Your Ikigai
Purpose in work is the intrinsic sense of fulfillment that you gain from doing work that’s meaningful to you. In Japan, this concept is known as Ikigai, meaning "a reason for being" – essentially, the source of your daily motivation.
Focus on finding your motivation for work—work that makes you feel engaged and happy. The right job provides fulfillment and creates a state of mind that can transform your life.
Some people chalk out their career paths early on. But a significant number of people go through several rounds of trial and error to finally decide what they want to do.
Successful people are driven by purpose, a reason for being. Finding your Ikigai will help you find the right career and lead you to a satisfactory and meaningful career path.
To find your Ikigai, you have to consider four elements:
What you’re good at
What you love to do
What the world needs
What you can get paid for
The Venn diagram shows Ikigai as the convergence of these four elements: what you're good at, what you love to do, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.
The very centre, where each element overlaps, is your Ikigai – your reason for getting up and where you should focus your efforts to find ultimate fulfilment.
Find Your Ikigai and Decide Your Career
Here are the questions that help you calibrate the alignment of your career path in relation to your true calling.
Answer these with your test driving job or current job in mind.
What you are good at
Are you useful? Is what you do something that your family/community/ friends have sought your advice/opinion on before?
Are you among the best in your workplace/community at this?
With some more education and experience, could you master what you do?
What you love to do
Is what you’re doing something you’re truly passionate about? Could you enthusiastically talk about your industry and/or profession for hours on end?
Are you emotionally connected to the result of your work?
If you weren’t concerned about money, would you still do what you’re doing?
What the world needs
Are you helping to solve an actual problem?
Are people willing to part with their resources (money, time, attention, trust, loyalty, love, etc.) to buy what you’re selling?
Will this work still be needed 10 years from now? How about 100 years from now? If not, will the value of your work today increase over time?
What you can get paid for
Have you been paid for what you do?
If not, are other people being paid for this work?
Can you eventually make a good living doing this work?
Is there a healthy amount of competition in your industry?
Are there other people who can do what you do, but better?
Here are the 4 guidelines that you need to follow to figure out your Ikigai, your reason for being:
- Answer all the questions with either YES or NO.
- If you’ve answered affirmatively to all 3 questions within an element, lock it in and keep doing what you’re doing.
- Spend your time focusing on locking in all of the other circles.
- Once you answer YES to all 12 questions, congratulations! You’ve discovered your reason for being— your Ikigai.
Find a Career that Aligns with Your Ikigai
Truly Responsible helps you find a career that aligns with your Ikigai by providing you a safe, simulated, and risk-free way to immerse yourself in real-world workplace scenarios, explore the nature of work, try out different options, learn and discover your true calling.