Discovering Your Ikigai: The Path to Purpose and Fulfillment for Adults in Training
- Sascha Kuhlmann
- Mar 22, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 9
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that roughly translates to "a reason for being." It became popular in the West after researchers noticed that people in Okinawa, one of the world's Blue Zones, seemed to have something most of us lack: a clear sense of why they get up in the morning.
The concept gets visualized as four overlapping circles:
What you love doing. What you are good at. What the world needs. What you can get paid for.
Where all four overlap is your ikigai.
Source: Bend Friedman - https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/
Why this matters in midlife
Most people arrive in their 30s, 40s, or 50s with a growing sense that something is off. The career that made sense at 25 feels hollow at 45. The life you built starts to feel like it belongs to someone else.
This is not a crisis. It is a signal.
Ikigai offers a framework for figuring out what is actually missing. Not by throwing everything away, but by getting honest about which parts of your life align with who you are and which parts you inherited by accident.
How to actually use this
Start by asking yourself four questions. Write down the answers.
What do I genuinely enjoy doing? Not what looks good. Not what I should enjoy. What actually feels good when I am doing it.
What am I good at? This includes skills you have developed and talents that come naturally.
What does the world need that I can provide? This does not have to be grand. Teaching, making, fixing, listening, organizing. Small contributions count.
What can I get paid for? This is about sustainability, not greed.
Look for the overlaps. Where do two or three circles meet? Where do all four?
The goal is not to find one perfect answer. The goal is to notice patterns and start making choices that pull your life toward the center.
The catch
Ikigai is not a destination. It is a direction.
You do not find it once and then coast. You find it, lose it, find it differently. Life changes. You change. The center moves.
What matters is paying attention. Noticing when something feels alive and when something feels dead. Adjusting.
That is the practice.
If you have used ikigai in your own journey, share your experience in the comments.
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