At one point, I egotistically thought it was the label of “yogi” or “yoga teacher” that had made me feel like I had a place. But then I realized that it went far beyond the fact that I finally had a “thing” to call my own. Being able to call myself a yogi wasn’t what made me feel like I had found my place in the world. It was the world of knowledge that yoga had introduced me to, which seemed to lead back to self-awareness at every avenue.

Ikigai

This journey of self-awareness and personal growth that yoga and my teacher training was the catalyst for has led me to a wide variety of books. I have always loved to learn and reading is one of the best ways to do that! (See some of my other favorite reads here). Primarily I am reading personal development books and books about other cultures and the special concepts and practices they have. I learned about this next concept in the book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.

There is an island called Okinawa in the south of Japan where people live longer than anyone else. There are 24.55 people over age 100 (centenarians) for every 100,000 people. These people exhibit far fewer cases of chronic inflammatory illnesses, heart diseases, cancers, and dementia than average. In fact, “many of these centenarians enjoy enviable levels of vitality and health that would be unthinkable for people of advanced age elsewhere” (Garcia & Miralles, 2016).

Scientists have studied Okinawa, as well as the world’s other “blue zones,” or regions of the world where people live much longer than average. Others include Sardinia, Italy, Loma Linda, California, The Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, and Ikaria, Greece. According to these scientists’ research, the keys to longevity are:

• Diet
• Exercise
• Strong social bonds
• Finding a purpose in life

These four keys are certainly present in Okinawa. Their traditional diet is very healthy, they drink lots of beneficial teas, and it is customary to eat only until one is 80% full, which helps keep digestion healthy. They engage in simple forms of exercise like puttering around in the garden, walking, or doing their traditional “tasio” exercises to stay physically fit. Inhabitants each belong to a moai, or a close friend group. The people in a moai look out for one another and bond over common interests and hobbies. Feeling a part of a community is a huge aspect of happiness. BUT, equally as important as all of these is knowing one’s ikigai.

Ikigai is one’s reason for being.

Each of us has one deep within ourselves, but it can take time and patience to uncover. Your ikigai is the reason you get out of bed in the morning. When you’re actively pursuing your ikigai, you may experience being a flow state, or being “in the zone.” Ikigai is where what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for collide.

In America, we often find ourselves working jobs simply because they pay the bills, and not because they are in line with our true passions. We get the “Sunday scaries” when we begin to dread the upcoming workweek and we live for the weekends. Retirement is a goal that most have. As the years go by and we continuing slaving away in our jobs, we dream of the day we can finally call it quits and travel, or play golf, or have some free time to spend with our grandchildren.

In Japan, our societal norm of retirement doesn’t exist. When people in Japan do “retire,” they continue to actively do what they love. This is possible because with ikigai, what you love is so closely intertwined with what you do for a living. The book gave the example of Hayao Miyazaki, a director of animated films. He would often be found spending Sundays in the studio, getting into the flow state while working drawings for his films. The day after he officially retired, “instead of going on vacation or staying home, he went to Studio Ghibli and sat down to draw. His colleagues put on their poker faces, not knowing what to say” (Garcia & Miralles, 2016).

They say when you love what you do, you don’t work a day in your life. Now I’m not saying you have to quit your job or make any drastic life changes, because we need to be realistic…we all have bills to pay and if we want to be able to stay well in other areas of life (like being able to afford nutritious food and our preferred forms of exercise, like yoga classes or gym memberships) then sometimes it is necessary to work a job that it is not necessarily in line with your ikigai…but there’s always the opportunity to explore other job options, volunteer opportunities, or side hobbies that could help you satisfy your ikigai.

Source: Garcia, Hector, and Francesc Miralles. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. New York City, NY: Penguin Books, 2016.

So after all of this talk about purpose, callings, talents, vocations, dharmas, ikigais, and reasons for being, you might be thinking: shit, I have no idea what mine is! But I’m here to tell you that THAT’S OK! The journey to discovering your vocation, your dharma, your ikigai, or whatever you choose to call it is a beautiful one. You certainly don’t have to have it all figured out by any certain time. Plus, discovering your purpose is an ongoing journey, because just as people are constantly changing, so can’t their purposes.

Also, I’m not saying that I 100% know what my true purpose here on Earth is. I didn’t write this post to say “I am an all righteous being and I know my true purpose in life and this is how I found it.” I wrote it to say, “everyone has a purpose for being here on this Earth, and it’s fun to discover what it is and then carry it out.” Through trial-and-error, self-awareness, and self-reflection I’ve learned what things I’m good at, what things I love, and how I can combine these things into something that will both support me and support others.

Since I have a passion for helping others and also a passion for working with children, my job as an infant/toddler teacher at a daycare really fills me up. It’s also why I enjoy blogging and sharing my story with others, because it’s so rewarding when I’m able to help someone improve their life, whether it be teaching them something they can incorporate into their life or just helping them feel less alone.

Here are some tips for discovering your true purpose:

• Try out a bunch of things. You never know what activity might strike your fancy! How are you going to find your passion if you don’t go through a little trial-and-error?
• Get creative. Think outside the box. Remember, talents aren’t just athletic or artistic, and vocations aren’t just common career paths. Maybe your purpose in life is to make others laugh, but you’re terrible at stand-up-comedy…so where else would your skill be useful? Perhaps you could enter a profession where you work with sick people, who could really use a good laugh. Get creative.
• Drop the stories you have about yourself. It might be due to things you were told by your family in your childhood, things you’ve been told for years by society, or negative thought processes that occur in your own mind, but whatever it may be, drop those negative stories you tell yourself about your limitations, what you can and cannot do, and what is and is not possible.
• Keep a journal. Writing is a great form of self-reflection. Write down how certain activities or situations throughout your day made you feel. Don’t just write down what you did, but how you felt while doing it! Did that confrontation with your boss make you feel icky, but leading that meeting made you feel triumphant? Maybe one of your skills is leadership and you should find a position where you can be in charge.
• Find your flow. Observe which activities put you into a flow state, where you forget about time because you’re so into the activity. These activities are almost definitely inline with your purpose/dharma/ikigai.
• Don’t get discouraged. Your purpose is already within you. You don’t have to seek it out or create it out of thin air, you just have to uncover it! And chances are if you look back on your life like I did, you’ll be able to get an inkling of what you are meant to do.