Recognizing Ikigai, the Japanese Philosophy to Live Happily Every Day

sinaumedia Literasi – Have you ever felt bored or lost your motivation in living life, or even at the
extreme point of feeling you have no reason to get up in the morning and do all your usual Sinaumed’s
routine?
This phase is also known as the “crisis of self-existence”, a time when we seem to
have lost our way, oscillated, and isolated between life that continues to move forward.
In
times like these, let alone determining the direction of the future, finding definite reasons to do
things that normally seemed impossible.
Escape from this chaos, finding Ikigai can be the
answer to all forms of your despair, Sinaumed’s!

Ikigai, is the secret of the Japanese to live happily every day. The term ikigai itself comes
from Japanese philosophy with iki meaning life and gai which is also defined as value or meaning.
This principle of life has long been applied by Japanese society since the Heian period (794 –
1185).
As stated by neurologist and author of The Little Book of Ikigai, Ken Mogi, ikigai is
described as the concept of seeking meaning in life through a clear purpose in life.

The term ikigai is often used to describe the idea of ​​happiness in life amidst the pressures of study and
work.
Ikigai as a Japanese concept that describes life purpose or the meaning of life is often
expressed as a person’s reason to get up every day.
In his book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for
Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, Beuttner mentions that the main reason why Okinawan
people live long is ikigai.
Older people in Okinawa feel that they are important because they
have an important social role in their environment.
Everything comes from the determination to
live the purpose of life to be able to continue to be useful for society.

A study from Tokyo University in 2008 examined 50,000 people with an age range of 40 to 79 years, the
result was that 95 percent of participants who had ikigai survived for another seven years.
While the group that does not have ikigai, only 83 percent are still alive. Referring
to Quartz, the latest research results published by JAMA entitled Association Between Life Purpose and
Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years also reveal the same thing.

Life goals are the strongest factor in life expectancy, compared to gender, race, and level of education.
This study also formulated the effect of having a purpose in life on the health implications of the
body.
Most of the participants in the group who had no purpose in life were more susceptible to
various diseases such as depression, heart attacks and strokes.

CLOSER TO KNOW THE IKIGAI CONCEPT

When one finds ikigai, a person will be more enthusiastic and motivated to carry out his daily activities,
school, work, even entrepreneurship he considers something meaningful.
This happens because
there is an understanding of why they do this, what is the purpose, and why does this give full meaning to
their life.
Thus, a person will have a higher level of happiness despite facing high pressures
in life.

IKIGAI is a combination of one’s passion, mission, profession and work. What is meant by
Passion?
Passion is a combination of areas that you like with expertise. What is
meant by Mission?
A mission is a combination of what you are passionate about and what society
needs.
What is meant by Profession? A profession is a combination of an area of
​​expertise and something you can do for pay.
What is meant by Job? A job is a mix
of what society needs and something you can do for pay.
The following is a more complete
explanation, Sinaumed’s, ask these four things to yourself, as early as possible:

WHAT ACTUALLY YOU REALLY LIKE

The saying goes, “Do what you love, love what you do.” Doing something we are fundamentally
passionate about is a great way to find ikigai.
Therefore, as much as possible choose a job
that you like.
This also applies to those who want to start a business from an early age.
Choosing a field of entrepreneurship that suits your hobbies or preferences will certainly be
easier and more fun to live with.
So, start asking yourself what you really like.
Undoubtedly this will guide you in the beginning of the journey to find Sinaumed’s ikigai.

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WHAT IS YOUR EXPERTISE

Preference for a field of work should ideally be balanced with efforts to sharpen expertise in that field.
For example, if you like the world of journalism, start practicing writing regularly so that your
writing skills continue to improve.
Or if you like the IT world, keep updating knowledge
regarding the latest developments in the IT world.
Then try to check, is your job or college
major in accordance with the expertise you have?
Can you continue to hone your skills in your
field so you can produce something better in the future for Sinaumed’s?

WHAT RETURN WOULD YOU
GET BY DOING THIS

It is true that working or entrepreneurship is not solely to make money. However, don’t
neglect the importance of getting reciprocity in the form of income so that your life’s welfare is also
maintained.
For example, for those of you who like the world of photography, join a community
of photo enthusiasts, take part in photography workshops, and so on.
This can be a gateway to
getting a side project or job that might provide additional income now, as well as a better one in the
future for Sinaumed’s!

DOES THE WORLD REALLY NEED IT

Another question to help find ikigai is to ask if the world or environment really needs the product or
service you offer.
This is what differentiates the concept of Ikigai from just passion.
The feeling of contributing to the world will add to the perfection of satisfaction in working or
entrepreneurship.
After trying to answer the question, be kind to yourself. This
process can be started by accepting all the shortcomings and not placing introspective expectations.
By daring to give up all obsessions, you can see things more clearly and positively,
Sinaumed’s!

FIND YOUR IKIGAI BY DOING THIS

After understanding the IKIGAI concept above, what next effort can you make to find ikigai?
Start with these 4 things Sinaumed’s!

  • First, broaden your horizons. Try as many new things as you can. So far,
    have you ever felt that we don’t know ourselves enough, satisfy other people too much or just live life
    according to an existing pattern.
    So you often don’t know what you like, what you don’t
    like or maybe you yourself don’t know what you are going to do next.
  • Second, it’s not bad to do what you don’t like. Because in reality being outside your
    comfort zone will mature you.
    If we only learn what we like, what we are comfortable with,
    when will we develop?
    When did it get stronger, tougher, and more flexible?
    Who knows, from the things you don’t like, you will find the essence of value that you have
    been looking for, Sinaumed’s!
  • Third, don’t be afraid to organize your life, take some action now! Try to get rid of
    self-doubt, such as feeling worthless, feeling inadequate, feeling weak and other self-doubts.
  • Finally, everyone has their own time. There are people who at a young age have achieved a
    lot, there are those who need more time to strive harder.
    Stay focused on yourself and rest
    assured that you will find your ikigai Sinaumed’s!

CHANGING THE PURPOSE OF LIFE AS A SOURCE OF
INCOME

In ikigai, the things you love should also be able to feed you. For those of you who are in
college or school and want to start your own business.
Here are 5 steps you can take to turn
the things you love into your source of income:

FIND PASSION

Because Ikigai is a guide to one’s life goals. Start from what you like then supported with a
mission that can move into a profession and job.
After that, find a business area for that
passion, start doing research using online media.
Look for trends with Google Trends, do
research on forums and social media discussions to get a unique and suitable service (unique selling
proposition) to develop your passion into something valuable and marketable.
Make something
extraordinary, have meaning and be able to make other people’s lives better.

BUSINESS MODELS

Build a business model by drawing a business model canvas. The business model canvas is a
visual representation tool that can comprehensively explain a business process.
With these BMC
tools, we can understand a business in general without having to make business plan documents that are too
long and wide.
The Business Model Canvas consists of 9 main pillars which summarize business
processes starting from:

  • Customer segments: This section will explain who are the potential customers of your product. It can also
    contain profiles of people who have problems that your business will solve
  • Value Propositions: This block contains added value that will make your business look attractive and
    different from other businesses.
    Usually in the form of solutions or innovations that you
    offer and become the main advantage of the product.
    Clear reasons why people choose to use
    your product or service?
    What are the advantages of your business compared to other
    competitors?
    also What’s most interesting about your business model Sinaumed’s!
  • Channel: Simply put, a channel is a business medium that you use to deliver the solutions you offer to
    reach consumers.
    This section is in the form of how can customers find out about the
    product or service you offer?
    How will the product or service reach the customer and is
    this method effective?
  • Customer Relationships: How do you stay connected with customers? How do you make sure
    customers are satisfied after using a product or service?
    The form can also be very
    diverse, ranging from newsletters, after sales services, and the like.
    Also learn about
    laws and regulations related to business.
    If you really have to use the internet for
    marketing, know very well how to market your business via the internet.
  • Revenue Streams: The financial structure of the company, also how does your business make money?
    What products or services do you offer Sinaumed’s?
  • Key Activities: What activities will you do to create a value proposition, as well as the business strategy
    you will implement so that the company’s targets can be achieved?
  • Key Resources: What are the main resources you must have to run a business? What assets
    do you need so that your business can compete with other businesses?
  • Key Partnerships: There is no big business that runs alone, in carrying out a business activity, of
    course we need partners.
    This is where we enter our strategic partners. In a
    business context, partners can be suppliers, vendors, agencies, and the like.
  • Cost Structure In this last part, we must determine what costs are needed to carry out all business
    activities.
    To make things easier, know what cost components are needed for each element of
    key activities, key resources, and channels?
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With these nine blocks, we can actually validate whether a business idea is potential or not.
Therefore, creating a business model canvas is the first thing that is usually needed by a novice
entrepreneur to remain realistic in running his business.

SOURCES OF FUNDING

Finally think about business funding. Remember business funding can use your own money or
other people’s money.
Talking about other people’s money, one can think of funding from banks,
financial institutions, the public (check crowdfunding websites), investors, potential buyers and/or
suppliers. A fact that is often forgotten by many prospective entrepreneurs, that big business always starts
with small steps.
Determine the direction and business goals to go in that direction.
There is no guarantee that everything will be successful, what an entrepreneur has to do is Work,
Study and Pray.
Working on running his business, learning from good experiences and bad
experiences and praying to the Almighty.

EDUTORE

sinaumedia developed an educational platform called Edutore. On this platform, you can access
many question practice books like those in sinaumedia by subscribing.
Edutore has a slogan
“Everyone Can Be Smart” and that is also what Edutore aspires to be.
So that Edutore can
participate in educating Indonesian children.
On the Edutore Youtube Channel, various topics
are discussed, ranging from unique general knowledge such as “Why are the brake lights red”, learning
English with Captain J, to studying with Edutore which contains discussions of questions such as CPNS
synonyms, antonyms, and others.
Check the YouTube account directly, click here.

Above are some tips on finding IKIGAI so you can see far ahead about your life vision. For
those of you who are still in school, and want to start a business as early as possible, why not?
It is important to seek IKIGAI for contribution-based and skill-based development so that you know
about yourself and live the learning process with joy.
Excited to find Ikigai Sinaumed’s!
Have a great adventure finding your ikigai!

Source: from various sources