Knowing your Ikigai

Ikigai (ee-key-guy) is a Japanese concept that combines the words iki (alive or life) and gai (benefit or worth). Similar to the words “raison d’etre” or “reason for being.” it is the path that gives your life worth, meaning, or purpose.

According to Japanese psychologist Michiko Kumano (2017), ikigai is a state of well-being that results from devotion to activities that one enjoys, which also brings a sense of fulfillment. It can be also considered as your reason to get up in the morning and live a life full of joy.

The well-known ikigai diagram captures the concept of ikigai as a life purpose with both personal and social dimensions. This diagram contains overlapping spheres that cover:

• What you love
• What you are good at
• What the world needs
• What you can get paid for

As shown in the diagram above, ikigai occupies the central position and entails four major spheres of interest and how they may overlap in one's life. Using such a diagram to try to determine your own personal ikigai, you would fill in each sphere with appropriate content based on your own experiences, self-knowledge, and understanding of the world.

It is also worth noting that, according to this diagram:

• Your passion exists at the intersection of what you enjoy and what you are good at.
• Your mission lies at the crossroads of what you enjoy and what the world requires.
• Your vocation exists at the crossroads of what the world requires and what you can be compensated for.
• Your profession is the intersection of what you are good at and what you can get paid for.

Many people, whether consciously or unconsciously, are searching for ikigai, one's reason for being, or waking up joyfully each morning. Even though people's ideas about ikigai differ, there is widespread agreement that finding this motivating purpose in life is associated with greater fulfillment and happiness.

In this blog, join me as I unveil what my Ikigai is and how I will continue to uphold it in my life.

Streaming and Content Creation is my Ikigai.

What I love - I love learning new things and discovering concepts that are new to me, I can say learning is my passion, and sharing what I learn is my mission.

What I am good at - I am good at writing and storytelling, my adeptness in writing lead me to take BSED-English. I teach by profession and do streaming and blogging as my hobby.

What I can be paid for - My vocation as an Educator. It excites me to hear success stories of my former students and I am honored that I am being paid for influencing their young souls to a future that they dream for

What the world needs - We and the world needs people that are ready to listen and act. We need people who are open to things that will turn us into a better version of ourselves.