Ikigai is a Japanese word that translates as?Or ‘those life goals that make us rise every morning. ‘For the Japanese, we all carry our own ikigai inside and it is essential to discover it, make it our own and carry it as a flag, because in this way we can commit ourselves to face all the difficulties.
Far beyond what we can think of, few psychological and existential principles can be as fundamental in our daily lives as that represented by this term, this concept. Finding meaning in one’s life, having varied goals is the key to getting out of despair. and is above all a therapeutic substrate to deal with one of the most devastating diseases today: depression.
“The purpose of life is to discover your gift, everything in you, and how you can use it. William Shakespeare?
Many of our psychological problems can be solved with the help of the ikigai, which is sometimes so hidden, repressed and even silenced in us, that it helps us to recover the spirit, the will, the motivation to live better. We know, for example, that many of our emotional disorders show an effective improvement when the person starts to get involved in themselves, simply by doing what they like, which identifies them.
Gradually, this whole set of positive thoughts and beliefs acts as real buffers of suicidal thoughts, limiting beliefs and even fears. However, it is not easy to commit to our ikigai, our goal in life. The Japanese remind us that we must be like a loyal and courageous warrior who fulfills a very specific goal: to maintain our integrity and affinity with our own essence.
Sebastian Marshall is a well-known writer who gave us a book with a very simple title a few years ago: Ikigai, it can be said that, of all the publications on this subject, the content that this author brings us is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and perhaps the one who strays most from these soft and easy principles associated with personal growth.
First of all, he explains that our world is full of slanderers, society invites us from childhood to be happy, however, as we grow up, the only thing we find is one ‘Rasteira’ after another.
The first lesson we must learn is not to desire the same happiness as others. Most of the time it is not real, if we are obsessed with having and doing the same thing as the people around us we will be like 99% of the population, however, if we dare to act according to our dreams, desires and life goals, we will be unique, we will be the 1% who aspire to true satisfaction.
Something like this will only be achieved in one way: coming out of our passivity and finding our own ikigai, once we have found it and defined several things will happen, the first is that we will be more challenging, and that is a second thing is that, finally, we will realize our own potential to transform it into “explosive matter” and leave those arid environments where only one thing grows : discomfort.
Many of our readers can find an ironic question. Who doesn’t know what their goals are in life?As curious as it may seem, not all of our goals are clear, we often have goals, ideals and goals that are somewhat distorted or imbued with values that are not our own. education, the family and social environment define us in a way that we are not always fully aware of.
Ikigai has always been there, even if we often do not commit to him, choose to silence him and ignore him Do we believe that no one will understand us, that we will be criticized or misunderstood by the people around us?
We must stop putting off these goals that soothe our souls, needs, pleasures and passions that identify us and that could define our way of life. It’s not easy, but we can do it. In this article, we will explain how to define your Ikigai.
The ikigai is made up of the intersection of four fundamental dimensions: his passion, his vocation, his profession and his mission in life. To clarify each of these fundamental aspects it will be useful to implement the following strategies:
In conclusion, if we have not yet found our ikigai, we can say that we are fine. Sometimes, throughout our lives, this awakening occurs with such intensity and strength that there is no turning back. It will be a time when there will be no choice but to follow him, to make it our own.