Summary

The website content discusses the importance of finding one's "why," or purpose in life, through the concept of Ikigai, a Japanese philosophy that intersects what one loves, what the world needs, what one is good at, and what one can be paid for.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the significance of understanding one's inner drive, or "why," as a catalyst for personal growth, motivation, and productivity. It references Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" and introduces the concept of Ikigai, a Japanese principle that suggests aligning one's passions, talents, and vocation with what the world needs to achieve a fulfilling life. The text explains that Ikigai is a balance of four elements: doing what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. Finding one's Ikigai is presented as a path to a meaningful and joyful existence, providing direction, decision-making clarity, and the ability to prioritize effectively. The article also warns against the pitfalls of setting overly ambitious goals that may lead to negative pressure and suggests that one's vision should evolve with personal changes over time.

Opinions

The author believes that knowing one's "why" is crucial for discipline, focus, and motivation.
It is posited that a clear vision is more important than setting goals for personal growth.
The article suggests that a strong inner drive can lead to better performance and productivity.
Simon Sinek's Golden Circle concept is endorsed as a model to understand the success of individuals and organizations.
The author asserts that a clear "why" facilitates quick and correct decision-making.
The concept of Ikigai is presented as an effective method to find one's purpose and reason for being.
The article implies that aligning one's career with their Ikigai can lead to a more fulfilling professional life.
It is emphasized that one's vision should inspire enthusiasm, creativity, and confidence.
The author advises that the search for one's "why" is a dynamic process and that visions may change over time.
The text encourages regular reflection on one's vision to ensure it aligns with current needs and circumstances.

How to find your exact Reason for Being

Once you know your WHY, you’ll find your WAY.

In order to develop yourself to your best possible version and unfold your full potential, you must be aware of your why, your inner drive.

A strong inner drive helps you to be more disciplined, focused, and motivated.

Additionally, having a clear vision for your life or even a mission that you dedicate yourself to will allow you to perform productively.

For personal growth, it is inevitable to set clear goals. However, what’s even more important is to have a bigger vision. Before defining your goals, you need to ask yourself why you actually want to achieve them. What’s the picture you have in mind? What’s your real desire?

What are the things that drive you to give your best every day?

What could motivate you to go the extra mile and take more steps than necessary?

Why do you want to go beyond your own limits?

The answers to these questions are all hidden in your personal why.

In his bestseller, “Start With Why”, Simon Sinek describes the so-called Golden Circle. Sinek uses this model to explain the difference between successful and unsuccessful organizations and individuals. According to the bestselling author, every person knows what they are doing, but very few know why they are doing something.

Marketing and advertising mainly communicate what is done and how it is done. As a reaction to this information, the sale of a particular product is expected. In contrast to these facts, the why describes the values, beliefs, and purpose. Sinek states that only the why triggers emotions in and enables us to differentiate from other people and organizations.

Additionally, a clear why enables you to make quick and correct decisions because you know in which direction you want to move.

Your life consists of different areas such as your health, your finances, your family, your hobbies, and many more. To define your why, you should ask for meaning in all areas of your life. Even if you decide to ignore certain areas of your life for a specific time, you should always keep in mind that they are existing.

Your reason for being needs to trigger enthusiasm, creativity, and confidence.

If you know your why, you will feel more freedom, work passionately on your goals and be able to perform excellently.

However, what’s confusing is that our visions are seldom visible. Finding your exact inner drive is a long process and might require quite a lot of time.

Your vision and inner drive should give your life a significant meaning and a clear direction. At the same time, your power of decision will increase as you only choose things that bring you closer to your vision. Once you have a clear picture of your calling, you will find it easier to set priorities and focus on the essentials.

IKIGAI — An effective way to find your inner drive

If you are still on your path to find your why and your inner drive, a Japanese concept called ikigai might help you tremendously.

Ikigai is an easy concept that can be translated as a sense of life, purpose of existence, or “what it is worth living for”.

In short: your reason for being.

The principle is based on the island Okinawa and is seen as the secret for a fulfilled life. Statistically speaking, Okinawa is home to more 100-year-olds per 1,000 inhabitants than any other place in the world. Therefore researches were conducted to find out what people on the island do differently than most of us.

It was found that the majority of the inhabitants have a clear Ikigai, a purpose of existence. They know their reason for being and live accordingly.

How to find your Ikigai

Your Ikigai is the intersection of four areas that must be present to find your purpose in life:

- What you love - What the world needs - What you’re good at - What you do for a living

The intersection of these four fields is what truly drives you in life.

Source: Toronto Star, diagram by Mark Winn.

What you love

What are the things that light up your heart? What are you genuinely excited about throughout your days?

Your Ikigai, your purpose in life needs to be something that you love. You can’t give 100% and perform productively on something that you don’t like at all.

Make a list of all the things that you genuinely love and use it as the base for all the following questions.

What the world needs

To be truly fulfilled in life, you’ll want to do something that the world needs. Solving a problem and helping people is crucial when thinking about your inner drive. If you do something that you love, but nobody needs you, you will soon get to feel useless, no matter how much you love your work.

What you can be paid for

I don’t think that your true calling must always be found in your profession, but I am sure that it makes life easier if that’s the case.

In general, we spend a huge part of our lives at work. If your profession is your true calling, you will definitely have a better time.

That’s also what Ikigai is based around: Your inner drive and purpose should be something that you can be paid for. Only if that’s the case, you can entirely focus on it, improve yourself, and deliver high value.

Doing something that you love and that the world needs will give you delight and fullness, however, if you can’t get paid for it, you’ll need to do something different for a living, which will probably not fulfill you at all.

What you are good at

Last but not least, your purpose should be aligned with your skills and talents. Sure, you can always improve and grow. However, it makes sense to focus on a field where you have an advantage. Being good at something will additionally boost certainty and your self-confidence.

Finding and living one’s own Ikigai brings joy and deep inner satisfaction into your life. This is because you follow what fulfills you and at the same time, create a benefit for the world.

If you are still struggling to find your inner purpose in life or currently re-orienting in life, you should use the Ikigai principle and give it a try.

Two more things that you should be careful about

Be careful not to build up negative pressure because of your big vision. Your vision should positively drive you and not create inhibitory feelings.

Too high demand on yourself is not the point. To be energized and work productively, you need to be satisfied, not under pressure.

Even if a vision is something that is focused on the long-term, you must not be too stubborn. You should regularly reflect on whether the vision you have defined still applies to your needs.

If your life circumstances change, you may need to redefine your purpose and vision.

That is no defeat, but rather something positive.

Changes indicate that you are evolving. It would be a pity if you only define a vision once and work towards it without reflection, even though your demands may already have changed.

The search for your personal why is a long process, and your vision may change over the years. Fortunately, there are great tools like the Ikigai method to help out.