The Rules Of Ikigai: A Reason To Be

Japanese culture has influenced other cultures. Some Japanese learnings are now crossing our borders. One of the most innovative is ikigai.  The idea is relatively new, but is starting to become very popular. The Japanese concept means “a reason to be”. In this article, we look at exactly what this concept consists of and what the rules for ikigai are.

What is ikigai ?

The rules for ikigai originate from the Japanese island of Okinawa. In this small corner of the world you will find one of the largest populations of centenarians in existence. For this reason, writers such as Dan Buettner decided to study its secrets in the second half of the 20th century.

There were many factors that made the Okinawan people a hundred years old. But among all these secrets , one of the most mentioned of them was ikigai. That was, in their own words, the reason they got up in the morning.

And ikigai is nothing more and nothing less than having a purpose, a personal mission. It is a way of life that involves more than just existing. Achieving this concept requires effort and dedication, but it also offers many benefits.

How to find the purpose in our lives?

In Japanese culture, it is believed that finding the purpose of your life requires two indispensable elements. On the one hand, it is necessary to do activities that make life worth living. These activities are different for each person.

On the other hand, it is required to have a specific mental state and a number of routines to have a purposeful existence. This is exactly what the rules for ikigai are for. It is possible to lay the foundation for a valuable life through them.

The rules of ikigai

As we have seen, following the rules of ikigai is essential to living well according to Japanese culture. But what are these rules and how do we practice them? Let’s go deeper.

1. Find your passion

The first and most important step is to follow your dreams. It is virtually impossible to live a purposeful life if we leave the path that leads us to what we really want to do. But sometimes it is difficult to discover our passion and then follow it.

There are many things that force you to leave your dreams behind and be “realistic”. You already know the established path. Society says that you must have an education, get a secure job and save money to be able to go on holiday for fifteen days a year.

But what about the people who do not want to follow this path? Non-conformists, all kinds of artists, people who like to travel and entrepreneurs. All of them would feel limited by living such a life. Yet they just have to do it and settle down many times.

Fortunately , more and more people are bold enough to follow their own path. In the 21st century, fulfilling your dreams is easier than ever. The biggest obstacle is fear. But if you overcome it, you will find more and more opportunities to achieve your passion.

2. Be active physically and mentally

After working and studying all day , most people want to disconnect. Maybe you like to lie on the couch and watch TV, surf the Internet or eat junk food and have a drink.

But one of the most important rules for ikigai is that you must always be active. No matter how tired you are, you need to take care of your body and mind if you want to find your purpose.

To achieve this, it is important to develop healthy habits. Eat healthy, play sports and learn new things. These are routines that will help you achieve excellence and purpose in your life.

3. Connect with other people

One of the most important points for ikigai is that you have to share your life with others. In loneliness it is more difficult to find the meaning of our existence. Therefore, you need to make sure that your purpose includes relationships with other people that mean something to you.

As we can see, these three rules invite us to feed our ikigai every day with the goal of giving meaning to our existence. However, authors Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles have proposed 10 rules to keep our ikigai strong. They compiled this list after visiting and researching Okinawa for long periods.

Guidelines for ikigai

• Always be active. It is important to do valuable things, to do what we love and to do things that fulfill us. In this way we give beauty and benefit to others.
• Take it easy. Hurrying is not nice. It clouds our minds and makes us make bad decisions. When we bring peace and quiet into our lives, life begins to take on a new meaning.
• Do not eat until you are full. Sometimes less is more often as long as there is a balance. What we eat also affects us.
• Surround yourself with good friends. The people who are in our lives are important to us so that we can experience the feeling of well-being and fulfillment that we are all looking for. A good conversation, sharing a moment and having fun helps us live life more intensely.
• Get in shape before your next birthday. Physical health is important for enjoying good emotional health. In addition, exercise secretes hormones that contribute to happiness.

More guidelines

• Smile. A pleasant attitude towards oneself and others strengthens relationships. It also makes us feel calm. There is nothing more important than learning to enjoy the present.
• Connect with nature. Recharging the soul’s batteries through contact with nature gives us a feeling of freedom and unsurpassed energy.
• Thank. Giving is an act of noble hearts, of those who appreciate the simplicity and complexity of life.
• Live in the moment. All we have is the present, the here and now. So let’s stop thinking about the future. We should also free ourselves from the prisons of the past to increase the flood of joy.
• Follow your  ikigai. There is a passion in each of us, a talent we should discover. We must push ourselves to become the best version of ourselves.

As we can see, it is easier to find our purpose, our ikigai , if we follow these guidelines. Start using them in your life now!