What is your Ikigai?

Do you know the beautiful japanese concept Ikigai? It's sourced on a little Isle, where people live and work even when really old, and still thrive in their jobs and love what they do! If you find your Ikigai, your job won't feel as a job, but as something you wish and want to do like forever.

The concept is as such, that you go look for the answer on four main questions, puzzle them together, and see what is in the center. This diagram makes it easy to understand and imply:

It all starts with love

It is easy to tell what you love. What did you love doing as a child? What makes you forget the time? It's those things where you are in a sort of trance and then wake up and see it's already 4 hours gone, even if it felt like twenty minutes. What do you love doing so much, you would love doing it every day, until you are a 120? That is, where your bliss is to be found first!

You are an expert

Mostly, you can get really good in what you love, just because you practice it a lot. When you do something with love, you can get to do it every day, and then you just get better. Slowly, but consistently. You are passionate about it, and as a result you go seek information. As art is my passion, I love visiting musea, I love trying out new techniques, even if they can scare the hell out of me in the beginning because I don't master them yet. Anyway as a joyful child (as we all have one inside of us), I still LOVE to grow, to learn and improve, so that is where you become good. If you love watching movies, you might become that good in picking up scenes, watching how they are made, that you could start writing scripts, or film for yourself.

You get paid for it

Then, you have to get paid, or you won't be able to do it every day for hours, unless you are in a convent. You can love walking into forests, but none will pay you for it. Unless you are that deep in connection with nature, learn about it and how to maintain a forest, that you learn to be a forester and dedicate your life to that. So, when nobody will ever buy what you make, or would pay for what you do, it isn't your Ikigai. An Ikigai is always of service or importance to others as well. It can be a complete niche, like telling children stories, or crafting sculptures out of food, dancing a ballet, somehow, someone, somewhere, will find it worth his money and might even go search over town, or over the globe for your expertise in it.

The world needs you!

And at last, the world will need what you have to give! It will bring joy, love, create a better environment, bring peace, will lift people up, will make them more peaceful or turn them into better humans. It will change the world for the better, even if it is just a little bit. It will rise people and will add to the worlds evolution in a promising way.

The struggle that might be part of the search

I have struggled to see and understand my art could be my Ikigai because I failed to see it might be of value to the world. Well, I do know the value of art on myself. It can move me to tears, lift my spirits, move my soul, break my heart open or change the vibration of the room. But... do others have this experience with what I make? The answer is yes. Even in my tiny circle of real friends, I have someone who is moved by my art and is ready to pay for it as soon as she can. Every time she visits my house, her eyes wander over one of my works and get locked onto it. I see her breath slow down, her strength grows, her spine lifts up, and her mind clears. The way she speaks after watching that specific painting is different as before. It is as if something within her soul arises and gets nurtured just by looking at my artwork.

Seeing this transformation over and over again, makes me at last, believe that YES, art is my Ikigai. As is my writing and coaching. Sometimes our Purpose is already for years in our lives, and only fear withholds us from living it. Put the fears aside! And look, what might make you happy doing it every day, until you are a 120. I am very curious to hear what is your Ikigai, and hear your thoughts about it. Feel free to share it in the comments below.

With love,

Guen