Ikigai- Reason To Live
Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy to life whereby “Iki” means To Live and “Gai” means Reason. So, it simply means Reason to Live. It has been a well-known fact that the Japanese have a longer life span especially those based in Okinawa. They have practised the Ikigai style of living to the core especially away from the noise and bustle of city living.
The average mortality age for males will be 84 years of age and for females, it will be 90 years of age. They also have a record number of centurions. Therefore, let’s go into the 8 ways to embrace the spirit of Ikigai living. Hope it will inspire us to lead a meaningful life ahead.
1) Find a Job that you Love
This looks like a complex diagram but to put things in a simplified manner. It will be to find a job you love and you will never feel like working. As you mesh your job with your passion or hobby, it makes you look forward to going to work. There will definitely be fewer negative vibes as we do not have to pull ourselves to work.
Moreover, practicality sometimes comes into the picture as due to our financial obligations, we have to find a higher paying job that we might not really like. Life is full of compromises, perhaps we can look into lowering our expectations on the type of housing or car that we need. I believe wealth is not measured by just how much you have in your bank but it is more of a holistic approach. Happiness should be ranked high up there in the calculation of your net worth.
2) Take it Slow
We have been tuned to get things done in a jiffy. However, at times, perhaps it is good to slow down especially during periods we have control over such as our meal times or off days.
Slow living is a lifestyle and so we should just take time to enjoy what we are doing. Take the first step with your meals and don’t gobble down your food but learn to appreciate it.
3) Don’t Fill Your Stomach
It seems like we are still in the food portion and it is actually healthy to just eat till you are 70%-80% full. There has been even a more extreme method used by a prominent politician whereby he took the advice of his mum. She advised him to stop eating once you feel the food is getting delicious. So, is that going to be just 2 mouthfuls? Anyway, he is still in tip-top condition at his current age of 95.
A more practical approach would be just having smaller serving plates and you would naturally eat lesser. Oh yeah, do cut down on your sugar intake.
4) Surround Yourself with Good Friends
It is always better to have someone to share life little moments. Good friends make you laugh louder, smile brighter and live better. However, in this world, there are lots of superficial people and many fair-weathered friends.
Therefore, it is during a crisis that you can weed out those that are going to abandon you. The silver lining is that you can find those that are going to stand by you no matter what the world is throwing at you. It will usually be just 2-3 true friends left and it is good enough.
Treasure those good friends dearly as they are precious and make the effort to catch up on at least a weekly basis.
5) Smile
Guess the easiest therapy to a good enriching life would be to smile often. It could be just watching some comedies or taking in some silly and lame jokes. Life is short and so try not to be too serious about it; let loose and enjoy the many pleasures life have for you.
By smiling, you will naturally have a more positive mindset. Just a fun fact, it takes 46 muscles to frown and 17 muscles to smile. Thus, try not to overexert your face muscles. Most importantly, smiling has good effects on your body as it not only lowers your heart rate but also relaxes your body. Say Cheese.
6) Reconnect with Nature
Nature Heals. Try to reconnect with nature through activities such as gardening or just taking a walk around your nearest park. It will do wonders if you do it consistently. A healthy mind gives a healthy body.
7) Give Thanks
Honestly, the world is getting more and more practical. There is a general lack of community spirit whereby your neighbours could jolly well just be a stranger you met when you check into a hotel during your business trips.
Therefore, try to make this world a better place by giving thanks and humans usually will reciprocate kindness with kindness. Gratefulness makes others happy and naturally makes you happy too. We should embrace this abundance mindset and Let’s Start by Giving Thanks.
8) Exercise
Lastly, for the Ikigai lifestyle, we should find time to exercise regularly. It need not be intense and could just be a leisure walk. Most importantly by exercising, we are releasing endorphins that will relieve stress and make us feel better.
Time to get your sports shoes out and take the first step by just starting with a leisure walk and gradually move up the intensity if need be.
With that, we are done with the 8 important elements of living a long and healthy life through the Ikigai philosophy originated from Japan. Hope you find it useful and do subscribe to our website for regular updates.
So get this book on Ikigai if you have not done so as this article is just a summary of this wonderful book. Deeply appreciate it if you can use our link here to purchase the book to support The Living Notes. Namaste!
Till our next post; Stay Healthy, Be Positive and Live Well. Bring on the Ikigai into your Lifestyle.
