I’ve just heard about the concept of Ikigai, for me it certainly came about at the right time. I’ve been travelling for nearly a month now and at first struggled quite a lot with it. The main reason being that as always, I seem to live in the future. And not knowing what I would be doing after travelling filled me with anxiety. I found it hard to relax and enjoy the experience when I knew there was so much unknown.

Anyway as the weeks have gone on, I’ve started to realize what’s truly important to me and what I strive towards. The essence of that is ‘Ikigai’.

What is Ikigai you ask ?

‘The Japanease Secret to living a long and happy life’

I’m sure you would agree that if you can live a life that allows you to do something you love, that you are good at, something the world needs and you can be paid for too is pretty much hitting the sweet spot in life. This is the idea of ‘Ikigai’.

And with achieving Ikigai it’s said that you have happiness, fulfillment and it can make you live-longer.

So the next question I guess you are going to ask, is how do I achieve this?

Well firstly sit down with a pen and paper and ask and answer the questions below
1. What do I love? (your passion)
2. What am I good at? (your vocation)
3. What does the world need? (your mission)
4. What can I be paid for now? (your profession)

This is exactly what I have done.

Once you’ve written down the answers to the questions above think about applying the 10 rules that can lead you to Ikigai.

These rules are:

1. Stay active and don’t retire
2. Leave urgency behind and adopt a slower pace of life
3. Only eat until you are 80 per cent full
4. Surround yourself with good friends
5. Get in shape through daily, gentle exercise
6. Smile and acknowledge people around you
7. Reconnect with nature
8. Give thanks to anything that brightens our day and makes us feel alive.
9. Live in the moment
10. Follow your ikigai

It wasn’t until yesterday that things really clicked. I guess I have been trying to get away from a life that’s actually perfect for me.

What do I mean?

My passion is sport, Handstands and performing.
I’m good at handstands and most sport related things
The world needs me to help people get fit and also inspire people through my performing.
And I can be paid for for both these things.

So being a personal trainer and be a performing artisit allows me to lead the lifestyle that I absolutely love and am so passionate about. Why would I possibly want to give this up ……

Find your Ikigai and live a life full of happiness 😀