Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means ‘reason for being.’ It combines the Japanese words ‘iki’ which means life, and ‘gai’ which means value or worth.
In an article entitled “Ikigai Explained by a Neuroscientist” and featured on IkigaiTribe, we meet Ken Mogi. He explains that in Japanese culture, there is a belief that the world is made of many small things which are valuable in themselves. Ikigai is the pursuit of day to day purpose and happiness:
“There are many ways to define Ikigai. One way put it is to say that Ikigai is the reason you get up in the morning. It could be something very small like having a cup of coffee and a chocolate. And something that makes your day go on. That is Ikigai. On the other hand – Ikigai can be a life-defining, very big goal, like going to Mars or winning the Nobel Prize or becoming the Prime Minister of a country. So Ikigai can be something small or something big. So in a nutshell, Ikigai is a spectrum. And the complexity of Ikigai actually reflects the complexity of life itself.”
When we are in the process of self-reflection and growth, the concept of a spectrum is very valuable to our journey as it allows us to recognize both the small things that bring value to our lives as well as our big picture goals. The concept of Ikigai is about becoming the most honest version of ourselves.
Tomorrow’s post will feature “The 10 Rules of Ikigai” by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles.
To read the full article (it features a you tube video): https://ikigaitribe.com/ikigai/ikigai-explained-by-a-neuroscientist/
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Photo credit: http://Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash