Have you ever heard of Ikigai? Few workers in the United States are familiar with Ikigai, but something tells me they will want to learn more. To discover your ikigai is to discover your purpose in life.
Here in the United States, since COVID our work environments turned upside down.
We went from cubicles to commuting in our pajama pants to Starbucks for coffee. Let’s not forget homeschooling, and trying to take part in Zoom calls. Along with the background noise of homeschooling and dogs barking.
COVID-19 revealed the nasty truth about what workers were saying under their breaths and in the shower. If I could leave this sh#$! I would… and many did!
What were the revelations from COVID?
“Before the pandemic, we thought employees asking for ‘flexibility’ meant working from home”, according to (SHRM).
“Today we realize that what they actually meant was the ability to fit their work into their lives in more manageable ways.”
Employees are starting to feel the pressure. Particularly since COVID is hanging around like the pesky aunt that says she’s leaving on Saturday but changes her mind on Friday night.
So what is driving workers out of the workforce? Not only a lack of balance between work responsibilities, family, and life. But folks take “resignation” from a passive state of being to an empowered course of action. Today workers want more.
Lousy pay, lack of good child-care, poor management, and jobs with fair pay have no future. Even the end of unemployment benefits and other emergency financial relief measures hasn’t moved the return to work needle.
Discover Your Ikigai
American workers, whether they realize it or not are in serious need of Ikigia or a “life purpose.”
Recently a client with 15 years of experience in finance asked me if this was all there was to life. She’s in her late 30s and tired of the grueling hours, barely adequate pay, and dwindling work-life balance.
My response after being in the workforce for 40+ years and working in my parent’s business since I was about 9 years old… no, no life is not supposed to be like this, but the only person who can change it is you!
Define Ikigai
Traditionally, Iki means life and gai means value or worth. Ikigai is often translated into “the reason you wake up in the morning.” Ikigai can result in success, but you don’t need to have ikigai to be successful. This is one of the reasons discovering your ikigai is so important. Everybody wants a reason to leap out of bed and make a difference in the world. Right?
Ken Mogi, a neuroscientist with a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Tokyo has studied ikigai and defines it as having five pillars.
5 Ikigai Pallars
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
My ikigai is to motivate. It is the reason I get out of bed every day. Ikigai is an attribute. Sometimes it’s obvious and other times it’s not so obvious.
My intention is to help my coaching clients discover what their ikigai is.
This is not a simple task. It involves taking an honest assessment of who you are and what you like.
Why Discover Your Ikigai and Your Life Purpose?
I have learned after many years that when send motivation and encouragement out it comes back to me tenfold.
Ikigai is a cycle of perpetual purpose and you can share it anytime and anyplace.
Okinawa, Japan and Their Secret Ikigai
I can share with you I am not a sage sitting crosslegged on a mountain top. I did live in Okinawa Japan, for almost three years. It is an island where an unusual percentage of seniors live to be 100 years of age. Their secret is “ikigai”, a unique sense of purpose.
I have had an amazing life and today I can chalk it all up to my ikigai. Now, I did not always know about ikigai or that it even existed, but today is the center of my life and I’m committed to being the best motivational coach known to mankind. (I know, a big stretch right… well, at least that is what I strive to be.)
If you are interested in learning more about ikigai, join my mailing list and receive our ikigai journal.
