Not Ikigai (but it's still how I got here)- My Journey to Alignment

Ikigai is a Japanese word that means 'reason for being'.

I've heard various stories about its origin but for the purpose of this article, I am going to talk about the Westernized usage - you may have seen that Venn Diagram floating around on the internet.

It basically refers to finding fulfilling and purposeful work and as 2023 was all about finding alignment, this created a nice framework.

It is made up of 4 parts and the theory goes that if you can find something that straddles all four areas, you will find the aforementioned purpose and fulfillment. The way I approached it was to write a list for each of the headings, making it as exhaustive as possible. I've also included notes in the brackets for if you attempt it yourself. Consider:

• What you love (and note what you don't love too)

• What you are good at (be aware that you can get better at things)

• What the world needs (you don't need to help EVERYONE)

• What you can get paid for (get imaginative, the internet blows this wide open)

Below is just an example - you should keep expanding on it and seeing where your curiosity takes you, revisiting it as many times as you need. The goal is to create hypotheses - things you can trial in the real world. These generate data that you can use to refine the concept further

An example

I love assimilating and collecting ideas from people and books and then thinking about them. I love relaying this information to others (and thus further refining the ideas). I am good at writing and can get better for sure (I love the process). I also love it as a medium for relaying information (vs video for example). There is a lot of doom and gloom in the world world with social media creating a veneer of happiness while anxiety, depression, and the pursuit of external validation reign supreme. I think I can help people shake off the conditioning and fear and help them lead more fulfilling lives. Finally, there are countless ways of monetizing this via coaching or YouTube, etc. - but given that I love writing, articles or a newsletter would make the most sense.