Ikigai

Ikigai - "To find purpose in life and do what you love"

Ikigai is a Japanese word which means the ‘reason of being’. The word ‘iki’ means life and ‘gai’ describes value and worth. An ikigai is your sole purpose and your happiness. It is the one thing that gets you out of bed each day with a smile on your face. Those who find their ikigai are likely to prosper and live long.

There is a beautiful book about Ikigai, written by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia. It is a Los Angeles Times bestseller. The book talks about a small city in Japan known as Okinawa, commonly referred to as the Island of Longevity. It is famous for its centenarians. In fact, an approximate population estimate of centenarians in Japan would be a record-breaking 86,500, in which 88% are women. When compared to the USA with 97,000 centenarians accounting for 0.06% of the population, it is definitely very impressive. The book interviews a few centenarians and explains their secret. 

Want to know the secret? It is their Ikigai. An ikigai is the purpose of life. It is a concept that means your ‘reason for being’. It is the joy that gets you out of bed every day and strive to achieve your full potential. All of the centenarians have one thing in common, they have all found their ikigai. Even Steve Jobs was completely mesmerised by the Japanese heritage, and often visited it to study about ikigai and their secret to longevity. In Okinawa, you are still classified under the category of ‘young’ if you are under ninety-five. The book surveys different centenarians and explains their secret to living long. There are many tips on how to live long and stay healthy. Some of them include:

- Avoid staying in a particular area for too long. The large proportion of centenarians are found to still move around and get good exercise. This can help you stay younger as it can boost your energy and reduce chances of getting unwell. 

- Have a diet rich in vegetables and herbs. Ikigai states that the longest centenarians seemed to eat a traditional diet. Their diet includes rice, miso soup, pickles, seaweed, boiled or seasoned vegetables, fish and tofu. These are rich in antioxidants which can help you look younger.

It is essential to have a hobby. An ikigai grows from doing something you love. For instance, your job would be absolutely pointless if you didn't thoroughly enjoy it. This is what you would be doing for the rest of your life so the moment you can choose between money and happiness is when you have truly found your ikigai. I personally don’t read many books as I find them quite overwhelming and dare I say, boring? But I think it is safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book and often found myself finding it difficult to stop. I definitely recommend this book and wish you the best of luck on finding your ikigai!