How To Find Your Passion And Purpose
Many philosophers have pondered the meaning of life over the centuries, and more recent research has shown the link between longevity and happiness, but what’s the real, tangible key to finding your passion and purpose?
Although the scientific and philosophical contributions over the past centuries have been many, no one idea has seen tangible results more than the concept of Ikigai.
Ikigai comes from the people in the small Japanese community of Okinawa, a remote island with a remarkably high number of centenarians (people over 100 years old). Although their impressive age has been attributed in part to their diets, the practice of IIkigai has also been noted as a major factor not only in their longevity but also their happiness.
What Is Ikigai?
In English, the rough translation of Ikigai is “reason for being” or you could see it as your reason for getting out of bed in the morning. More than that, it’s a guide to living a fulfilling, happy life. A guide to finding your passion and purpose.
In short, having purpose makes you happier, which in turn helps you live a longer and more satisfied life. The diagram below outlines the four overlapping elements of Ikigai: what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.
Often represented as a Venn diagram, Ikigai is a great tool for self-reflection and to help you think about all the things that may bring you joy, passion and purpose.
Lessons From Ikigai
Author Dan Buettner wrote the book Blue Zones: Lessons on Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. Working for National Geographic, he travelled the world to explore the communities where people live the longest, which he calls “blue zones.”
Buettner says the older generations in Okinawa not only have an understanding of their Ikigai, but most importantly they put it into practice. For some this means regular catch-ups with friends to sing and dance, for others this is by regularly giving back to the community and finding ways to be useful in society – which brings thanks from colleagues and boost self-esteem.
This is backed up by all the latest science: people who are happy and fulfilled lived longer. And not only that, they live better lives too.
So, at this point you might be thinking, “well that’s nice but I have bills to pay.” And, yes, the reality is that you cannot always do what you love for work. Sometime, you have to do what’s needed to pay the bills.
But just because your job just needs to help you get food on the table and keep the utilities on, that doesn’t mean you can’t have purpose and passion in life. The good news is that your Ikigai isn’t synonymous with your job. You can have a job that just pays the bills while filling your hours outside of work with activities that bring you joy, happiness and satisfaction.
Having said that, if you downright hate your job, you may wish to look into finding another one too – because even if your life is great outside of work, that amount of hours every week doing something that is sucking the life out of you is not healthy. This doesn’t always mean that the job itself is bad, and you need to retrain or start from scratch. Sometimes all you need is a new company or team or happier people around you. Either way, don’t stay in a job that you hate and expect the rest of your life to not be impacted.
Related reading: 5 Life Lessons They Should Teach At School
Taking Action: Finding Your Passion And Purpose
So how do you find your passion and purpose?
The first step to changing your life is to start by understanding it better. Do some self-reflection and find the one or two things that satisfy all four Ikigai elements. Write down all the things that you enjoy, that bring you flow or make you happy. Download your free worksheet and get started on some brainstorming.
Next, you need to change your habits, and set some goals. Knowledge without action is useless. If you need some help to turn your newfound knowledge into action, perhaps the best book about changing habits is James Clear’s Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. In his book, he helps people to make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy) by making tiny, easy changes that deliver big results.
Final Lessons From The Blue Zones
There are a few other things that people from Okinawa, and other blue zones all have in common.
- Keep your mind active: It’s critical to stay mentally active, particularly after retirement. You can read books, listen to podcasts or Ted-talks, travel or learn new skills like gardening or creative arts.
- Stay social: Staying involved in the community is also critical to a longer life. You can volunteer, join classes, book groups, or anything else that encourages regular social interaction.
- Eat well: eating a healthy diet means including a variety of food groups, good portion control, eating plenty of fresh foods instead of processed and packaged foods, limiting (or eliminating) unhealthy fats and sugar.
- Get outside and do light exercise: The mental and physical benefits of being outside, coupled with the physical benefits of exercise make going for a walk one of the best things you can do for yourself on a daily basis. Even better, go for a walk with a friend or loved one.
- Give thanks: Practicing gratitude makes you happier and less stressed, and it leads to higher overall wellbeing and satisfaction with your life and social relationships.
Good luck finding your passion and purpose!
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