There are people who at an early age know what they want to do with their life and go on to do it. For me, and perhaps for many, it has always been a challenge. A constant exploration of what it is that I really want to do, what I am good at, what I enjoy, and what I want to contribute to the world. This especially became more challenging when I moved to Finland and my ‘world’, the landscape, the society and community changed.
In my search, I have explored a lot of approaches and models but none have spoken to me or have given me the answers I sought as did the Japanese concept of Ikigai. Ikigai is made up of two words: iki which means life and gai, which means value or worth. Putting these words together, we have — “value of life” or as described, “a reason for being” [source]. Ikigai brings you joy in life (not just your work). This version of the “Ikigai” diagram captures the basic idea, although it does not fully represent the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which is more about valuing life everyday, a topic I will not delve into here.
However, when I saw this diagram presented at an event, I immediately connected with it. I saw it as something that could help me identify my purpose as the diagram intersects four aspects that I find important. It consists of four circles and at the intersection of all four is where you are meant to find the sweet spot between what you love to do, what you are good at, what the world needs from you and what you can be paid for. The diagram also offers what one might feel at the other intersections where not all four are met.
“Taking the time to invest in yourself, understanding yourself and what is important to you, is the most important time you’ll ever take in your life.”
In this post, I share how I used the diagram to identify what I want to pursue. There are many posts out there that talk about the Ikigai diagram but many just present the model generally with no concrete examples. I want to share how I actually used it, my approach and thinking, and perhaps this will bring insights into how you can use it. You can also use it if you currently have a job or career but wish to become more specialized, change or just need reaffirmation.
“A job is not your permanent address”
Let’s start with each circle and list down the answers to each.
What you love, enjoy, care about
Under this, list down all the things you love to do, that you enjoy doing, find interesting, exciting and motivating, that you lose yourself doing for hours. This shouldn’t be a hard list to come up with – if you love it, you must be doing it in some way, or you miss doing it. When writing this list, leave money out of the equation, just think about what you enjoy. It can end up being like 10 pages and that is alright, it will get narrowed down.
What you are good at
This relates to talents, skills and competencies. This is not an easy one to answer, as we are often not very good at assessing our own competencies. We either overestimate or underestimate our abilities. But leaving ego, modesty and self-doubt aside, and again not considering whether you are getting paid for this or not, think about what you are good at, what you do effortlessly, what people come to you for, what you can be good at with just a little bit of training, what qualities are your strengths? Write it all down.
What does the world need (…that you can give)
The world needs a lot, but this list is more about what the world needs that you can give. It can be your skills, passion, perspective, culture, etc. Think about which problems in your society would benefit from your passion / skills for solving them. What problems do people come to you to solve for them? Give you their money? The world here can be a community, society, nation, etc. Try to also think long term, what will the world need from you a decade from now, 20 – 30 years from now?
What you can be paid for
Under this circle we can now think about money. We have to think about how to get paid for what we do, to put food on the table and more. Preparing this list requires some research. Look among the things that you are good at and the things that you love to do, list down the ones that you can get paid for, as well as those that you could be paid for if you improved your skills in them. If you are already doing some work and getting paid for it, can you continue getting paid for it? If yes, list it down. Are other people with similar skills and competencies getting paid for them? If yes, list it down. If your list is empty, then it is time to invest in upping your skills or value. People will always pay for value.
My list (not an exhaustive list)
Here is a snippet of my list and what falls under each of the four circles. I am presenting a relevant snippet of it for readability purposes.
Finding the ‘sweet spot’
Once you have listed down the answers to the four questions, the next step is to look at the intersections. My approach was to take first what I love and what I am good at and find the common things there. Then I intersected that with what the world needs, then finally identified from that list, what I can get paid for. From this exercise, those highlighted in different colors (table above) are what made it to the intersecting section in the diagram.
It might not be easy to find the intersections, but keep digging, revising and rethinking what could be common.
Then look at the items that make it to the list and try to come up with ONE sentence that encapsulates the items. Drilling it into one sentence gives your focus and makes it easier to sell and brand yourself with that one sentence.
If you have many sentences, prioritise and select one, and dedicate your energy to make that one succeed. Of course you can still have your hobbies and side hustles.
For me, my one sentence was “use data analysis, research, and activities, to creatively support people realize and fulfill their potential”. What I also find helps is to come up with a hashtag that represents this sentence. Mine is #actualizedlife. This hashtag can then be used as part of your personal branding for those that need you to find and know you.
To make the one sentence actionable, I advise you to go one step further and find out who can pay you for what you want to do. This can be an entity in the private or public sector, it can be a foundation that gives grants for what you want to do, it can be individuals (customers) that buy your services or products. Think of who can pay you and then start making plans for how to get closer to them, how they can know what you are offering and the value you bring, and then how to actually offer your service to them.
That’s it. If you get to use the above, I would like to hear how you used it and the results in the comments.
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why” – Mark Twain