How to find your purpose — The IKIGAI method:

New year is a good moment to reflect about your life and how you’re managing it, plus Sunday morning and here in Spain without can’t even going out could be a perfect moment to reflect about your purpose in life, yeah sounds huge right? But it’s not, after listening Jay Shety and a couple of videos of him one day I did this reflection because my life was getting bored and no sense at lest to my perception and decided to prove it pen and paper in hand, so today I’m gonna try to resume it to you to see if you can do the same if you haven’t done it yet, so let me try and you’ll be surprised about how simple (not easy) it is and the results could change your life forever.

So what is the ikigai Method:

According to Wikipedia IKIGAI is:

Ikigai (生き甲斐) (pronounced [ikiɡai]) is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being.” The word refers to having a meaningful direction or purpose in life, constituting the sense of one’s life being made worthwhile, with actions (spontaneous and willing) taken toward achieving one’s ikigai resulting in satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life. The concept of this idea comes from a larger and more inclusive philosophy used within the Japanese traditional health system called the Wuxing that was introduced into Japan in the early 6th century from China and embraced by local folk religion and culture.

So resuming it it’s as simple as finding what the heck are you doing here and why are you living, finding purpose which most of us and getting older have forgot and just make things and everyday task with no purpose just tasks to maintain our daily life.

But this little and simple Japanese method curiously helps you find your way, your purpose and if you do it mindfully helps you to find what you should be doing with your life, is not fun? So let get into it.

How it works IKIGAI

So is as simple as shown on the graphic 4 simple circles:

1) What things you love to do:

So grab a piece of paper and a pen and start wringing things you love to do, and don’t think too much, could be anything, take care of your garden, having sex, cook, or jumping on your bed or even sleep, don’t worry about it now the purpose is to find what you really love to do period. So let’s make the example with me, a real case and maybe too personal but what the fu** common, in my case I like to:

• Draw
• Play music or any instrument, particularly the guitar & piano.
• Photography
• Read
• Write
• Talk a lot
• Hot baths
• Phsicology and how the mind works
• Technology and how the things works

Let’s stop here, but could be more and more…

2) What things you’re good at:

Here you must write down the things that you’re really good at the previous one you can love them but not even try it yet, so in my case I’m good:

• Research in data
• Selling things
• Talking to people (or that’s what I think)
• Writing too much
• Marketing & Media Communications
• Telling stories

And I think more but don’t want to sound selfish.

3) What you can or could being paid for:

Here you can write what currently other people pays you for doing it already, you job, freelances, your whatever you do to pay the bills.

In my case is not that long:

• Advertising & Marketing
• Research & Insight (Investigate markets)
• Sell & Presentations
• Networking and make commercial relationships.

4) What the world needs:

And this block is harder but is in your opinion how you can help the world to be a better place, but is your opinion, in my opinion was to:

• Be more mental Healthy
• Be more generous and help one to each other
• Be more intentional and mindfull
• Be more wellness and happy why not?

So te intersections of those circles will set your Passion, Mission, Vocation & Profession really, simple right?

So let’s Follow my example, my passions looks like something as expressing myself in every way music, writing, painting, talking or speaking, some like that.

My profession something like selling things to people in any other way or convincing people to do things so that why I do what I do, work in Oracle selling and consulting products and services.

My vocation looks like being a musician, writer, blogger, or something that let me express my passions.

And then comes the hard part that is finding your mission or IKIGAI, which in my case should be something as make the world a better place expressing myself from any kind of form of expression to do so, so maybe write about thing like this, or play music to calm the cats or help non profit orgs to make better marketing for example so that’s what I’m trying to do and has nothing to do with money I do and I’ll do it for free just to have fun.

And the intersection of those 4 things will set your IKIGAI that it’ll be your main purpose in life. And you should find it for yourself, I must confess that I didn’t find it yet but I’m on it so I try to spend my free time early in the morning or late at noon doing those things and experiments til I find out mi IKIGAI, so put all your time and efforts on your non daily tasks to do that and experiment until you hear the “eureka” thing in your mind.

So that’s It, easy but not simple because requires a little bit of effort and trial error until you find, in my personal opinion my mission in this world is to find out the IKIGAI now and try to acomplish, and if you get paid for it great and if not at least you’ll be happier trying it :)

If you want to get deeper on this subject Jay Shetty express it longer and better than me in this 30’ video so if you have time give it a try:

And that’s all for today, just wish you a nice day, and warm at home and as always if you want to become part of my project just suscribe to my newsletter on angel-rivera.com (no spam) and receive my newsletter, or leave a comment below if you want to contact me or have any doubt.

Thanks for reading me and best for today.

Angel Rivera