How to uncover your own IKIGAI, or

“a reason for being”

The Ikigai definition… “(生き甲斐) (pronounced [ikiɡai]) Ikigai 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 towards achieving one's ikigai resulting in satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life.”

- Wikipedia

1. List out things that you love in the what we love” section.

   • for this section make sure that you are not censoring yourself, you should have a list of the things that you truly love, often things that you already spend time doing that bring you joy.

   • sometimes these things aren’t specific, if you generally like making things you can put that here without pigeonholing yourself into a specific task.

   • often life gets in the way of the things that we love, it may be helpful to think back to things that you were naturally drawn to as a child or a younger person.

   • make sure these things aren’t tied to expectations that originated outside yourself: for example perhaps you haven’t had a lot of fun in a while, and when you think back on your childhood you remember you played a lot of baseball…Did you LOVE playing baseball or were you expected to love it from authority figures?

2. List out things that you are good at in the “what we are good at” section.

   • This is helpful to think about the things that people in your circle come to you for.

   • What are the things that come naturally to you?

   • What are the things that you unconsciously get upset at others for not “getting” right away?

   • What do people randomly compliment you on personally?

3. List out things that the world needs in the “what the world needs” section.

   • These may be tied to the “what are the things that you get annoyed with” question.

   • Could be details in life, ex. To be able to cook healthy meals, To love the clothes one wears etc.

   • Could also be larger systemic issues, ex. To live more sustainably, to balance masculine and feminine energies etc.

   • Could be personal ex. To be able to express themselves, To feel connected to others etc.

   • Could be impersonal ex. Systems stability, Work reform etc.

4. List out things that you can be paid for in the “what we can be paid for” section.

   • This one is pretty self-explanatory…

   • However often the world needs your energy which shows up uniquely,

   - perhaps you are creating something new here!

5. See if you can find coherent patterns in these lists, if any notes connect and make sense in flow to you?..

   • Look up these connections online to see if anyone is operating in the world along these lines that you could possibly learn from!

   …Maybe no one is and we need you showing up in this way uniquely!

   • Because these things came from within you you already have expertise in these areas, where the average person wouldn’t - be confident in sharing your gifts with the world!

*This is a difficult process to go through if you are operating under a lot of societal/familial etc. conditioning: This article here can help you get clear that your inner guidance is the place from which you should be engaging with this Ikigai: Inner De-conditioning.