get true fulfilment, it should never just be about you.
Finally, how can you earn from it?
Follow this process to get one step closer to discovering your purpose in life, your Ikigai.