Going all in on Ikigai

The Japanese Secret to a Joyful Life

Welcome to a new week!

Hope your week is off to a great start. Before I dive into this week’s topic, I want to let you know that I’m letting go of my Sunday publishing schedule of The LIFT for a bit. So, I won’t be showing up in your inbox every week for a while.

For the last three years, I have traditionally taken the month of December off of writing The LIFT, but this year, I have a few other projects I want to allow myself to dive into and fully embrace. So - this will be my last issue for now.

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll follow along with my other adventures. I’ll share how you can do that at the end of this post. It’s all about going all in on my ikigai. And, if you don’t really know what that is…this LIFT is for you!

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Welcome to The LIFT

Let me know you were here by clicking the little ❤ , leaving a comment + sharing it with your friends! If you haven’t subscribed, click the “Subscribe Now” button below for a weekly pick me up. A new issue comes out every Sunday + will be delivered right to your inbox. You can read previous issues here.

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OPPOSITES ATTRACT

I recently saw this scroll-stopping post on Instagram:

adamgrant

A post shared by @adamgrant

The caption read: “This is the opposite of Ikigai.”

EEK! This one stopped me in my tracks. (Seriously, take a moment to really let it sink in.)

Do you ever feel this way?

What stood out was the “Things I do” category. I think a lot of the things I do on a daily basis sit right outside of all of my circles - rather than bringing them all together. Know what I mean?

You’re busy doing stuff, but you feel like you’re not doing any of it well? Or you’re spinning your wheels, but not really moving the needle? Or you feel like everything is disconnected? Or maybe you are a bit overwhelmed by all you ‘have’ to do and then frustrated that you don’t have enough time to do what you really want?

It happens to all of us. With so many distractions and so many options in our crazy world, we can easily find ourselves living just outside of everything we want for ourselves…instead of fully inside of it.

And, I don’t know about you, but that is NOT how I want to feel.

That image is now forever seared in my brain. Ever since seeing it, I’ve been looking at the things I do a little differently.

Where can I create more overlap in my circles?

What is my ikigai?

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FINDING IKIGAI

If you’re not familiar with the term…

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that essentially means “a reason for being” or “a reason to wake up in the morning”. It’s that thing that gives our life meaning and purpose. And, it’s built on the convergence of:

• What you love (your passion)

• What the world needs (your mission)

• What you’re good at (your vocation)

• What you can get paid for (your profession)

This Venn diagram is a more accurate depiction of ikigai. (Now you can see why the previous image is so ‘opposite’).

Venn diagram by Hector Garcia & Marc Winn

Japan just so happens to be ranked second in the world for life expectancy and the more we study longevity, the more this concept of ikigai rises to the top as a key player in living a long and healthy life.

Designing a life around this concept can be transformational no matter what your age.

Knowing where these areas of life overlap for you can serve as a guide to orchestrating more joy, fulfillment and balance into your daily routine.

As I stared at that first image on Instagram that day, I realized that my daily activities are creeping around the edges of all of these elements and I am missing out on the potential convergence.

I am unintentionally holding my circles separate from each other rather than allowing the full integration (and joy) of where they all overlap.

What if I was more intentional with my daily activities? Prioritizing those that bring my circles together and letting go of those that sit outside?

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CREATING CONVERGENCE

It’s interesting to think about, right?

Ikigai is certainly not a concept we grow up with here in the U.S. We talk a lot about ‘finding your passion’ or things like ‘work/life balance’, but I really like this concept of ikigai - whether talking about vocation or recreation.

How do we bring this idea into our daily lives today while living in the middle of a rather chaotic world?

How do we find our ikigai - a reason for being?

This week, I watched the Netflix series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones for a second time. When I woke up the next day before opening my eyes, I paused for a moment and thought about my ‘reason for getting out of bed’. What was the first thing that came to mind?

COFFEE! (lol)

Okay, coffee is not my ONLY reason for getting out of bed, but that quiet time I have carved out in the morning WITH my coffee is certainly something I look forward to every day - which makes it part of my ikigai.

I don’t really believe that you ‘find’ your ikigai or that it finds you. You don’t go on a quest to seek it out. It’s something you design. Proactively.

I think ikigai is something we create - sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly.

And, sometimes you have to break up your routine or pursue new interests in order to realign and bring your ikigai to the forefront.

Midlife is certainly one of those times.

When you’ve spent decades raising a family or building a career or funding a retirement, midlife is a time of realignment. Examining those four circles and finding ways to craft a life that creates convergence in the next chapter - it’s something worth putting some energy into.

It’s also important to realize that ikigai is not only something you design, but that you re-design. Continually. Your ikigai is not set in stone and it’s not something that you ‘accomplish’ or ‘master’. It’s a fluid state. Ever evolving.

That said, it runs deep. The pure joy that lives there in the convergence…THAT is ikigai.

You can feel it when all of the plates you are spinning come together in one fluid dance. It feels amazing!

If you want to dive further into ikigai, I left a couple of resources below for you to explore further. I hope you will play with it in your life.

With the election, the holidays and the new year just around the corner, there is no better time to go all in on your ikigai. To practice letting go of what is outside of your interests and control - so you can embrace more of what brings you alive.

Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. - Howard Thurman. 

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YOUR MISSION:

This week, I challenge you to find some space to answer these four questions:

1. What do you love?

2. What are you good at?

3. What does the world need?

4. What can you be paid for?

Obviously, we aren’t going to find overlap all of the time in all four areas, but answering these questions can certainly help you start to bring more overlap and integration into everything you choose to do.

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RESOURCES:

• READ: What is ikigai and how can it change my life? | BetterUp

• READ: Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Joyful Life | The Government of Japan

• READ: Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Joyful Life | Hector Garcia

• READ: How to Find your Ikigai and Transform your Outlook on Life and Business | Forbes

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IN SUMMARY:

As I mentioned in my opening, I am taking a break from my Sunday schedule for The LIFT for now so I can create some space in my calendar to explore and play with convergence and leaning into my ikigai.

As you know, my husband and I recently moved into a magical 55+ community where we are writing our next chapter in life.

So, there will still be plenty of writing going on over here - just a different platform.

If you’re not already subscribed to our monthly newsletter in Ocean Hills Country Club, you can subscribe here.

I will also be writing weekly on our website at OceanHillsLiving.com.

And, if you want to follow our latest ikigai adventures (both in words and pictures), we’d love to connect with you on Facebook or our new page on Instagram: @OceanHillsLiving

Until then - enjoy the archives here at The LIFT. There is a lot of good stuff up there! Go back and take a look.

You are greatly appreciated! Thanks for being here!

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Meanwhile, reach out to me anytime!

Karen Friend Smith
Certified Health Coach & Environmental Health Specialist
karen@itmaybemenopause.com
www.itMayBeMenopause.com
Instagram: @itmaybemenopause

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