Ikigai : Find Your Passion, Mission, Vocation, And Profession
Ikigai is what gets you up every morning and keeps you going.
In Japanese, IKI, means life, and KAI, means the realization of hope and expectations. IKIGAI is a concept that combine what thing that you love, what do you do for living, what the world needs, and what thing that you’re good at. Or we can say it, life-balance.
Some people works for ascendant. They are craving for getting higher position, to get more power and authority. Some just works for dollars. Do the tasks, go home, and get the paycheck. Don’t care what thing that they do, as long as it can fulfill their daily needs. Just chase the biggest nominal as well.
As a 23th, I’m still a bit blurry about my true purpose. What I really want to achieve before I die? Is this my passion that I want to pursue? What kind of impact can I give to the world? Some questions like that are never out of my mind.
I think it’s not easy to identify a passion because we might ask deeply into our heart — and we might just come up with ‘I think I don’t have even a passion’.
Well, I used to feel like that. One day, someone told me about finding a passion with Ikigai.
Diagram above consists of 4 circles.
What you love : You do this thing because you love it. You do it without any pressure. There’s only excitement.
What you are good at : It also called as skill. It’s your ability in doing something.
What you can be paid for : A thing that you can do to make money, to make people pay for you
What the world needs : What thing that become million people needs. You can think this one as the impact that you can bring to many people.
So, here it works. List your things based on 4 circles above. Just take time and reflect on yourself. Some part may takes a long time, just fill the easier part first. You might also brainstorm it with your family or friends. Who knows that they discover a treasure on you!
After that, make your Ikigai diagram and put your things on it. You can get the result as written below.
Passion : An intersection between What you love and What you are good at.
Profession : An intersection between What are you good at and What you can be paid for.
Vocation : An intersection between What you can be paid for and What the world needs.
Mission : An intersection between What the world needs and What you love.
So that’s 4 components of your life that can be identified by Ikigai concept.
If you find an intersection between all the circle. Congrats, you have found your Ikigai — your reason for being.
Whoever feel stuck and read this, I hope this written give you an helpful answer — or at least a half. Let’s find a joy in whatever we do. Let’s live our life!
