Albert Liebermann and Hector Garcia
Introduction
Let start the book summary of Ikigai. In today’s noisy and running world, it is very important for us to think about peace and our mental health. There are times when we are sad, hopeless and facing times when we do not see any ray of hope. You start questioning yourself how did we grow old so quickly, so far We haven’t even achieved anything. Why is it that you have a good job and yet you are not happy? You may be living your life the way others want you to live your life. You may not be able to choose a career of your choice, you are afraid of being judged and afraid of change.
You always felt that you are not productive in your chosen field and just wasting your time. Perhaps you always felt that you have no effect on people and you are not important. If such thoughts keep coming in your mind too, then do not worry, you are not alone in this journey.
As we go on, this book will explain to you how to find your Ikigai. It is a Japanese word which means “our reason for being”. It can be divided into two words “Iki” meaning “Life” and “Gai” meaning “Meaning” which is about finding your purpose in life. This logo is associated with the philosophy of therapy, which is a traditional principle created by Viktor Frankl and which means “your life’s purpose”.
So we hope you find your Ikigai and be happy.
Chapter 1
Ikigai: The Art of Staying Young While Growing Old
Do you know what your Ikigai is?
Have you ever asked yourself which direction you are heading? You may be asking where your Ikigai is and how you can find it.
Patience is required to find it but believe me it is a very valuable treasure. For this you need to know yourself a little more. If you have found it then congratulations because many people are struggling to find it but they have not found it yet.
Ikigai is the center of your passion, your mission in this world, your work and profession. It is made up of four things – what you love (your passion), what the world needs (your mission), what you are best at (your job) and what you get for your job. may (your profession). Your passion should go hand in hand with your mission.
You do what you like but it should also have a purpose. For example, suppose that you like to write a book. This is your passion and you feel that this is the only thing that you can do well. You start writing because your mission is to inspire people with your words.
You also get money for your intelligence and ability and it becomes your profession. Now every word of yours has a value. It is like killing two birds with one stone: you are being paid for doing what you love to do the most. And because of this you do not retire early. Keep doing what you love, this is one of the reasons that keeps you young.
Remember..
You work because you love that work, not only because you get paid for that work, but also because of the happiness, satisfaction and the positive impact it has on the lives of others.
Chapter 2 – Anti-Aging Secrets
Nowadays technology has become so advanced that it helps us to know how to stop aging from progressing. This does not mean that we become dependent on technology, but it does reduce our stress. It makes our life easy and comfortable.
Due to the comfort that technology has given us, we need to do mental and physical exercise and both of them should be done together. When your mind is healthy then your aging process slows down. We have to have a positive attitude to see things positively. This helps us to handle our emotions properly. You will be able to protect yourself from negative feeling towards things around you.
According to Collins Hemingway and Sholomobreznitz, gaining new information and more knowledge by talking to people and doing things that you think you cannot do – keeps you from getting depressed.
Even at the age of 20, the age of our neurons in the brain starts increasing. That’s why mental training is very important to keep your mind active. And never let your desire to know end and always keep awake the desire to learn something new.
Stress is a big reason due to which people start aging very quickly. Most of the health problems are due to stress. It starts damaging the structure and healthy cells of our cells due to which we get old before time. According to psychology professor Howard S. Friedman, a little stress is good for us. People who keep their stress levels low live longer than those who lead a relaxed, unhealthy lifestyle and retire early. Lack of physical activity reduces muscular and respiratory fitness.
Although, stress is beneficial to some extent as it challenges us to emerge from any problem but we have to practice handling our reaction towards any problem properly. We have to save ourselves from becoming nervous, confused, worried and easily a victim of stress due to this noise of the world. Remember, stress comes because of your attitude towards the situation in front of you. People who see things from a positive perspective are able to handle their emotions better. To reduce stress, we should do meditation, breathing exercises, yoga and body scan.
Chapter 3
From Logotherapy into Engai
Logotherapy or “Purpose of Your Life” is slightly different from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis. ViktorFrankl’s logotherapy motivates the patient to find their purpose or meaning in life.
Sometimes we get disappointed seeing ourselves different from what we wanted to see in life. Instead of what we want, we often choose what the society wants from us. So it is very important to know what we want to become after all and then to get it we have to fight and stand firm. We should live to find our purpose so that we can feel complete and satisfied. Being happy is your choice.
Victor had lost some members of his family during the attacks by Hitler. This happened a year after he started his practice in neurology and psychiatry. His family was arrested. His father died of hunger and his mother and brother were killed. During his life in Auschwitz, the books and papers written by him were confiscated and destroyed.
But he held on to hope because of his desire to reunite with his wife and family. Even typhoid fever did not stop him from writing those books again. This was the only reason left for Victor to live. This was the reason that he was successful in surviving even in a hell like concentration camp. Victor always saw it from a different perspective. He did not just want to live like this, but he also had a purpose to live.
Once upon a time there was a North American politician who hated his job. He did not agree with the international policy of his country, yet he had to implement it. His psychotherapist said that he should forget the quarrel with his father and reconcile because his frustration was due to their spoiled relationship.
But Victor told him a different reason for this problem. Victor explained to him that his frustration was because he didn’t love his job. They should choose a career which is their passion as well as their purpose. In the end this turned out to be true. Years later, that politician told Victor that he had left politics and chosen a career of his choice and was very happy and satisfied with it.
We all have a unique path on which we want to move forward. We just need to have the courage to fight for it. So make your dream a reality by focusing your mind on it.
Once there was a woman who had lost her 11 year old son. Now she was always thinking about taking her own life. He had another son who had paralysis since birth. He had lost all hope and tried to kill his son and himself several times. He thought that it would be easy to do and it would be best for them. But his son had the belief that there was some purpose in his life and if both of them died then his purpose would remain incomplete.
Victor asked that woman to imagine herself for the last time and said that imagine you are very rich but childless. Only then did that woman realize that her life had no meaning at all. He had done everything in his whole life only for his children.
Now he had found the meaning of his life which was to give a good life to his son even after sacrificing everything. She started seeing herself from a different perspective. He felt at ease for the first time. He understood that he is not a failure. She should not end her life because she has another son for whom she can live.
Sometimes we need acceptance or adoption. Once there was a doctor who was very depressed, he went to meet Victor. He was unable to overcome the grief of his wife’s death. Victor asked her to imagine what would have happened if he had died earlier. Does he think that his wife would have been able to bear this shock? Only then did the doctor realize that what pain his wife could have gone through, she might not be able to handle herself. In this way, he learned to accept this truth. The universe allowed this to happen because the doctor was stronger than he thought.
Sometimes we are sad and unhappy because we are not able to accept the change. Let’s try to stop him. We reach such a comfort zone that we do not want to get out of there, we do not want to take the next step forward.
Morita therapy means “letting go of negative thoughts to make your life better”. Suppose someone stole your wallet. Now instead of feeling bad for that thief, you can release your anger and resentment by having an ice cream of your choice at the ice cream shop next door. Maybe that thief has some compulsion. We need to be a little more sensible and understand more.
Naiken therapy taught us that the cause of your problems is not the fault of others but yours and only yours. This means that if you do not get a good job then do not blame your school. Maybe you lack determination or you yourself are not ready for it yet.
chapter 4
Flow in everything you do
It is very important that we should be flexible in life just like wet and raw clay which gets molded into any shape or like water which has no shape. We should not be afraid to step out of our comfort zone. We must be willing to try new things to be the best and find our flow. Here flow means passion. In short, it means to consider your work as a part of yourself. Find an activity that is a little challenging. An activity that forces you to focus on it as if nothing else matters.
To achieve your flow, you must know what you want to do and how to do it, how well you are doing it and where it is taking you.
Do not choose any such activity which is very difficult to do otherwise it will ruin you.
And it should not be that easy, otherwise you will get bored. You must have a clear goal. Concentrate on your activity in such a way that you can be more and more productive and there is less scope for making mistakes in it. This will make your thoughts and life very organized. Remember that multitasking is not always good because it does not make you more productive. Paying full attention to only one thing saves your time and you learn to focus only on that work.
Takumis is a Japanese word meaning artisan. These people are very skilled in any one field. His craftsmanship is hard to match and there is only one reason for this – he always understands the importance of flowing with his ikigai. He works with his tools as if they are his friend. Toyota is one such brand which largely employs craftsmen and they are treated as the most important people of the company.
The Japanese continue to follow their passion even after retirement. They do not want to stay locked in the four walls of the house. They always believe in keeping themselves busy and they are not lazy at all. He has the passion to do every work in detail. Therefore, it is not surprising to know that Steve Jobs loved Japan very much.
Not just because he was a friend of Akio Morito, the owner of the Sony company. But also because he also used many of Sony’s methods in making Apple. Apart from Michael Jackson, Steve Jobs was Akio’s second favorite American. They liked each other to such an extent that they became business partners and always shared ideas with each other to improve their products.
Steve’s other favorite Japanese was Yukio Shakunaga who used a special technique – Etchu Seto-yaki – a type of porcelain made exclusively by Shakunaga. Steve had become a fan of his artwork and would often buy a cup of tea from him. He wanted to visit Toyama to see where this wonderful and exquisite porcelain comes from, but this was not possible. After his death, Shakunaga fulfilled his last wish. He made 150 cups of tea. To make it, he used “kokuyo” or black glass and selected the best 12 of them and sent them to Steve’s family.
Japanese are known all over the world as the most advanced country in the field of technology. But do you know that most of the people there prefer to do their work with their hands. Usually these works were simple but required a lot of detail and workmanship.
Once upon a time there was an artisan who was having difficulty in making “tomago” i.e. thin omelet. But she refused to give up as cooking was her ikigai. He never got bored of making eggs in the kitchen because that work gave him a lot of satisfaction. This work was his flow which he achieved with the help of utensils.
Although the Japanese are adept at creating new technology, they take care that the machine does not become the enemy of man. Instead, he believes that man and machine should work together as a team.
Hayao Miyasaki, director of the Ghibli animation studio, is the name who animated a forest to life, trees to feel and birds to have a robot friend. Although the computer had made all this very easy, he still wanted his team to draw everything by hand. This is so that animators can achieve their flow by drawing with their hands instead of using computers.
Traditional technique was used in almost the entire production process at Studio Ghibli. Miyasaki used to spend every Sunday enjoying his Flo and Ikigai. Even after retiring, he did not stop drawing. It is not so easy to give up your passion. We may not understand how ikigai works until we find our own ikigai, but finding our purpose and doing what we love till death is an interesting concept.
Chapter 5
Masters of longevity
The longest living people in the world live in Japan. This is called the Blue Zone. These people have also told us some precious things to live a long life and to inspire us.
The first in this list is Misao Okawa, the daughter of a cloth businessman born in 1898. She lived in that era when many important events of history took place. Misao used to say “Eat and sleep and you will live a long time.” He died at the age of 117.
Next on the list is Maria Capovilla from Ecuador who was born in 1889 and died of pneumonia in 2006. She was a fan of Luis Alarcon and loved dancing to his song “Maria”. He had never eaten meat in his entire life.
Next up is JeanClement. She was born in France in 1875 and died in 1997 at the age of 122. The name of Jean was recorded in history as the name of the longest living person. Perhaps his sense of humor could be the secret because of which he lived a long life and found happiness in every little thing.
Walter Bruening was born in 1896 in Minnesota. He used to say “If you keep your mind and body busy, you will live a very long life”. He died at the age of 114. He was not afraid of dying because according to him dying is an important part of being a human being which has to come one day or the other. He was the second person to live longer in the history of America.
And the last name in this list is that of Alexander Emich. He was a chemist, zoologist, writer and parapsychologist. His death happened in 2014. He was the last survivor of the Soviet-Polish war. He had never touched alcohol in his life.
Now the names of the people we are going to talk about have not been included in the Guinness Book of World Records, but still they definitely inspire us to make our life full.
The first is Katsushika Hokusai, a Japanese artist who lived between the 18th and 19th centuries. He was a painter who was obsessed with Mount Fuji. He believed that “every line of painting should be a symbol of life”. He used to consider his work as his own and used to put his life in every line of painting. It is therefore no surprise that his work is known and admired around the world.
Second in this list is Osamu Tezuka, who is called the “Father of Modern Japanese Manga”. Manga are comics and graphic novels that are created in Japan. His last words while dying were “Please, let me work”. The hidden message in this is that when you find your ikigai and flow, nothing can stop you. If you are doing something in which you are good, still find a way to improve it further. Keep discovering and developing new things to meet your shortcomings. Be active, train your mind in such a way that it is filled with positive thoughts so that it can think well, train your body in such a way that it can be healthy and feel good.
Chapter 6
Lessons from Japan’s Centenarians
Japan is one of those countries in the world whose tradition and culture is very rich. From their food to their religious belief. Everyone in Japan believes in Shinto religion – this religion is a religion that believes in many gods and spirits. Shinto does not focus on telling what is right and what is wrong. Instead, he has emphasized that every human being should have spiritual energy through this ritual. They believe that even nature has its own soul. You should respect him, befriend him so that only good things come to you. It teaches us to connect with nature.
Girls have a special place for these rituals in Okinawa. It is said that girls are spiritually higher. It is believed that girls named Yuta are the ones who have been specially chosen and can talk to spirits through these traditional rituals.
Most people in Ogimi have their own gardens. Ogimi is famous by the name of “Village of Longevity”. This is because there is a large population above the age of 80 years. He is very active even at this age. They don’t watch TV lying on the sofa like us.
One of the beliefs of the Ogimi people was “moi” – which means brotherhood, standing by each other, supporting each other. These people are fond of celebrating festivals and celebrations with pomp. They love to celebrate by singing and dancing. They don’t get upset or disappointed because of work, they don’t let work dominate them. This is because they enjoy their work and they have a lot of enthusiasm and enthusiasm to do it. His work is his passion. He believes in being friendly and building good relations.
The members of Moi do not worry much, nor do they remain in a hurry to finish any work. They keep themselves away from stress. Maybe that’s why they live a long and good life.
Chapter 7
The Ikigai Diet
The Japanese are also known for their cooking skills. Some of you might be wondering why their bowl is so small, right? How do they fill their mind with so little food? Leave the mind, how does it fill their stomach?
This is because their goal is not to overfill their stomachs. This is the concept of “Hara Hachi Bu” or “80% Rule”. The people of Okinawa had adopted it and they did not eat sweets after eating. He used to keep the amount of calories in his body low because he believed that this is a secret of living a long life.
Okinawa farms are rich in natural antioxidants such as tofu, miso, tuna, carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, jasmine. Antioxidants help us to keep young and protect us from diseases. That’s why the people of Okinawa looked younger than their age and avoided diseases.
Chapter 8
Gentle Movements, Longer Life
We all know that one of the secrets of longevity is physical fitness. It relaxes your mind along with the body. If you cannot follow the “Hara Hachi Bu” diet of Japan, then you can burn your calories by radiotasia, yoga, tai chi or qui gong.
Many types of studies have proved that by sitting for 30 minutes, our body’s metabolism slows down by 90%. Metabolism is that process of our body which first breaks down the food and then converts it into energy. Which means that if you have the habit of sitting and watching TV for hours every day, then you don’t know how much cholesterol is getting accumulated in your veins.
If you start doing light exercise even for just 5 minutes, then your metabolism will be back to normal. You can also do this in the office. For example, you can do Radio Tasio which takes only 5-10 minutes.
The basic idea of Radio Tasio is to raise your arms above your head. For this you will not need any exercise equipment. You can easily do this at home or office. In this 5-minute exercise, you have to stand straight and stretch your hands above your head. Then bring them down and repeat. While lowering the hands while repeating, you can also fold them on your chest or bring them to the cross position before raising them again.
Chapter 9
Resilience and Wabi-Sabi
Now we will talk about resilience. What does resilience mean? There is a Japanese saying “Fall seven times, get up eight times”, so resilience means getting back up. Sometimes we feel that everything is over in life and now it is difficult to live like this but think about where all your efforts are going. Instead of getting frustrated, focus on your goal. Whatever you have to do, but keep on achieving your passion. Remember, “It’s not over until life is over”.
Man is born with ego. Sometimes our desires in life are very small, unreasonable and average. We are capricious, often start desiring to get something without thinking even knowing that it will give happiness only for a short time. We become slaves of this habit. Because of this we become selfish and negative feelings start filling inside us. Let us understand this with an example – Suppose you want to buy the bag which your classmate bought last week.
For this, to work part time, you join such a job which is not for you. Only that bag is roaming in your mind. You probably don’t even realize that your co-worker really needed that job because he needed money to pay for his sick sister’s treatment. Got something? You became so greedy for the bag that you snatched something that someone else needed to fulfill your hobby. We achieved our happiness at the cost of someone else.
We need to be emotionally strong. We have to get rid of negative emotions. This is what Buddhism and Stoicism teach us.
Our goal is to become disciplined. It is not wrong to desire or have a desire for something but only when you control it. This bad happens when this desire controls you and you become its slave.
Stoicism teaches another thing which is “understanding what we can control and what we cannot”. If you try to control everything then anger and negative feelings will fill inside you. “Train your mind to move away from emotions like anger, jealousy and resentment”. Make yourself humble and humble. Do not let your ego or arrogance make you hollow.
Another good saying is “nothing lasts forever”, that is, nothing lasts forever, but we should not be sad to hear this. We should accept this thing openly that nothing is permanent here. After accepting this fact, even if you lose someone close to you or a favorite thing, then you will be able to save yourself from pain and suffering. Many people become so emotionally attached to things that they are afraid of losing them. They start associating such things with their mind which have to be destroyed one day or the other. That’s why after losing those things, they also break from inside.
Wabi-sabi and ichi-go ichi-e is a concept that teaches us to appreciate the imperfections of the world around us. It teaches us to see beauty in everything and from a positive point of view. For example, if a child in your school is suffering from autism, then treat him just like others because he is absolutely normal, there is nothing wrong with him. We do not even try to understand them properly, so we see them from a negative point of view and we need to change this thinking.
Anti-fragility means which is not brittle and cannot break easily. People lose hope due to natural calamities like earthquake, storm, tsunami. But when they survive it, they realize that they have come out of it even stronger. Anti-fragility means continuing to live life no matter how difficult it may seem to start again.
For example, a boxer who has many injury marks on his body is feared by all but those marks are due to the injury of many punches. She has struggled a lot before becoming successful, has endured countless pain and suffering but she did not give up. He fell again and again but got up again.
Conclusion
So you understood the meaning of having meaning in life through this book.This book teaches us the art of living life.The way you are living your life is your own choice and it is only your responsibility.Our life is not a problem which has to be solved. Life is meant to be lived openly. We all are busy in finding the Ikigai of our life.
The moment you give up and give up on your passion, it is just like separating any part of your body from yourself. No matter how much time you spend trying to find your Ikigai, just enjoy the journey. While you are on the path of this quest, it is very important that you eat good food and keep good people around you. Only positive people will help you grow and keep you from getting distracted from your flow.
Always keep a smile on your face and stay positive. Also give yourself a break in between and remember that your goal is to find your Ikigai. If you fail in the first attempt, it is okay, don’t punish yourself for it. Learn to relax a bit. Learn to love yourself more and treat yourself well. Say to yourself that “I am not one of those who obey”.
We all have different unity but one thing which is common is that it is hidden deep inside all of us and it needs to be discovered with patience. Every person has passion and unique talent which gives meaning to his life. Viktor Frankl believes that it is our mission to discover our Ikigai.
Whatever you got in your journey, learn to be grateful for all the people you met, keep in mind that all this is nothing less than a blessing. I hope you cherish every moment of your Ikigai-your love and passion as a treasure and enjoy every moment of it. Whatever happens, don’t give up!
Thanks …….