How To Find And Do Work That You Love (Ikigai)

We all do work and we all can make money. But we want to do something that is purposeful and something that we follow our heart. We want to be able to make money doing that. But the problem is how to find that.

The solution is Ikigai.

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being.” It’s made from two Japanese words: iki, meaning “life” and kai, meaning “effect, result, worth or benefit.” Combined: “a reason for living.” According to Japanese culture, everyone has ikigai. It indicates the value that one finds in their life or the things that make someone feel like their life is valuable.

For many, the opportunity to do what you love is a dream come true. But this doesn’t have to be just a dream. Through the Ikigai exercise, you can be well on your way to turning your dream into your every day life.

How to find your Ikigai?

Start with following questions:

1. What do you love?

2. What are you good at?

3. What does the world need?

4.What can you get paid for?

Ask yourself these questions. You don’t have to force yourself to come up with answers in one sitting. In fact, it’s more productive to take your time.

Let’s see how to use Ikigai concept by looking into myself.

What do you love?

The first question is very easy to answer. Think of your hobbies; think of what relaxes you, of what gives you energy.

For me, I love learning new technologies and creating software. I like to work with tech gadgets like computer, digital camera and learn how they work. Now I am reading my B.sc degree in Software Engineering. So I am doing what I love to do. And also I like to share my knowledge with others.

What are you good at?

The second question relates to your skills and competencies that make you unique. They can certainly be professional (related to what you do at work), but they could also be personal.

For me, I am good at learning things quickly and applying them to solve problems. I can teach as others can understand.

What does the world need?

Question three is all about finding what the world needs. Figuring out what the world needs involves taking what’s going on in the world right now, and how your skills and passions can drive positive change.

The world needs new products to make people’s lives easier. Pandemic situations like Corona virus which is spreading all over the world right now, the world is looking for software solutions increasingly to solve different problems that people are facing.

What can you get paid for?

The last question relates to what the world is willing to pay you for doing. Take what you love and are good at and use those as a way to search for what the market needs based on what you can do. With my skills, I can get paid for developing software to solve problems.

Passion

• If what you love intersects with your strengths, then Ikigai says that you have found your passion. For me, my passion is learning new things. Software Engineering degree gives me opportunities to learn about new technologies not only with course modules but also interactive sessions.

Mission

• If what you love intersects with what the world needs, then Ikigai says that you have found your mission. For me, creating software to solve problems using new technologies is my mission. Software Engineering degree gives me right guidelines to pursue my mission.

Vocation

• If what the world needs intersects with for what you can get paid, then Ikigai says that you have found your vocation. My vocation is providing software solutions for problems that people are facing. The degree program I am following gives theory knowledge as well as practical knowledge to create software. The internship program brings a chance to get a good training.

Profession

• If your strengths intersects with for what you can get paid, then Ikigai says that you have found your profession. For me, I found that my profession is a software developer. As I mentioned earlier, the degree program helps to become an qualified software developer with both theory and practical knowledge and other soft skills.

If what you love doing is something you’re good at doing and something the world needs and what you can be paid for, you’ve found ikigai — your true life’s purpose.

An ikigai, in some ways, is like a compass. Aligning your actions with the “thing that you live for” helps you navigate life ups-and-downs. As your career evolves and you’re presented with more opportunities, you can rely on your ikigai to steer you in the right direction.