If I’m completely honest with all of you, it has not been the best week. I dealt with some ridiculous drama last week that was completely unnecessary, had a really tiring Thanksgiving weekend, and just had to cancel my big Australian summer trip that I’d been planning since August. So there’s really no better time to be reflective and look at life!
I’d been sitting at my desk for an hour trying to talk to an agent over at Aeroplan to cancel my flight (50 minute wait on the phone just to find out how much this cancellation would cost me!) and was staring at this empty blog when I decided to look over at LinkedIn. There, I saw a video post from Paul Regan talking about 生き甲斐 – Ikigai. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard the word, but I remembered what it was pretty quickly.
- 生き – Life
- 甲斐 – Effect / Result / Worth
Ikigai – A Visual Breakdown
Essentially, your ikigai is your purpose. The meaning in your life. What makes all the bull you go through worthwhile. As I watched the video, I wondered, what exactly my purpose had become. For the longest time, I thought my purpose was to perform. I wanted to be on the stage, even if wasn’t my job. After living in South Korea though, I’ve become too insecure in myself to want to be on stage again, so the question stands – what is my purpose?
Since moving to Brockville, I’ve thrown myself into my work. I’ve become very passionate about the tourism industry in my city, getting our attractions online and thinking about the people beyond our town’s borders. It’s something I’m good at. It’s something I’m paid for. I enjoy doing it. I think it’s something my community needs. In my work life, social media has easily become my ikigai.
But then there are days like today where, even on a good work day, I wonder if I need a personal ikigai to keep me going. I barely have hobbies these days, let alone a passion or a reason for being that isn’t just work. So for all of you out there reading this – what is your ikigai? What keeps you going through the tough days? Leave some of yours in the comments below, or help me find mine!