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What Millennials Can Learn From Centennials About Happiness in Busyness
How the Japanese concept of IKIGAI keeps you busy without being stressed
In our accelerated society, how can we be aware of a long-term fulfilled life? We are constantly busy and under pressure — how can we manage to focus our attention on finding our ikigai?
What is meant by ikigai?
What drives us, and what makes us feel satisfied in our lives?
What makes us feel motivated and energetic as we grow old?
An answer can be found in Japan with the phenomenon ikigai, which can be roughly translated as “the happiness of always being busy.”
This is close to the old psychotherapeutic concept of Viktor Frankl, who stated that people are most motivated and driven by the search for meaning of life.
In a broader and deeper sense, this is what makes people in Japan, especially on the island of Okinawa, easily live to be a hundred years old. And they do so with fewer chronic diseases and incidences of dementia than the global average.
There Is More To A Healthy Life Than Diet, Exercise And Human Interaction
The authors of the book Ikigai — The Japanese secret to a long and happy life get to the bottom of the phenomenon of the long life of these inhabitants.
In addition to apparent factors such as a healthy diet, maintaining social contacts, regular exercise and leading a stress-free life, there is precisely the special ingredient ikigai.
According to centenarians on the island of Okinawa, a clearly defined ikigai brings contentment, happiness and a long life.
No Need To Retire
Ikigai contains the idea that if you have found meaning in life, then you don’t need to retire because you are always busy.
And that keeps you mentally and physically fit.
Ikigai touches four cornerstones in life:
What you love (your passion and mission)
What the world needs (your mission and vocation)
