ikigai

ikigai

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  DO YOU HAVE IKIGAIIN YOUR LIFE? 12/14/2016 Creativity and Wealth Planning by Michelle Harding, Business Coach, Old Mutual Private Wealth Management How do I connect my Ikigai and my Financial Planning?
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  DO YOU HAVEIKIGAI IN YOUR LIFE? Page 1 “What?” I hear you say. “Is this the new way of hara-kiri? Please speak English!” You exclaim. Ikigai is a Japanese word that encapsulates the philosophy of “your reason for living”. It extends further to believing your life is worth living. No country or language has a monopoly on the term – think French – Raison d’etre – or Italian – Ragion d’essere. “ Ah finally, I get you.” You say. “Sounds a lot more like fun than falling on your sword!” What the Japanese did do was to study the concept and scientifically measure the impact of having meaning in your life in terms of longevity, happiness and health. Please don’t fall on your sword!! hara-kiri; noun: harakiri ritual suicide by disembowelment with a sword, formerly practised in Japan by samurai as an honourable alternative to disgrace or execution. Thousands of respondents between 40 and 79 were surveyed in 1994 on whether they had Ikigai in their lives. For further information see: Toshimasa Sone et al, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
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  DO YOU HAVEIKIGAI IN YOUR LIFE? Page 2 In this study over a period of 7 years it became apparent that there was a measureable link to lower stress levels and better self-rated health. Ikigai has a particular impact in terms of cardio vascular health – specifically strokes. “Enough with all the theory – where are you going with this?” You ask. The significance of discovering your ikigai – reason to wake up – is, that apart of living a life with purpose, you can also plan to follow more than one. Or you can devote your life to realizing your ikigai. “How do I find my ikigai? Is it difficult and expensive? Will it take a lot of time?” I hear you think out loud. No, to all of the above. Ikigai can be found when you take some time out to sit still and be quiet. It will be the first thing that will jump into your mind. The thing or things that you would love to do when you have more time and money. Think about what fascinates you. Can you submerge yourself entirely in this passion? It can be so strong that you are already living it. Breathing it.
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  DO YOU HAVEIKIGAI IN YOUR LIFE? Page 3 It may ask you to pursue it with warrior-like alliance that sets it apart from other hobbies or pursuits. It is also described as a healthy passion that makes you feel as though life is worth living. Ikigai allows you to have the freedom to decide how much you want to freely give to it. It may or may not be linked to an economic status or daily state of things. It can be something as simple as caring for others. Some people find it in opening their mind to new possibilities. This could entice you into a limitless amount of spontaneous and life-changing opportunities. The basis of ikigai is not to only enrich your own life, but also to enhance the lives of others. You can have as many ikigais as you like, throughout your life. There is no reason that you can’t have more than one ikigai at any particular period in your life. Ikigai makes you feel a part of something special and is an inherent aspect of who you are. The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and play, his labour and his leasure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his visions of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he is always doing both. James A. Michener. A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. (or a woman!) Abraham Maslow.
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  DO YOU HAVEIKIGAI IN YOUR LIFE? Page 4 Defining your ikigai is a very personal and private journey. Combining it with some pro- active financial planning can result in achieving what you dream and maybe much, much more! “I knew it” You triumphantly explode “There has to be a catch”. Rude awakening? Not at all. Even if we have been all warm and fuzzy up to now – all that dreams require to become a reality – is some good old fashioned goal setting and planning. All you need is your ikigai, a how, some action and voila! You are there already. Playfully using the Private Wealth Management Lifestyle Financial Planning Circle and substituting some terms for ones you have come to know as part of your ikigai : 1. Substitute Lifestyle with Ikigai. This is your goal, dream or passion. 2. Return – this is the first part of the how. You now get physical and take some warrior-like action. 3. And 4. These are the next parts of the how – how will you invest and how much risk can you take. This should bring you successfully to the date when you can take off and live the Ikigai!! Credit to the following writers: Creative by Nature – by Christopher Chase Ikigai and Mortality – by Christopher Peterson Ph.D. The good life. Discover your Ikigai (Your Reason for Living) – Alex Myles, author of An Empath
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  DO YOU HAVEIKIGAI IN YOUR LIFE? Page 5
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  DO YOU HAVEIKIGAI IN YOUR LIFE? Page 6