Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
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“Workers looking for more fulfilling positions should start by identifying their ikigai.” ―Business Insider
“One of the unintended—yet positive—consequences of the [pandemic] is that it is forcing people to reevaluate their jobs, careers, and lives. Use this time wisely, find your personal ikigai, and live your best life.” ―Forbes
Find your ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) to live longer and bring more meaning and joy to all your days.
“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb
According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense of ikigai—where what you love, what you’re good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs all overlap—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy.
In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds—one of the world’s Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they move, how they work, how they foster collaboration and community, and—their best-kept secret—how they find the ikigai that brings satisfaction to their lives. And it provides practical tools to help you discover your own ikigai. Because who doesn’t want to find happiness in every day?
What’s your ikigai?
“Workers looking for more fulfilling positions should start by identifying their ikigai.” ―Business Insider
“One of the unintended—yet positive—consequences of the [pandemic] is that it is forcing people to reevaluate their jobs, careers, and lives. Use this time wisely, find your personal ikigai, and live your best life.” ―Forbes
Find your ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) to live longer and bring more meaning and joy to all your days.
“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb
According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense of ikigai—where what you love, what you’re good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs all overlap—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy.
In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds—one of the world’s Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they move, how they work, how they foster collaboration and community, and—their best-kept secret—how they find the ikigai that brings satisfaction to their lives. And it provides practical tools to help you discover your own ikigai. Because who doesn’t want to find happiness in every day?
What’s your ikigai?
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Community Reviews
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Readers say "Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life" offers inspiring stories and practical lifestyle tips from Okinawa’s long-lived res...
I have been actively exploring self growth books for 7 years and I will say this book does not stand out as life altering. It almost reads as a summary of several books I have read before. Not terrible, but not stellar.
Ikigai is my very first self help book that I ever decided to read. Had come across an article published in a daily newspaper regarding this book and how a person should know one's ikigai, which inspired me to go ahead and read something out of my comfort zone. So I can say reading this book become my Ikigai Hahahaha.
Now comes the question as to did I really like this book & am I still as inspired as i was when I had read that article? The brutal answer is a BIG NO.
According to me the book speaks very very little about Ikigai. The author of the book only quotes and unquotes extract and references from other books, finding and researches. The author focuses more on Viktor Frankl's logotherapy and other such therapies. In my view the author has done very less research of his own while pening this book. As the name of the book (Ikigai: the secret to a long and happy life) suggest I failed to find the secret to a long and happy life with this book.
The authors failed to provide a proper insight into what exactly Ikigai is and how one can attain it. I quite doubt that the authors himself has found his own Ikigai.
Apart from the interviews and certain other practices which the people of Okinawa follow like: to eat only 80% till you are full, to eat small portions rather than larger ones, to engage oneself more in community activities, etc was of use to me. Beside this Ikigai was nowhere to be found.
This book will be last on my recommendation list.
Now comes the question as to did I really like this book & am I still as inspired as i was when I had read that article? The brutal answer is a BIG NO.
According to me the book speaks very very little about Ikigai. The author of the book only quotes and unquotes extract and references from other books, finding and researches. The author focuses more on Viktor Frankl's logotherapy and other such therapies. In my view the author has done very less research of his own while pening this book. As the name of the book (Ikigai: the secret to a long and happy life) suggest I failed to find the secret to a long and happy life with this book.
The authors failed to provide a proper insight into what exactly Ikigai is and how one can attain it. I quite doubt that the authors himself has found his own Ikigai.
Apart from the interviews and certain other practices which the people of Okinawa follow like: to eat only 80% till you are full, to eat small portions rather than larger ones, to engage oneself more in community activities, etc was of use to me. Beside this Ikigai was nowhere to be found.
This book will be last on my recommendation list.
One of the best books that I’ve ever consumed. Everyone should find their Ikigai in order to find themselves.
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