What is Ikigai and How to Use It to Find Your Purpose (2022)
Hello friends, it’s been a busy couple of weeks, work has been extremely busy and I’ve just had a really lovely weekend away celebrating my 60th birthday.
True to my introverted preference, I opted to celebrate with a quiet weekend enjoying nature and spending time reading and relaxing.
I’ve also thought a lot about this milestone birthday, as it has felt different from other milestone birthdays. Firstly, I want my 60th year to be a year of celebrating and making memories with different friendship groups and family. There is so much to be grateful for and so much more I still want to achieve. I have many options to consider and ponder.
This different perspective got me thinking and exploring phases of life and I came across Erik Erikson’s theory of stages of development. Erikson was a psychoanalyst and professor at Harvard, his theory describes the impact of social interaction and relationships on the development and growth of human beings. His principles suggest that people grow in a sequence that occurs over time – you can see more information here: Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development Explained (positivepsychology.com)
Stage 7 of the theory occurs between 40 and 65 years, described as generative versus stagnation. This period is displayed through the need for longevity in terms of life’s continuation in our children or the long-term impact we have on others. People may wish to make their mark on the world and nurture things that outlive us. Hence, we look for ways to be more productive and valuable to society with a view to the bigger picture. Success is described through caring – the feeling of being useful in life, accomplishing something and contributing to society. We are proud of who we are, what we have achieved, our children and whom they have become, and the strong relationships we have with our partners.
Failure, on the other hand, looks different, we may feel we have had little impact on the world and fail to make that dent in the universe, thus we may feel unproductive, uninvolved, disillusioned, and disconnected from the world in which we live.
This definitely resonates with me, and upon reflection, I realise, now that I can put a label on it, that I hear a lot of this when talking to people of a similar age.
This leads me to Ikigai, which is the title of this blog, as I was looking for a model to hang my future dreams and desires upon and thought this fitted perfectly.
What is Ikigai?
It comes from Japanese culture and translates to a reason for being, the purpose of life, what makes life worth living, or the meaning of life, and so on.
It is said that it empowers you and drives your actions and your purpose.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
It has four components:
Passion, do what you love
Profession, do what you are good at
Mission, do what the world needs
Vocation, do what you can be paid for.
I know I want to use Ikigai to gain sense and clarity around the four components for the coming years to really truly define what I would like to achieve next.
I will also be providing a template in the coming weeks, so you too can use this concept to map out and set your goals for the coming year and beyond. More on that later.
So on to sharing my favourite things this week:
Photo of the Week
Major Oak, Sherwood Forest
At the weekend we visited this: steeped in so much history, with tales of Robin Hood and King Charles II, the major oak is said to be the oldest tree in the country, between approximately 800 to 1100 years old. That’s quite impressive.
“Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning.”
Book of the Week
I have a new and different book this week. It’s called Everyday Plant Magic by Rachael Cohen, it is a modern guide to enhancing your life through the magical energy of nature, from choosing the right plants for your spiritual needs to understanding where best to place them and how to harness their powers.
Question of the Week
And my question to you all is this week is – what’s been the most significant thing that you have experienced this week?
Thank you for reading, I look forward to hearing your answers. Bye for now.
Jackie