Ikigai
If you’ve spent any time here on my Website or on my socials, you will have heard me talk about ikigai at least a little bit. Or a lot. Probably a lot. But I’ve had multiple people ask me what it even means and why I’m so focused on (or obsessed with?) the concept — why it has been a catalyst for my mental wellness, and by extension, my work life. So I wanted to write a blog about it.
Before I dive in, I want to point you to the first book I read on the topic. I highly recommend reading this if you are interested in learning more about ikigai and how it might impact your own life. I know it may sound too good to be true, but if you are willing to lean in and learn, I think you will have some lightbulb moments from what they share.
I know you will probably finish reading this blog before you pick up the book, so in case you don’t know what it is or need a refresher, I’ll give you a quick overview so that you have a basic grasp of the context from which I am writing this.
“Our ikigai is hidden deep inside each of us, and finding it requires a patient search. According to those born on Okinawa, the island with the most centenarians in the world, our ikigai is the reason we get up in the morning.”
If you search ikigai online, you’ll see a lot of the Venn Diagrams showing various versions of what it means to certain people. In this book, it is the overlap of four areas:
What you love
What you are good at
What the world needs
What you can be paid for
Starting to see why finding my ikigai has been such a huge deal for me? Why it has catapulted me into this new chapter of going back to my roots in branding and web design?
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the whole concept of finding what you love that you’re also good at that the world needs and that you can make a living at is such a foreign thing here in the US. So often we get caught up in just the day to day survival that we lose sight of what we love. We forget the satisfaction of doing the things we’re good at. Can ikigai help us rediscover that? Can it be the match that lights a fire within us and burns so brightly that we have to go after our dreams? I think it might. At least, it has been for me.
So that brings me to this blog, this Website, and the various services and products you’ll find in my shop. Each one is the product of me walking in my ikigai, in flow with my creativity. Each one was designed to impact the lives of others in some way, whether it be by helping you launch the brand you’ve been dreaming of for years, helping you on your personal growth journey through one of my wellness Notion templates, or being a daily reminder of how awesome you are.
Designing beautiful things that enhance and improve the lives of others gives me life.
And I know that as I continue on this path, I am going to have so many amazing opportunities that I never would have dreamed of if I hadn’t gone after this. I hope that with this blog, I have left you feeling curious, inspired, and encouraged. Thanks for reading. Until next time!
(The image above contains my Amazon affiliate link; I may receive a kickback if you purchase there.)
