Ikigai: The Secret To Live A Long & Happy Life (quick summary)

Ikigai is the Japanese secret in living a long and happy life. According to the Japanese, finding your ikigai (a reason for living) is the key to a happier and longer life.

How is this linked to personal finance? Personal finance is a journey towards achieving certain financial milestones. If the process is not filled with joy, how happy will you be when you attain your goal? It's good if we can find satisfaction while working towards our milestones.

Having a strong sense of ikigai—the place where passion, mission, vocation, and profession intersect—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason you get up in the morning. It’s also the reason why many Japanese never really retire. They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life. That is, the happiness of always being busy.

Iki meaning 'to live' and gai meaning 'reason'. Your Ikigai is your reason to live.

Find your Ikigai in life using the simple steps below.

Find And Follow Your IKIGAI.

Ask yourself these 4 questions.

What do I love?
What am I good at?
What does the world need from me?
What can I get paid for?

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: choosing one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

Take It Slow.

Be passionate about everything you do.
Be relaxed and enjoy all that you do.
Celebrate all the time, even the little joys of life.
Slowing down is a conscious choice and not always an easy one.

' There is nothing wrong in enjoying life's pleasures'.

Don't Fill Your Stomach

Eat only until you are 80% full.

Ways to get started:

Eat slowly.
Focus on food.
Use small vessels.

Surround Yourself With Good Friends

Friends affect your health even more than family.
The key is to have 3 or 4 good friends that care for you the same way you care for them.
Thinking about what you can do help the people closest to you be happier.

Smile

One of the secrets of long life is smiling and having a good time.
Cheerful attitude is very relaxing.
The truth is it takes 46 muscles to frown and only 17 to smile.
People who smile seem more trustworthy and are rated higher in generosity.

Reconnect With Nature

Anybody who wants to grow old needs an ikigai or reason for living.
Gardening gives you something to get up for every day.
Being in nature, living near nature or even viewing nature produces a cascade of positive emotions.

Gratitude

Gratitude increases happiness levels and physical health.
It lowers stress levels and improves optimism.

Exercise

To stay healthy, you don't need to go to gym for an hour daily or run marathons.
All you need is to add movement to your day.
Practice anything like yoga, tai chi. This is an excellent way to seek harmony between your body and mind.

Live In The Moment

Flow is the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems matter.
The experience of doing a task itself becomes highly enjoyable.
The way is to identify tasks that align with your abilities but are still challenging.