Every New Year comes with the hope for new beginnings. A new promise to eat healthier, a vow to exercise more, or a goal to start a new business. But for many people, a new beginning can signal the start of something more simple, and that’s to be more joyful and happier for the new year.
But how do you do that exactly? Well, a Japanese concept that has become popular in recent years could be the answer. What is it? It’s ikigai.
In this article, we’ll tell you all about what ikiga is, how you can find it, and how you can manifest it into your life by making an Ikigai New Year vision board.
WHAT IS IKIGAI?
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means “life purpose”.” It is a combination of two Japanese words: “iki,” meaning “life; ” and “gai,” which means worth or purpose.
The concept is believed to be the key to a happy, healthy, and long life. Studies have shown that having ikigai correlates to a lower risk for chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, and diabetes.
Aside from the physical benefits of ikigai, it is also believed that it has psychological benefits since there are low cases of depression, anxiety, and feelings of sadness among people who have it.
HOW IKIGAI BECAME POPULAR IN THE WEST
It was first introduced in the West in Mieko Kamiya’s 1966 book, “On the Meaning of Life,” but was made popular in the 2016 book, “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life,” by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.
In Garcia and Miralles’ book, they revealed they conducted interviews with more than 100 people on the island of Okinawa, which is a remote island in Japan named as being one of the world’s “Blue Zones.”
Blue Zones are areas in the world with significantly longer life spans compared to other populations. Dan Buettner, a New York Times bestseller and National Geographic reporter is dubbed to be the pioneer of creating the idea of these Blue Zones.
And one of these areas, which are only 5 in the world, is Okinawa. It is a remote island in the south of Japan with a significant number of centenarians, or people whose age is 100 or over. The average mortality rate on the island is 84 for men, while it’s 90 for women, known to be the highest mortality rate in the world.
Cases of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, depression, and dementia are also almost non-existent on the island.
Garcia and Miralles, the authors of the 2016 Ikigai book mentioned earlier, chose to interview more than 100 elderly residents in Okinawa, specifically in the village of Ogimi Village, which is named “Village of Longevity,” since it has the highest concentration of centenarians on the island.
The authors wanted to study how these people are able to live longer than most populations in the world, and they discovered that aside from having a healthy diet and active lifestyle, all of the respondents they interviewed also had one thing in common. Do you know what it is? The answer is having ikigai.
Every person they interviewed who were healthy and happy elders, practiced ikigai in their daily lives.
BENEFITS OF FINDING YOUR IKIGAI
Researchers have discovered the correlation between longevity and ikigai, and came up with potential mechanisms that could explain this phenomenon.
Here are some of these potential mechanisms:
- Ikigai lowers cortisol levels through feelings of joy and fulfillment in what you do.
- Ikigai gives you a sense of purpose and a feeling of being needed.
- Ikigai lowers the activities of the sympathetic nervous system by activating the parasympathetic nervous system through enjoyable activities.
- Joyful activities lead to the release of DHEA hormones, which are known to have anti-aging effects, such as cognitive function, improvement in body composition, and well-being.
In other words, having ikigai is correlated with lower risks for chronic diseases, and mental problems. It supports improvements in health and well-being, leading to a longer, happier, and healthier life.
HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR IKIGAI?
All these benefits are amazing and phenomenal but how do you find your ikigai exactly? In this section of the article, we’ll show you the major components of ikigai, so you can understand how to find it and practice it in your life.
THE 4 COMPONENTS OF IKIGAI
There are 4 components that need to be considered to find your ikigai. In Garcia and Miralles’ book, they talk about these four things, which are:
- Passion – What You Love
- Mission – What The World Needs
- Vocation – What You’re Good At
- Profession – What You’re Paid to Do
According to the Western interpretation of Ikigai, all of these four aspects must be met in order to find your ikigai or “life’s purpose.”
It is believed that you will find joy, happiness, and fulfillment when you’re doing something that you love, that thing is what the world or the community needs, you’re good at doing it, and people are willing to pay you for it.
For example, you love helping people, and so you become a doctor. The world needs you because you heal the sick, and you’re getting paid a good salary for being able to do it.
It is believed that this is what true ikigai is.
In order to find your ikigai, you must find something that merges your passion, mission, vocation, and profession.
KEN MOGI’S IDEA OF IKIGAI
A Japanese author, however, takes a different approach to finding ikigai. Although these four things are part of ikigai, there’s also something missing.
Ken Mogi is a Japanese neuroscientist and author of the book, “Awaken Your Ikigai.” According to him, ikigai must also be “private and ephemeral.”
Mogi believes that the factor of profession or getting paid to do what you love, doesn’t always apply. And that you can still find your ikigai even if you don’t make money from doing something you’re passionate about.
A study supports this idea, which shows that a survey in 2010 revealed that only 30% of Japanese people who have ikigai say that their career is their ikigai.
In addition, a study that was conducted in Kyotango, Kyoto, revealed that ikigai could be as simple as a hobby you enjoy doing every day. Kyotango is another area in Japan that has a large number of people who are over the age of 100. The average mortality rate in this area is three times more than the average in Japan.
The study showed that the elderly people in the area practiced an enjoyable hobby every day, with one man considering his ikigai as fishing, a woman identifying her ikigai as carving traditional Japanese masks, and another man painting every day.
The study also revealed that these elders who practiced an enjoyable daily hobby had high levels of DHEA hormones, which as mentioned earlier, is known to have anti-aging effects.
According to this view of ikigai, you don’t have to earn money from doing something you love because the mere act of enjoying or finding joy in what you do and doing it every day can already be your ikigai.
Aside from a daily hobby, Mogi also states that social connection is also important, being authentic, being mindful, and finding joy in little things are also needed to find true ikigai.
MANIFEST YOUR IKIGAI WITH A NEW YEAR VISION BOARD
Can you manifest finding your ikigai amidst the chaos and stress of everyday life? Yes, you can. By making an ikigai vision board, you get a daily reminder of how to find joy in your life, so you can reap the benefits of physical and psychological health brought about by doing something you love.
Here are some tips for making an ikigai vision board:
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MAKE AN IKIGAI VENN DIAGRAM DREAM BOARD
Remind yourself of the pillars of ikigai so you can find your passion, mission, vocation, profession, and enjoyable hobby.
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MAKE A HOBBY VISION BOARD
Create a vision board filled with pictures of all the thighs that bring you joy. It could be painting, fishing, spending time in nature, playing tennis, playing the piano, and anything simple that brings you joy.
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CREATE A SOCIAL CONNECTION BOARD
Put pictures of loving family members, friends, and enjoyable community activities. Remind yourself that you need to belong, feel loved, and connect with others to have a good social connection, which is also one of the keys to longevity.
Joining like-minded individuals who have the same passion can be one way to improve your social connection. The Vision Cloud is able to provide you with a platform where you can meet individuals around the world who are also finding their joy and happiness, or ikigai.
With a mission to help create successful and happier lives, The Vision Cloud makes it easier for you to design and create the life of your dreams with the use of vision boards, as well as exercises in the Law of Attraction.
Offering The Vision Cloud vision board monthly subscription, not only do you receive a physical vision board magazine, but you’ll get access to an exclusive Facebook community of people who are also seeking love, joy, and happiness in their lives.
Not only that, but as a subscriber, you also get invited to a yearly conference, where you get to meet these like-minded individuals, as well as learn more about vision boards, wellness, and manifesting your dream life.
Find your ikigai with The Vision Cloud by clicking this link for more information, and get to experience joy and happiness with vision boards and so much more.
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CREATE A VISION BOARD OF THINGS YOU’RE GOOD AT
Are you a stellar athlete? Are you good at your job? Find the things you’re good at and make a vision board that reminds you of these things. Knowing you’re good at something can boost your self-esteem, give you confidence, and make you feel good about yourself.
These are also the things that you can offer the world, which gives you a feeling of being needed by the community.
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MAKE A VISION BOARD OF YOUR CAREER
What are you being paid for? Is it your marketing and sales skills? Or maybe you’re being paid to build houses, or teach kids?
If you’re paid to do something, that means you’re good at it, and that instantly makes you feel important, valued, and seen.
Make a vision board of your career achievements, your salary, and how you are appreciated at your workplace.
Finding your ikigai will bring benefits to every aspect of your life, and you’ll finally find joy and happiness in your life. Whether you make a vision board at the start of the year to welcome the new year, or you make an ikigai vision board right now, knowing that finding your joy and doing it every day is key to a long, happy, and healthy life.
Manifest ikigai in your life with a New Year vision board that helps you create a life that’s worth waking up to every single morning.
