Introduction
Ikigai is a book of Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia published in April 2016. Francesc Miralles is an award-winning author who has written a number of bestselling self-help and inspirational books. Héctor García is a citizen of Japan, where he has lived for over a decade, and of Spain, where he was born. He is the author of several books about Japanese culture, including two worldwide bestsellers, A Geek in Japan and Ikigai. Ikigai is a self help genre book. It tells about the secret of a long and happy life of Japanese people. So let’s turn on again. (Ikigai Summary)
Summary
“Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning.”
Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia
Ikigai
Something like a miracle is happening in Japan’s Okinawa Island for many years. Okinawa is a small island in Japan where most people live more than 100 years. And the life age of the rest of the people is 80 to 90 years. All the people of Okinawa, they never retire and work happily till they die. Even in thier dictionary there is no word like retirement. That is, the longest, good and happy life in the whole world lives in Okinawa, Japan.
But how can this happen? The answer is very simple. They use a technique called ‘Ikigai’
Ikigai
Although Ikigai has many similar meanings like ‘Life to be Worthwhile’ or ‘Purposeful Life’. But knowing the true meaning is that the ‘Reason for living life’.
This technique invented by Japanese people helps them to achieve their life goals.
One has to go through 4 routes to get to Ikigai. First you have to find a job that you like. Second, you have to do the work in which you are good at. Third, you have to do the work that puts money in your pocket. Fourth, you have to do that work so that the needs of the world can be fulfilled. And when you get experience of these four paths in one work then you will get your destination i.e. Ikigai.
Let us understand it in detail.
As we told you have to find that work which you love very much. There is definitely a wish in everyone’s life that they want to do in their life. All you have to do is recognize that work. It will come in the first circle.
In the second circle, you have to do that work in which you are the best. Every one of us is perfect in some work or the other. We only have to do those things.
In the third circle, you have to find a way to earn from your work. Many times it happens that whatever you like and you are good at that work, yet that work fails to fill your pocket. That’s why you have to find a job that can pay you.
The most important work is that it should be useful for others also. And so that others also benefit. That’s why in the fourth circle you have to choose such a work which is needed by the people of the world.
Now when you reach the first and second circles, you will be sure to get your passion. You will get your passion only by doing work of your choice and your perfection.
When you will move from second to third circle which will also pay you for your due work then you will get your profession. (Ikigai Summary)
You will get your vocation from the third and fourth circles. That is, the work you like and you are good in that work and you are earning from it. And now the world also needs the same work, then you will get your vocation.
And then with your work you will start fulfilling the needs of the world, then you will also get your mission.
And only among these four you will get your Ikigai
The key rules of Ikigai
Never Retire
As we mentioned in the beginning, there is no word like retirement in Japanese dictionary. There is no importance of this word in the life of those people. The residents of Okinawa set out in search of their Ikigai as soon as they regain their senses and after attaining Ikigai, they continue to do the same work that makes them happy until their death.
Eat but not full stomach
The people of Okinawa say never to overeat, they follow a technique called Hara Hachi Bu. In this, people have to fill only 80 percent of their stomach. The residents of Okinawa always eat as much of their food as they can to fill their stomach, which then they stop saying that they may not be hungry anymore.
The “Okinawa Diet” includes at least five servings of at least seven types of fruits and vegetables each day. They include food with colors like rainbow in their servings. They rarely eat sugar and if they do, it is cane sugar. The average daily intake of an Okinawa is about 1,900 calories. They also eat about half the salt compared to the rest of Japan.
Surround Yourself with Good peoples
The people of Okinawa are often friendly with each other. They often start the morning by drinking green tea with each other before starting their work.
Reconnect with Nature
The people of Okinawa and Japan have always believed in being connected to nature. The residents of Okinawa get their necessities from nature; they grow their needs like fruits and vegetables in their own garden or believe in getting fresh from the nearby local market.
Finding flow
If you have discovered the meaning of your life, you need to immerse yourself completely in the experience without being distracted by the surroundings and you can find the flow.
Exercise
Okinawa people over the age of eighty and ninety are always very active. They walk a lot, and happy with their neighbors and get up early in the morning. They neither go to the gym nor does intense exercise, but they rarely stop moving during their daily routine. They give more importance to walking rather than vehicles. Because of doing the work of their choice, they are always active in their work.
Wabi Sabi
The Japanese believe that only imperfect, and momentary things are beautiful because they resemble nature. The book ends after being introduced to another Japanese technique called wabi-sabi. This technique talks about finding beauty in imperfect, unfinished things. Here the flawed is preferred over the perfection.
Follow your Ikigai
If we need any best example to follow our Ikigai, they must be residents of Okinawa. They start searching for their Ikigai from the very beginning and always try to follow them as if they are their motive. We should also aspire to achieve our Ikigai in the same way so that we can get our mission of life.
And this is how the book ends
Some quotes we all need to know
“The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”
Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia
Ikigai
“The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.”
Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia
Ikigai
“Training the mind can get us to a place of flow more quickly. Meditation is one way to exercise our mental muscles.”
Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia
Ikigai
“When doing business in Japan, process, manners, and how you work on something is more important than the final results” (Ikigai Summary)
Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia
Ikigai
Rating
5/5
Conclusion
In today’s materialistic world, it can be very difficult to find your ‘Ikigai’ – your reason to get out of bed every morning, something that makes you happy. But there are people in this world who are over a hundred years old, who are active, and happy, doing what they love! If they can be so passionate at their age, why can’t we?
This book teaches a lot about how to nurture our friendship, and how to overcome our personal fears and anxieties, in order to lead a fulfilling life.
This is a very important lesson, because there are some things in life that we cannot change, no matter how hard we try, and we have to learn to be happy inspite of that. If we let the past dominate us and worry about the future, it will destroy us. The present is the most important time of all, and we have to pay attention to that. Even if you haven’t found something you’re passionate about, that’s fine. It will take time, but you will get it. Once you find your Ikigai, the wait will be worth it.
Ikigai Summary
Read all Quotes of ‘Ikigai’, Click Here
About the Author
Francesc Miralles is an award-winning author who has written a number of bestselling self-help and inspirational books. Héctor García is a citizen of Japan, where he has lived for over a decade, and of Spain, where he was born. He is the author of several books about Japanese culture, including two worldwide bestsellers, A Geek in Japan and Ikigai.
