I’m a big fan of the Blue Zones and often read about the work of longevity expert, Dan Buettner. A “Blue Zone” is a region in the world where people live the longest. Through the Blue Zones work, Buettner and his colleagues have defined what they call the Power 9 ™ which outlines the 9 characteristics or “lessons” they discovered in these regions. They are:

  • Move naturally
  • Purpose
  • Downshift
  • 80% Rule
  • Plant Slant
  • Wine at 5
  • Belong
  • Loved Ones First
  • Right Tribe

If you want to learn more about Power 9 ™, here is a good overview.

In my work with people in transition, I’ve found that discovering (or re-discovering) 2) and 7) – “purpose” and “belong” are critical questions that come into play when faced with major change. People in transition are often asking questions like:

  • Why am I here?
  • What am I being called to do?
  • Where do I belong?
  • What purpose am I fulfilling?

One of the original Blue Zones is Okinawa, Japan, where they have a concept called “ikigai.” Ikigai can roughly be translated as a sense of purpose or reason for getting up in the morning. The Japanese symbol for ikigai combines the symbols for “to be worthwhile” and “life.” So, in essence, ikigai is the sense that we are living a life that is worthwhile, that gives us a sense of purpose.

There’s a ton of information out there about how to find your purpose. In my experience, however, except for the small percentage of people who feel that they were born knowing their purpose, it can be difficult to access. Buettner had some straightforward, simple advice for defining purpose that I’d like to pass on to you, with a little color commentary of my own. He suggested:

  • Get a piece of paper and divide it into three columns, label those columns like this:
What I Love to Do What I’m Good At What Allows Me to Live My Values
     
  • Make a LONG list of everything you can think of that goes into those columns. Don’t filter or think through the things on your list too deeply – just write down what comes to mind and keep writing. You can sort-and-sift later if you need to.
  • After you have exhausted all thoughts and ideas about what goes into each column, look at where they intersect. That intersection is your ikigai, your purpose!
  • Look at your life. Do you have an outlet for expressing your ikigai?
  • Adjust your life (hah…easier said than done!) so that you have that outlet, as needed. Rinse and repeat!

Notice that he doesn’t link this sense of purpose to gainful employment, necessarily. His advice is to ensure that we have an outlet for that thing that motivates us to get out of bed each morning. That outlet might be a hobby, volunteer work, creative endeavors, time spent with special people in your life…or a variety of other things.

I’m not sure how I feel about this relationship (or lack thereof) between purpose and work, given how much time most of us spend working. Wouldn’t it be great if we could express our ikigai and get paid for it? Toward that end, I’ve discovered some other articles that suggest adding to those initial three columns so that you also consider:

  • What the world needs, and
  • What you can get paid for

This Thrive Global article points out some interesting dynamics with each of these:

If we are primarily focused on: We may experience:
●       What we can get paid for ●       Comfort, but emptiness
●       What we are good at ●       Satisfaction, but lack of usefulness
●       What we love ●       Delight, but no wealth
●       What the world needs ●       Excitement, complacency but uncertainty

 

So, it’s the intersection that matters. How can we find it? I wish there was an easy answer! For many of us, getting closer to our ikigai depends on three keys:

  • Our willingness to ask these questions and to explore the answers
  • Our courage to recognize and face what we discover, head on…and do something about it
  • Our creativity in finding ways to bring purpose into our lives, while still paying the bills and feeding the kids (or dogs or ourselves!)

So…I wish for you willingness, courage and creativity!

I recently observed a woman demonstrating willingness, courage and creativity (and perhaps her ikigai?) at – of all places – a dance event. I was admiring a woman dancing at a ballroom dance competition, mostly because she had stunning silver hair! She moved gracefully, had a huge smile on her face and seemed to be having the time of her life. I felt inspired and motivated as my turn to take to the dance floor came up. Later, I learned a few things about this silver-haired, inspirational dancer:

  1. She had finished chemotherapy just 5 weeks before, being treated for breast cancer;
  2. Her beautiful silver hair was actually a wig (see a) above!);
  3. She is 80 years old!

I don’t know what she would say her ikigai is, but she exuded purposefulness, demonstrating wiliness, courage and creativity. It was a reminder to me that we really can do whatever we set our minds to, if we can find the willingness, gather our courage and get creative.

 

What’s your ikigai? How do you demonstrate it every day? (Or at least a couple of times a week?) Let’s discuss!

 

“Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard W. Thurman

 

PS: And here’s a TED talk of Dan Buettner talking about how to live to be 100!

What’s Your Purpose?

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