Ikigai Demystified

Why you should read the book that captivated millions.

How Did I Meet This Book?

By coincidence, like most good things in my life. Serendipity, I would call it, had me go down a whole new road when I came across Ikigai : The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life at a friend’s house. Honestly, I thought this book was too mainstream for me to read it. “What’s going to change my life so much with some tricks that a million people read?” But there was a reason why millions liked it. Browsing through the first couple of pages, I found myself “inside one of the city’s tiny bars, on a rainy night in Tokyo,”. I fell in love with this mysterious concept that had revealed multiple layers of depth.

During my summer vacation, I made it a point to borrow this book from her; on reaching home, I was hooked. At around 11:30pm, I put on the reading lights, switched off my phone and dove into Ikigai. When I next came to my senses, the clock struck 3, the book was a third finished, and I had no idea what a mobile phone was. Unfortunately (rather, fortunately), I was to fly to another State the very next day, so I carried it along with me. Ikigai made my journey the best, because the book is a journey in itself.

The Book

“The reason to get out of bed every morning”

In a way, that’s what Ikigai is. Loosely translated to “reason for being”, Ikigai is a fundamentally Japanese concept. The book takes you to the shores of Okinawa, a Blue Zone where locals live over a hundred years of age. The reason? They have an Ikigai, which complements and sustains their super-healthy lifestyle. Pains are common after a certain age, but in Okinawa, smiles and laughter are even more. From a light-spirited Japan, we move to a concentration camp in Auschwitz, the unusual birthplace of Logotherapy. Psychologist Viktor Frankl was captured and taken prisoner here, where every day, even the hope of seeing the next sun was doubtful. From journal entries of his experiences in the camp, Frankl founded Logotherapy - a therapeutic school based on perceiving “a meaning in life”. What lends this meaning then? The answer - What we do.

This doesn’t necessarily have to be a grand endeavor. The small things we do everyday, that we enjoy doing everyday, add up to our Ikigai. It’s about what enriches life - maybe it be through diet, exercise, our social roles and hobbies. Mind you, these all are essentials of the Okinawan’s everyday. The locals, centenarians included, begin their day with a light stretch and only walk or cycle to commute. Their food is wholesome, low-salt, and high in nutrients. Their moai and yuimaaru bring about a tight-knit community feeling. They have their own hobbies which they are known for. Essentially, such tiny actions surely empower us to find and pursue our own Ikigai.

As a Japanese proverb goes,

“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years”.

One’s Ikigai can be anything; from writing seventeen-syllable poems using a shodo brush, or quirkily performing your job as an elevator operator. It is a process we lose ourselves in. Buddhist monks meditate, to lose themselves and find themselves. Mindfulness is an amazing practice, to bring us back into the “here and now”. But for most of us, it isn’t possible to devote many hours to this. That’s where ‘Flow’ helps. Remember that feeling when you were so engrossed in a task that you lost all track of time? That is ‘Flow’, a state we reach at an optimal challenge (neither too easy, nor too hard). Flow helps clear our minds, and resultantly, increases work efficiency.. No need to always perform an extensive activity, even mundane tasks such as walking, or doing the dishes brings clarity (Bill Gates approves). The point is to unite our mind and body through our Ikigai.

Seneca talks about “strengthening the mind along with the body”. What relevance does this bear here, you ask? Ikigai is “our reason to get up in the morning”, and as we can all relate, not all mornings are bright and fresh. Some are stormy, windy or downright dull; just like the days in our life. Ikigai contains a subtle, yet formidable notion of resilience. Life flings down the gauntlet and sometimes, we get dragged along an unknown course. Having an Ikigai helps us reorient ourselves effectively.

Our Ikigai provides direction to bounce back stronger than before.

Complementing philosophies such as Stoicism, Ikigai introduces us to Wabi-sabi. Imagine this, while cleaning your house one day, you accidentally tip over an antique vase and it shatters into multiple pieces. “Such a beautiful vase, ruined!”, you might exclaim. But the Japanese think otherwise. Beautiful things needn’t be always perfect, they would say. Even perfect things perish, hence beauty is in one’s ephemeral nature, the quality of being perishable. That is why they place value on broken teacups that are joined back using liquid gold. Or on the practice of breaking down the Ise Shrine every 20 years, and rebuilding it anew. The test is to stand up again after falling. Most importantly, they aren’t talking just about teacups.

“七転び八起き”

Nana korobi ya oki

“Fall seven times, rise eight”

In all, Ikigai is a journey. The book deftly takes us from Okinawa to Auschwitz to Tokyo to Ancient Greece, and ends up bringing us closer to a much sought-for treasure island - oneself.

Do it.

“Should I read this book?” must be the question running through your mind. Do it. Unironically, this is the greatest lesson Ikigai left me with. Happiness is not a promised faraway haven reached by select few. Happiness is attained through our own conscious actions, by following our own Ikigai. The question is - what do you find yours in?

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Tell me down below, what activities might become your Ikigai?

If you want me to review your favourite books, feel free to give suggestion(s) down below!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Signing off,

The Flux.