Ikigai is an Eastern philosophy of life that has its roots in the Japanese island of Okinawa, home to the world's largest centenarian population. In its simplest form, Ikigai means "the reason for being", the reason you live every day and your motivation to lead a meaningful life.
Today's world is extremely competitive, and we are faced with a fierce struggle in our careers, our studies and the constant pressure to prove our worth and usefulness. Ikigai teaches us to step back and cherish the little things in life that we tend to ignore or take for granted. Ikigai lifestyle is about finding peace and happiness within ourselves rather than trying to find satisfaction in external objects. Your Ikigai can be anything, which does not necessarily mean a career plan or business model. An Ikigai can be as simple as offering flowers to your loved ones or enjoying your favourite breakfast every morning. Anything that makes you want to do something that makes you feel happy can be your Ikigai. The obsession with living in the future and planning for a "bright future" is what people should get their hands on. The future is uncertain and worrying about it is what acts as a source of stress and anxiety in our current lives. The same is true for analysing past actions, what should have been done and what should not have been done. Lingering on the past and worrying about the future makes us forget to live in the present, which is actually the real-time that we have to deal with. Ikigai teaches us to recognize the present and to live in the present, because only by building the present do, we build the future. Ikigai philosophy illuminates the fact that any value or principle that we stand for and that makes our lives happier is worth defending and does not need to be justified by society.
That is why the people of the island of Okinawa have lived for over a century, they love life as it is and live in the present by seeing the positive side of daily life and not attracting the unnecessary stress of society's expectations and materialistic temptations. The renowned Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant in Tokyo, which is the first sushi restaurant in the world to be awarded a Michelin star, is owned by the world's oldest Michelin-starred chef, Jiro Ono, at the age of 94. Ono says, sushi preparation is one of the arts that requires intricate detailing and patience. He loves making sushi and wishes he would die making it. Sushi is his Ikigai and he can very well see the results of such love for his Ikigai. The most important thing is to be grateful to everything around you and to be kind to yourself. As Buddha said, "What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract it. What you imagine, you create."
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