Category: Leadership

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IKIGAI: QUOTES

Pic Courtesy: career coaching in London

 

‘Ikigai’ (ee-key-guy) is a small word with a profound meaning. Translated from Japanese, ‘ikigai’ means reason to live.

 

It is a fascinating concept, and has many quotes related to acceptance and living in the moment, nature and beauty, health and longevity, movement, happiness, purpose, and passion.

 

 Ikigai can be defined as ‘a sense of being alive now, an individual’s consciousness as a motive to live.’

– Aikihiro Hasegawa

 

Acceptance & Living in the Moment Quotes

 

There is no future, no past. There is only the present.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it. Make it worth remembering.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

We don’t create our feelings; they simply come to us, and we have to accept them. The trick is, to welcome them.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell on the future.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

Nature & Beauty

 

If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.

-Frances Hodgson Burnett

 

In Japanese culture, there’s a belief that only imperfect objects, like a cracked teacup, can truly be beautiful. This is called wabi-sabi. Try to let go of the quest for perfection, and instead accept the beauty that lies in all of life’s imperfections. The result will be extra energy, less stress and a longer life.

-Blinkist

 

Only things that are imperfect, incomplete, and ephemeral can truly be beautiful, because only those things resemble the natural world.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.

-Lord Byron

 

Health & Longevity

 

True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.

-William Penn

 

Just possibly, ikigai makes a Peter Pan of all of us. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. Let us all be twelve years old! Youthfulness of mind is important in ikigai, but so is commitment and passion, however seemingly insignificant your goal.

-Ken Mogi

 

Movement and Flow in Ikigai

 

Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.

-Japanese Proverb

 

Keep going; don’t change your path.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

Whatever you do, don’t retire!

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

As soon as you take these first small steps, your anxiety will disappear and you will achieve a pleasant flow in the activity you’re doing.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

Can someone really retire if he is passionate about what he does?

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

Happiness

 

If you can make the process of making the effort your primary source of happiness, then you have succeeded in the most important challenge of your life.

-Ken Mogi

 

Savor this moment as if it were your last breath. You can live only one day at a time, and no one can be certain that they will wake up the next morning. So let’s not postpone happiness. The best moment in your life is always this one.

-Garcia and Miralles

 

Ikigai translated into English as ‘life purpose’ sounds quite formidable, but ikigai need not be the one overriding purpose of a person’s life. In fact, the word life aligns more with daily life. In other words, ikigai can be about the joy a person finds living day-to-day, without which their life as a whole would not be a happy one.

 -Akihiro Hasegawa

 

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

-Joseph Addison

 

Ikigai is the action we take in pursuit of happiness.

-Yukari Mitsuhashi

 

Community & Family

 

Find your own ikigai by asking yourself how you want to serve your community. If you are undecided, remember your dreams from when you were younger, maybe in your youth.

-Tsutomu Hotta

 

Young people often say, ‘My life has no ikigai.’ This is obvious. People who isolate themselves can’t have ikigai – meaning or purpose. Meaning and purpose is only found in interpersonal relationships.

-Tatsuzō Ishikawa

 

“Treat everyone like a brother, even if you’ve never met them before.” It turns out that one of the secrets to happiness of Ogimi’s residents is feeling like part of a community.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

A man is like a forest; individual and yet connected and dependent on others for growth.

-Ken Mogi

 

Purpose, Meaning, & Passion

 

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

-Robert Byrne

 

Above all, he has to find his purpose, his reason for getting out of bed, his ikigai.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

What is the one thing you’d like to change the most in the world? − Currently, what is it that makes you very happy and joyful in life? − What makes you wake up in the morning and go through your day?

-Alan Daron

 

Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning. When we spend our days feeling connected to what is meaningful to us, we live more fully; when we lose the connection, we feel despair.

-Hector Garcia Puigcerver

 

Once you discover your ikigai, pursuing it and nurturing it every day will bring meaning to your life.

-Francesc Miralles

 

Ikigai gives your life a purpose while giving you the grit to carry on.

-Ken Mogi

 

Bottom line

 “We don’t create the meaning of our life, we discover it!”

 

Question

Have you discovered your IKIGAI?

 

Suggestions and value additions are most welcome

Please share your IKIGAI in the comments column. It may help someone else discover theirs.

 

Link to : Ikigai the mysterious word.

Link to : Five pillars of Ikigai.

 

For regular updates, please register here

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References and credits

To all the online sites and channels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai

https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-ikigai

https://positivepsychology.com/ikigai/

https://www.sloww.co/ikigai/

https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-ikigai

https://ikigai-living.com/what-is-ikigai/

https://www.brit.co/ikigai-10-things-worlds-longest-living-people-do/

https://www.cyberclick.net/numericalblogen/ikigai-4-questions-to-begin-your-practice-of-the-japanese-philosophy-on-life-fulfillment

Disclaimer:

Information and data included in the blog are for educational & non-commercial purposes only and have been carefully adapted, excerpted, or edited from sources deemed reliable and accurate. All copyrighted material belongs to respective owners and is provided only for purposes of wider dissemination.

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Five Pillars of Ikigai

Pic Courtesy: career coaching in London

 

Ikigai is defined as one’s reason for being.

 

The question that arises is how to find one’s Ikigai and how to attain it.

 

Ken Mogi is a neuroscientist and has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Tokyo. He has also authored over 100 books, including The Little Book of Ikigai.

 

Ken describes ikigai as the spectrum that reflects the complexity of life. He believes that it is important to understand that often, the simple things are what make people happy, and ikigai starts from very small things. He thinks that ikigai is an integrating concept — the umbrella term to describe everything that gives people joy.

 

Ken Mogi, states that there are five pillars that provide the essential foundation to allow your Ikigai to flourish. These pillars are:

 

Pillar 1: Starting small

 

Pillar 2: Releasing yourself

 

Pillar 3: Harmony and sustainability

 

Pillar 4: The joy of little things

 

Pillar 5: Being in the here and now

 

 

  1. Starting Small. The first pillar is “starting small”. The goals can be achieved by taking small steps. Instead of trying to attain perfection, effort should be put in to strive to be better. The important thing is the process, i.e. trying to attain the goal and learning from the attempts to do so.

 

  1. Releasing Yourself. The second pillar is “releasing yourself”. Releasing yourself is about finding happiness through acceptance. Accepting yourself is one of the most important and difficult tasks we face in our lives. Indeed, accepting oneself is one of the easiest, simplest, and most rewarding things you can do for yourself. People are born with unique traits, and while they might not be perfect, they can grow through experience, accept their individuality, and stop comparing themselves to others. Everyone can be comfortable pursuing their own way of engaging with life.

 

  1. Harmony and Sustainability. The third pillar is “harmony and sustainability”. Sustainability applies not only to man’s relation to nature but also to the modes of individual activities within a social context. You should show adequate consideration for other people and be mindful of the impact your actions might have on society at large. Ideally, every social activity should be sustainable. Thinking beyond selfish needs creates harmony and sustainability.

 

4. The Joy of Little Things. The fourth pillar is “the joy of little things”. Start the day with some ikigai and get into the habit of using the little things to create pleasurable, rewarding experiences that facilitate contentment. With these embedded in one’s routine, it doesn’t matter if people get recognized for their performance; no matter what, they have still experienced moments of happiness.

 

  1. Being in the here and now. The fifth pillar is “being in the here and now”. Present helps people to bring out their inner child, as children value the present since they have no definite idea of the past or future. Bringing out people’s inner child is a key attribute that brings happiness to their lives and those of their loved ones.

 

Ikigai doesn’t have to be something extravagant; we can find it even in the simplest things — anything that gives us joy. It helps us to understand that we don’t have to make our lives complicated, but, rather, that we can simply focus on accepting and being grateful for the things that we have and making the most out of things rather than searching for something that we don’t possess. Whenever we experience discontentment, it is important to reflect on what we are focusing on, see whether we can/should readjust, and think deeply about what things really matter to us. 

 

Bottom Line

If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet,

your mission should be to discover it.”

 

Question

Have you discovered your IKIGAI?

 

Suggestions and value additions are most welcome

Please share your IKIGAI in the comments column. It may help someone else discover theirs.

 

Link to : Ikigai the mysterious word.

 

For regular updates, please register here

Subscribe

References and credits

To all the online sites and channels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai

https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-ikigai

https://positivepsychology.com/ikigai/

https://www.sloww.co/ikigai/

https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-ikigai

https://ikigai-living.com/what-is-ikigai/

https://www.brit.co/ikigai-10-things-worlds-longest-living-people-do/

https://www.cyberclick.net/numericalblogen/ikigai-4-questions-to-begin-your-practice-of-the-japanese-philosophy-on-life-fulfillment

Disclaimer:

Information and data included in the blog are for educational & non-commercial purposes only and have been carefully adapted, excerpted, or edited from sources deemed reliable and accurate. All copyrighted material belongs to respective owners and is provided only for purposes of wider dissemination.

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IKIGAI: The Mysterious Word

Pic Courtesy: webduniya

 

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your ‘reason for being’.

 

The term compounds two Japanese words: iki (生き, meaning ‘life; alive’) and kai (甲斐, meaning ‘(an) effect; (a) result; (a) fruit; (a) worth; (a) use; (a) benefit; a reason for living [being alive]; a meaning for [to] life; what [something that] makes life worth living; a raison d’être’.

 

The word has a number of translations, and all of them are correct:

  • reason to live
  • the purpose of life
  • reason for being
  • the meaning of life
  • reason to get up in the morning or jump out of bed
  • what makes life worth living
  • the thing that you live for
  • happiness of being
  • a raison d’etre

 

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ikigai as “a motivating force; something or someone that gives a person a sense of purpose or a reason for living”. Generally, it may refer to something that brings pleasure or fulfillment.

 

A literal translation doesn’t quite give insight into the term and its importance.

 

Understanding IKAGAI

The concept of ikigai is said to have evolved from the basic health and wellness principles of traditional Japanese medicine. This medical tradition holds that physical well-being is affected by one’s mental/emotional health and sense of purpose in life.

 

Japanese psychologist Michiko Kumano (2017) has said that ikigai is a state of well-being that arises from devotion to activities one enjoys, which also brings a sense of fulfillment.

 

Ken Mogi, a neuroscientist and author of Awakening Your Ikigai, says that ikigai is an ancient and familiar concept for the Japanese, which can be translated simply as “a reason to get up in the morning” or, more poetically, “waking up to joy.”

 

Your ikigai doesn’t have to be one unique talent that drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. This contradicts the Japanese perspective of ikigai. Japanese author, Ken Mogi describes ikigai as a spectrum, and that you can have several ikigai, anything from enjoying your morning coffee to working towards a life-defining goal.

 

Ikigai also appears related to the concept of flow, as described in the work of Hungarian–American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow is a string of “best moments” or moments when we are at our best. These best moments “usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limit, in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile”. Flow can be said to occur when you are consistently doing something you love and that you are good at, with the possible added benefit of bringing value to others’ lives. In such a case, the flow might be seen as in tune with your ikigai, or activities that give your life meaning and purpose.

 

It is important to note that ikigai does not typically refer only to one’s personal purpose and fulfillment in life, without regard to others or society at large. Ikigai brings meaning, purpose, and fulfillment to your life, while also contributing to the good of others.

 

Further, it is said that everyone has an ikigai – their particular intersection of passion, talent, and potential to benefit others. It is only a matter of finding it.

 

The 10 Rules of IKIGAI

 

The book IKIGAI: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, concludes with 10 rules of ikigai. These are suggestions or habits one could adopt to improve one’s health and well-being, so as to live your ikigai.

 

  1. Stay active; don’t retire. It is important to keep doing things of value, making progress, bringing beauty or utility to others, helping out, and shaping the world around you, even after your “official” professional activity has ended.

 

“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years”.

-Japanese Proverb

 

  1. Take it slow. Being in a hurry is inversely proportional to the quality of life. When we leave urgency behind, life and time take on new meaning. Hurry makes things go out of control and creates stress.

“Walk slowly and you’ll go far.”

-Old Saying

 

  1. Don’t fill your stomach. Less is more when it comes to eating for long life. According to the 80 percent rule, in order to stay healthier, we should eat a little less than our hunger demands.

“Hara Hachi Bu: Fill your belly to 80%”.

-Japanese Saying

 

  1. Surround yourself with good friends. Friends are the best medicine, there for confiding worries over a good chat, sharing stories that brighten your day, getting advice, having fun, dreaming . . . in other words, living.” Without relationships and friendships, we can’t experience connection, intimacy or love, nor can we share our joys, hopes, struggles, and fears.

“People who isolate themselves can’t have ikigai – meaning or purpose. Ikigai is only found in interpersonal relationships”.

– Ishikawa Tatsuzō

 

  1. Get in shape. A physically active body needs little maintenance and keeps running for a long time. Plus, exercise releases hormones that make us feel happy. Exercises like yoga, qigong, tai chi, and shiatsu are elixirs of youth, endorsed by science.

 

  1. Smile. A cheerful attitude is not only relaxing, but it also helps make friends.

 

  1. Reconnect with nature. Human beings are made to be part of the natural world. Japanese word shinrin-yoku, means ‘forest bathing’ and means connecting with nature using the five senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. It is a mindfulness practice to help you reconnect with nature so that you can rejuvenate the body and give the mind a moment of peace.

 

  1. Give thanks. To your ancestors, to nature, which provides you with the air you breathe and the food you eat, to your friends and family, to everything that brightens your days and makes you feel lucky to be alive. Spend a moment every day giving thanks, and you’ll watch your stockpile of happiness grow.”

 

  1. Live in the moment. Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it. Make it worth remembering.

“The present moment is all you ever have. There is never a time when your life is not ‘this moment.’ Is this not a fact?”

– Eckhart Tolle

 

  1. Follow your ikigai. There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end.

 

Bottom Line

If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet,

your mission should be to discover it.”

 

Question

Have you discovered your IKIGAI?

 

Suggestions and value additions are most welcome

Please share your IKIGAI in the comments column. It may help someone else discover theirs.

 

For regular updates, please register here

Subscribe

References and credits

To all the online sites and channels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai

https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-ikigai

https://positivepsychology.com/ikigai/

https://www.sloww.co/ikigai/

https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-ikigai

https://ikigai-living.com/what-is-ikigai/

https://www.brit.co/ikigai-10-things-worlds-longest-living-people-do/

https://www.cyberclick.net/numericalblogen/ikigai-4-questions-to-begin-your-practice-of-the-japanese-philosophy-on-life-fulfillment

Disclaimer:

Information and data included in the blog are for educational & non-commercial purposes only and have been carefully adapted, excerpted, or edited from sources deemed reliable and accurate. All copyrighted material belongs to respective owners and is provided only for purposes of wider dissemination.