Waking up with Joy

 

An interesting idea that was discussed in the previous class and in this one is playing to our strengths. For me, this began with learning what my strengths were and what qualities of myself that I consider to be outliers. Ikigai (生き甲斐), a blissful intersection between what you are good at and what you love doing – while also being able to add value. There was a sense of peace in the class even at the discussion of the Okinawan principle allowing one to jump out of bed each morning due to their Ikigai.

We began by writing down these four basic principles:

What you love (your passion)
What the world needs (your mission)
What you are good at (your vocation)
What you can get paid for (your profession)

The answers to these questions came by after some thought. It was challenging to perhaps ascertain value to the hobbies I consider merely that – an activity to pass time with. After thinking a little while longer, I was able to come to the following conclusion:
1. What I love – I enjoy writing, reading, playing video games, and cooking.
2. What the world needs – For this we were asked to go through the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations. There, I learnt that I might be able to lend value to the world while writing about things that matter – about gender equality, income inequality and various other social dilemmas that a lot of individuals are not aware of.
3. What I am good at – Writing and articulating.
4. What I can get paid for – Bringing awareness about issues that matter.

There is an interesting quote by Albert Einstein that encompasses what I believe about Ikigai and the idea of self-discovery.

“Don’t think about why you question, simply don’t stop questioning. Don’t worry about what you can’t answer, and don’t try to explain what you can’t know. Curiosity is its own reason. Aren’t you in awe when you contemplate the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvellous structure behind reality? And this is the miracle of the human mind — to use its constructions, concepts, and formulas as tools to explain what man sees, feels and touches. Try to comprehend a little more each day. Have holy curiosity.”

Curiosity is a beautiful thing that fosters creativity and allows oneself to expand beyond what they believe they are capable of. After being put in breakout rooms to discuss our ideas of Ikigai, it was this curiosity and understanding that led us to motivate each other to be able to complete our Ikigais. For instance, one of the students in our breakout room wanted to contribute to the world and add value through the art of playing cricket. We discussed how such a concept can be brought to reality, and how although it is different, it can be possible.

An interesting video on IKIGAI that I saw was a TedX talk called How to Ikigai by Tim Tamashiro. Along the learnings from the class, this was an interesting insight on how to develop oursevles through the purposing of IKIGAI.