Balance Jan Issue 2018 - 35

Transform:

L I F E ' S PA S S I O N

WHAT I LOVE TO DO

MISSION

PASSION

WHAT I
DO WELL

IKIGAI

VOCATION

PROFESSION

A
.

WHAT THE
WORLD
NEEDS

WHAT I GET
PAID TO DO

cross
a grainy
Skype call,
journalist and
co-author (with Héctor
García) of Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long
and Happy Life, Francesc Miralles poses the
ultimate existential question: If you had just
90 days to live, how would you spend them?
I am on the hunt for my ikigai, one of
the latest imported lifestyle fads that's
crashed into the public consciousness via
Miralles' book and endless magazine features
(including this one). The Japanese concept,
roughly translated, means 'reason for being' or
'reason to wake up in the morning'.
Unlike some that came before (here's lookin'
at you, hygge), this one is backed by some
heartening science (more on this later). In
2009, it also formed the backbone to writer
and explorer Dan Buettner's TED talk How
to Live to be 100+.
In it, he draws a correlation between a
societal belief that each person should have
a defined life's passion (an ikigai) and the
longevity of that society's citizens. He points to
Okinawa, in Japan, and the 102-year-old karate
master who's ikigai is carrying forth the martial
art, and the fisherman, aged 100, who lives to
catch fish for his family. What's more, Buettner
says, when researchers asked the centenarians
what their ikigai was, 'they instantly knew'.
Instantly. Even when I first saw the TED talk
on YouTube two years ago, that word struck
me. What would it be like to instantly

know your life's passion? I like my job,
I love my friends, I don't have any particular
hobbies. Your life's passion, apparently, is that
thing you would do if you had a free Sunday
morning. The thing you become so absorbed
in that the hours blink-by. I'm just not sure rewatching old episodes of Game of Thrones can
(or should) count as anyone's ultimate passion.
'It's OK not to know,' says Miralles. 'Because
then you have a very clear purpose - to find the
thing you're passionate about.' With Miralles as
my sensei, I give myself a week to find mine.

DRINKING SWISS MISTS
Miralles' own question is meant to be a
didactic first step. What would I do with my
final three months on earth? Probably get
drunk with my pals, I admit.
'Maybe your ikigai is being more in touch
with your loved ones. Give them a priority
you're currently not giving them,' he suggests.
The first evening of my quest, then, I spend
drinking Swiss Mists with eight friends.
The following day, I wake in the grip of an
existential hangover.
In the years since Buettner's TED Talk,
which has now been watched 1.4m times, a
number of studies have been published which
point to profound links between neurological
and physical wellbeing and the understanding
of one's purpose in life.

January 2018 BA LA N CE

FI N D YOU R I K I GA I

The ikigai Venn
diagram explained
by Francesc Miralles
WHAT I LOVE TO DO
Remember what you liked to
do as a child? Uninhibited by the
practicalities of life, children
naturally tend towards some
inner passion - this could be as
simple as working in nature.
Devise a way in which you can
build this back into your life,
even if it's just gardening for
a couple of hours a week.

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS
There may be many things you
love to do. One way to work out
what will sustain your passion
and curiosity for years to come
is to look at what impact it'll have
on the people around you.

WHAT I GET PAID TO DO
In a survey of 2,000 Japanese
people, only around 30% said
their job was their ikigai. Novelist
Franz Kafka, for instance, was a
lawyer in an insurance company
but he wrote for four to five
hours every evening. When you
first start, it's better to set
time-related goals on your ikigai
- like promising to spend every
Sunday afternoon on it. With
enough practice, it's likely you'll
ultimately be able to draw some
kind of income from it.

WHAT I DO WELL
Your ikigai is meant to promote a
'flow state'. In psychology this
refers to a mental state where all
consciousness falls away and
you're acutely absorbed by your
task (this has been shown to
have the same kind of positive
benefits as mindfulness). If you
find it too difficult, it's unlikely
you'll ever attain this.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance Jan Issue 2018