Ikigai: Purpose, Meaning & the Search Within

IKIGAI

It was a Saturday late night and suddenly I found my son coming in, wishing me “Happy Mother’s day, Amma,” and gifting me IKIGAI – the Japanese secret to a long and happy life, a book written by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles. It was the 26th day of melancholy, retrospection, grief, despair, and frustration—an existential crisis after losing my life partner.

Existential crisis is when individuals question whether their lives have meaning, purpose, or value—and are negatively impacted by that contemplation. As human beings, we are often faced with expected or unexpected circumstances and transitions that leave us wondering about the direction of our life. During such periods, it’s very common to feel lost, uneasy, and as though we’ve lost touch with our values and purpose.

But the book in my hand described how, in Japan, everyone has an Ikigai—a reason for living. Where passion, mission, vocation, and profession intersect, each day is infused with meaning. The simple Venn diagram to illustrate this made me curious.

On a Sunday morning without obligations or workweek commitments—a time when you naturally ask, ‘what gets me out of bed?’—the answer is your Ikigai, your purpose. We cannot always control our emotions, but we can take charge of our actions each day. To find answers to the questions: what should I do, what action is right for me?—one must look within and discover their own Ikigai.

Viktor Frankl (founder of logotherapy) believed that human beings do not require a peaceful existence but a challenge to strive for and meet by applying all their skills. In Japan, Dr. Shoma Morita created his own purpose-centered therapy. Besides being a psychotherapist, he was also a Zen master of Naikan—an introspective meditation.

Morita therapy teaches us to accept our own emotions, learn from experience, and look inside for answers to: what do we need to be doing right now? What action should we be taking? The four phases of therapy include:

1. Isolation and Rest: No external stimuli like television, books, friends, or even speaking for about five to seven days. When the patient gets bored and wants to begin doing things again, the next stage begins.
2. Light Occupational Therapy: For five to seven days, the patient performs repetitive tasks in silence, such as writing a diary of thoughts and feelings, nature walks, breathing exercises, drawing, painting, gardening, etc.
3. Occupational Therapy: Tasks with physical movement, such as trekking in the mountains or chopping wood, as well as creative activities like writing, painting, or making ceramics.
4. Return to Social Life: The individual is reintroduced to social life, but continues the practices of meditation and occupational therapy developed during treatment.

Naikan Meditation is centered on three reflective questions:

1. What have I received from person X?
2. What have I given person X?
3. What problems have I caused person X?

Through these reflections, we stop identifying others as the cause of our problems and deepen our sense of responsibility. As Morita said, “If you are angry and want to fight, think about it for three days before coming to blows. After three days, the intense desire to fight will pass on its own."

Logotherapy and Morita therapy are both grounded in personal, unique experiences that any of us can access without a therapist or spiritual retreats—the mission of finding your IKIGAI, our existential fuel.

The world is full of opportunities for growth and achievement. Are we ready to throw ourselves into our own passion as if it were the most important thing in the world?