Do you want to know your purpose? Then let me show you how to find your Ikigai.
People are more often than not unsure about their purpose in life. However, it doesn’t have to be complicated. This simple concept will bring you clarity.
Now, I’ve touched on this before in my Find Your Purpose In Life With These 3 Powerful Tools post BUT there’s so much more to be said.
Numerous people go through life on autopilot, leaving them to feel unfulfilled… It saddens me, honestly. There’s so much more to life and it’s at your fingertips.
I want to help you find your purpose through a deep step-by-step guide on how to find your Ikigai. I will also give you an online Ikgai test link, my personal example, and 2 free printable worksheets!
This post might contain affiliate links which means I will get a small commission if you purchase an item through them.
Understanding the Ikigai
What does “Ikigai” mean?
Your Ikgai equals your purpose, to put it simply.
It is an ancient Japanese concept in which ‘Iki’ means ‘life’ and ‘gai’ means ‘reason’.Therefore, it translates to your reason to live.
It consists of four elements:
- What you love
- What the world needs
- What you can be paid for
- What you’re good at
These elements are represented by circles that overlap to identify your ‘sweet spot’ i.e. your purpose. We’ll get into that a bit later.
“Well, Steph that sounds like something I learned in school.”
Yup, say hello to Venn Diagrams (again)! Who knew it would come in handy someday?
Benefits of finding your Ikgai
You might think it’s self-explanatory: finding your purpose. However, it goes much deeper than that.
When you learn how to find your Ikigai much more will follow:
- Improved mental wellbeing
- Increased motivation
- Elevated joy and happiness
- Increased sense of peace
- Stronger sense of identity
- Improved confidence
- And the list goes on
I am a living example of the above. I metamorphosized into a completely different person once I identified my purpose. Basically, Stephanie 2.0 if you will!
The Four Elements Of The Ikigai
Element 1: What you love
These include any activities that bring you joy. It’s things you love to do, whether or not you are good at them or get paid for them.
Some examples are painting, writing, hiking, gardening, cooking, photography, etc. Literally, any hobby that makes you lose track of time.
Prompts to help you figure it out:
- What activities would you do on your day off?
- Think back to your default version (i.e. your childhood) – what did you love to do for fun?
- What topics do you like learning about?
Element 2: What the world needs
This element is all about identifying ways you can contribute to society, on a global or local scale.
Now, you don’t have to become the president to make a change. It could be by spreading positivity or getting into conservation etc.
Prompts to help you figure it out:
- What causes are you passionate about?
- How can you use your skills to address issues?
- Where do you see a need for change?
Element 3: What you can be paid for
As much as I dislike the evil money brings, we still need it to survive. Identify which services/products/skills you can monetize. This ensures a balance and sustainability within your Ikigai.
If you’re great at cooking, you can be paid to become a chef. If you’re a computer whiz you can get into IT or programming.
Prompts to help you figure it out:
- Which skills can you monetize?
- What products will people buy?
- Which industry aligns with your passion and skills?
Element 4: What you’re good at
Now we focus on skills and talents. It’s the things you get recognized for, whether it comes from practice or naturally.
For example, you are a pro at organizing so people come to you for assistance with event planning. Or you are the go-to IT person of the family (this might not apply if your parents call you to restart the wifi lol).
Prompts to help you figure it out:
- What skills did you learn throughout your life?
- Identify your innate talents.
- What do other people ask you to do?
- Which awards have you received throughout your life?
The overlapping elements
In a nutshell, you get 5 overlapping sections:
- Mission: Where ‘what you love’ and ‘what the world needs’ overlap
- Vocation: Where ‘what the world needs’ and ‘ what you can be paid for’ overlap
- Profession: Where ‘what you can be paid for’ and ‘what you are good at’ overlap
- Passion: Where ‘what you are good at’ and ‘what you love’ overlap
- Ikagai: The sweet spot in the middle where your mission, vocation, profession, and passion overlap.
All 4 elements must overlap otherwise you’re lacking to some degree. For instance:
- If only your mission and vocation overlapped = You would be content with uncertainty
- If only your vocation and profession overlapped = You would be comfortable and miserable
- If only your profession and passion overlapped = You would be satisfied but life has no meaning
- If only your passion and mission overlapped = You would be fulfilled but with no money
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How to Find Your Ikgai in 4 Steps
After all the prep work, we are ready to find your Ikigai.
These steps are best followed if you read through the above and it can be used as a reference if you get stuck.
Let’s dive into the practical steps on how to find your Ikigai.
Step 1: Self-Reflection
Separate yourself from distractions and take time to self-reflect. Think about your passions, skills, impact, and financial opportunities.
A practical way to do a thorough self-reflection is to use journal prompts and questionnaires. I have multiple prompt-related posts you can refer to here:
Step 2: Create your diagram
The next step on how to find your Ikgai is to do the actual diagram.
You have multiple options here:
- You can go old school by drawing your Venn diagram with the 4 intersecting circles and filling in each section.
- You can download my FREE worksheets, print it, and fill it out.
- Or you can follow this link to an online Ikigai test. I completed it and was actually shocked by the results. More of this will follow when I deep-dive into the example.
Refer to the prompts under each element above to guide you through the process.
Step 3: Analyze the results
Identify the areas that overlap and identify your Ikigai or sweet spot.
If you don’t know how to interpret your Ikgai results there is an easy solution. Pass it to ChatGPT.
I received my results from the online test, however, I still felt a little overwhelmed. I downloaded the image of my results and uploaded it to ChatGPT using the following prompt:
- I am going to upload an image of my Ikigai diagram. I need you to break it down for me. Take into account that I am a personal development and productivity blogger aiming to help women become their best selves and reach their dream lives. Interpret my Ikigai diagram and provide insights on how each part of the diagram aligns with my mission or if it does at all.
Uploading pictures to ChatGPT is a paid feature, however, I will not pay (because I’m frugal as…). But I believe you can use ChatGPT-4o for free for limited intervals of three-hour windows. That’s how I did it, at least.
Step 4: Test and refine
Once you identified all the potential intersections in your diagram, it’s time to put them to the test.
Here are a couple of tips:
- Experiment with your potential intersections – Try out different activities that align with your passion, mission, vocation, and profession.
- Evaluate the results of the experiments – Does the activity bring you joy and satisfaction? Are you using your skills?
- Ask for feedback – Present your diagram to loved ones and get their opinion. Family can provide a fresh perspective.
- Revisit your diagram – People grow and change over time. Make sure to revisit your Ikigai and refine it. You can easily incorporate it into your half-year or end-of-year life audit.
How To Find Your Ikigai: My Real-Life Personal Example
I will focus on my result of the Ikigai online test and attach a photo below for a visual representation.
I highly recommend this online test if you are wondering how to find your Ikigai and want a paperless version.
To say I was surprised by the results would be an understatement!
I typically gravitate towards anything related to biology, chemistry, or geography. So naturally I expected it was going to lean into these interests.
HOWEVER, it took a different turn!
I know my purpose is to have a blog and help others. I’ve known for a while and somehow it knew it too! *kinda eery when you think about it*
Let’s have a look into my not-so-personal Ikigai.
My Ikigai breakdown
My passion overlap
I have a passion to help others.
As a side note: As a kid, I always used my holiday spending money to buy my family gifts and bought nothing for myself i.e. my default mode. Then I got older and life gave me a harder shell… But luckily, I grew as a person and bounced back to my default mode.
Your default mode is powerful and I will get into that in a future post.
The application: My passion aligns perfectly with my role as a blogger, ultimately. I get to share advice and guide others to reach their goals.
My mission overlap
Now, I was VERY skeptical about my mission result. According to the online test, it’s performing creative activities such as art, theater, crafts, dance, music, and creative writing.
I mean… I am as creative as a rock! UNTIL I thought about it more.
- I listen to music daily, and I want to learn the guitar
- I WROTE stories, poems, and songs during my default mode (I still dabble in writing from time to time)
- Video editing is one of my favorite hobbies
The application: It involves creative writing, content creation, graphic designing, etc as a blogger and aspiring Etsy seller.
My vocation overlap
My vocation result is education, training and library, arts, design, entertainment, media, etc.
They managed to get that by combining the results from what the world needs (communications and media, biology, geography, etc) and what I can get paid for (self-discipline, determination, independence, and uniformity).
The application: I am in a branch of education and media as a blogger, in an unconventional way. But I still fulfill this aspect of my Ikigai.
My profession overlap
I am incredibly good at organizing, scheduling, and planning. Ask anyone, I have a calendar and goal plan down to the t. I am also very self-disciplined, determined, and independent, as my results state.
Therefore my professional preferences are to make my own decisions and work at my own pace.
The application: As a blogger, I am flexible to make my own choices and work independently. This aligns perfectly with professional preferences.
My Core Overlap
I have to admit, I raised an eyebrow when I saw this…
Self-enrichment education teacher.
What does that even mean? Well, ChatGPT explained it to me.
A self-enrichment education teacher is someone who teaches subjects aimed at personal growth and enjoyment. The goal is to help students enhance their lives by gaining new skills and improving their overall well-being.
The application: As a personal development and productivity blogger, I am essentially a self-enrichment teacher. I provide information and guidance to help you achieve your goals.
It’s scary how accurate this is and the test had NO background about me. I even did it in incognito mode.
This is my take on how to find your Ikigai ♥
Other elements
- Personality – Creative, analytical, and humanitarian
- Weirdness (what sets you apart) – Logical and independent
- Archetype – Strategist who strives for great achievements
Conclusion
Wow, I didn’t expect this post to be this long but I loved every second! Use these steps on how to find your Ikigai and share your results in the comments!
Enrich your life by finding your purpose. Completing the Ikigai diagram is your first step toward a fulfilled future.
Download your free worksheets before you click off and shoot me questions via email if you need further guidance.
Have a great day wherever you are in the world!
Love, Steph ♥
