Ikigai: finding meaning in what you do
Have you ever wondered what actually gets you out of bed in the morning—not out of obligation, but with a sense of direction?
Most people are looking for some version of that. A sense of meaning, or at least a feeling that what they are doing fits.
And yet, it’s not always easy to name.
Recently, Netflix introduced Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, a series exploring communities around the world known for longevity, health, and a strong sense of purpose. It brought more attention to the idea of Ikigai, a concept rooted in Japanese culture that offers a different way of thinking about meaning.
So what is Ikigai, really?
It’s not a single purpose or one defining goal. It’s more of an intersection. A way of looking at how different parts of your life come together.
Traditionally, it includes four elements:
what you’re good at
what you enjoy
what the world needs
and what can support you financially
Most people already have pieces of this in place. But they don’t always line up.
You might be successful on paper and still feel disconnected. Or deeply passionate about something that doesn’t quite support your life in a practical way.
The idea behind Ikigai is not perfection. It’s alignment.
Passion plays a role, of course. It’s what draws you in, what keeps your attention, what gives you energy.
But passion on its own can feel incomplete.
It often needs to connect to something beyond you. A sense that what you’re doing has some kind of impact, even in a small way. That it matters, not just personally, but in the world around you.
At the same time, meaning isn’t only about impact. It also needs to work in real life. There is a practical side to all of this—how you sustain yourself, how your work fits into your day-to-day life.
Ikigai sits somewhere in the middle of all of that. You can see it play out in very different ways.
Someone working in education, driven by a desire to create access for others. An artist who builds a life around their work while still finding ways to support themselves. A founder solving problems they genuinely care about. Someone in health and wellness helping others feel better in their bodies and lives.
The paths look different. The structure underneath is similar. Finding your own version of this is not always straightforward.
It usually takes some reflection. Trying things. Adjusting. Letting go of what no longer fits.
Sometimes the hardest part is not identifying what you care about, but figuring out how it fits into the life you are actually living.
If you want to explore it more directly, you might start here:
Notice what consistently draws your attention or gives you energy.
Pay attention to where your strengths show up naturally.
Look at how those things connect, even loosely, to something that feels useful or needed.
And over time, consider how they might take shape in a way that is sustainable.
It does not need to happen all at once. Ikigai is not a final destination. It’s something that evolves.
What fits at one stage of life may shift at another. The goal is not to find a perfect answer, but to stay close enough to yourself that you can keep adjusting as things change.
If you’re in a moment where something feels slightly off—or like the pieces don’t quite fit the way they used to—this can be a useful lens to explore.
Not to find the answer, but to see what’s already there a bit more clearly.
A place to begin
If you want to think this through in a more structured way, you don’t have to do it on your own.
Sometimes it helps to step back, look at the different parts of your life, and see how they’re actually connecting right now. If that’s something you’re exploring, you’re welcome to start with a conversation.