So recently I finished this book called Ikigai which talked about finding your purpose in life. It resonated with me strongly because many years ago, a quote by Will Smith in Seven Pounds struck that same chord. In it, he espoused that the difference between joy and depression is finding a purpose, a reason beyond yourself to wake up in the morning.
In a similar vein, ikigai is the Japanese concept that means reason of being – a cross section between your values, things you like doing and things you’re good at. The book hails this as the Japanese secret to a long and happy life, alongside rules like surrounding yourself with friends and acknowledging people around to help you get there.
These concepts aren’t entirely new to me as I closely identified this with what Morris Schwartz said to Mitch Albom in Tuesdays with Morrie. He believed that many people lead a meaningless life and end up chasing the wrong things. The only way to get meaning into life is to devote yourself to others and the community.
To find one’s North Star, I’m in no doubt that the rules in Ikigai are certainly very valuable and insightful, not as a map but a compass to one’s life purpose. Perhaps if everyone gets the chance to practise and live by them, we’d have a world bubbling with meaning, filled with happiness and marked by longevity.
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