Branson Karate and Wudang Tai Chi
  • Home
  • Classes
  • About
    • Katas
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Members
  • Gallery
  • Tai Chi

How to find your life's purpose

5/15/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
     In the Okinawan dialect, there is no word for "retirement." Instead, they use a word called ikigai. Ikigai (pronounced ee-ki-guy) translates roughly to "purpose" or "that which makes one's life worth living." Okinawan's live with a sense of purpose, whether it be raising a happy healthy family, nurturing their vegetable garden, playing a musical instrument or practicing karate. Ikigai is something that brings enjoyment or fulfillment. It gives you a sense of satisfaction in what you are doing. It makes you happy to do it.
     Karate or the martial arts can be that for some people. I know it is for me! If karate is not your ikigai, it may give you the physical or mental tools to find the ikigai in your life and keep you physically ft enough to continue experiencing it.
      Your ikigai is the passion in life that drives you and that motivates you.  It may be a hobby that you enjoy. It may be your job. It may be a sport that you participate in. It may be something that you create or express. The important thing is that it's something you enjoy doing so much that you can't imagine not ever being able to do it again.      
    Knowing your ikigai is important. It one of the key traits that leads to longevity in life. And, the Okinawan's have a long history of living very long lives as they have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world. In fact, Okinawa is considered a Blue Zone. Blue Zones are places in the world where people live to 100 and stay healthy. However, finding your ikigai can be hard work to figure out. You may need to do a lot of soul searching to find yours. Here are a few tips on how to find your own ikigai:
  • Don't confuse pleasure with purpose. Just because you enjoy doing something doesn't make it meaningful to you.  i.e. eating ice cream may give you pleasure, but isn't meaningful. Where helping out at the food bank may be hard work and heart breaking, but it makes you happy by filling you with a sense of accomplishment. Your ikigai should bring you purpose. It's something that may take a lot of hard work, but it brings you happiness despite all the hard work. 
  • Make a list of at least 10 meaningful activities that you've done, are doing or would like to do.  Ikigai can be creating something, pursuing an ideal, spending time with someone or something or simply making breakfast. One way of thinking of this, is if you had a completely free Saturday morning with no pre-planned activities, what would you really like to do that would get you excited about getting up in the morning? Perhaps you can recall a past "day off" in which you were excited to do something. Here are some other questions to ask yourself to help create your list. What achievements are you most proud of? What do you enjoy talking about? What do you like to search for on the internet? What do you enjoy reading? What do you love to do or have a desire to learn more about? How do you see yourself when you describe your skills? When you travel, what types of things do you like to do? Who do you most admire and what talents or skills do they have that you wish you had? What do you believe you are really good at doing or have been told you are good at?
  • Now look objectively at your list, circle the items on the list that excite you the most.  Things that you would like to invest more of your time and energy into. 
  • Take the items you've circled and work them into your life so you can do them more often. Schedule them as part of your life, if they aren't already. And, see what happens in your life. You may very well find that you have discovered your life's purpose.
May you find joy and purpose in all that you do so that you always live a happy and fulfilled life. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Vashon Borich, Sensei teaches traditional karate & kobudo in Branson, Missouri. She considers herself a life-time student of the arts. Her blog is an open journal of lessons learned in the martial arts. If you are a martial artist and would like to contribute to her blog please contact her.
    All blog entries are authored by Vashon Borich unless noted in the first line.

    Receive automatic email updates when new content is published to this blog! Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    January 2023
    May 2020
    September 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    July 2017
    March 2016
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Balance
    Beginner
    Blue Zone
    Breathing
    Budo
    Bushido
    Classes
    Curriculum
    Diet
    Enlightenment
    Exercises
    Flexibility
    History
    Honor
    Humility
    Ikigai
    Inspiration
    Integrity
    Kokoro Kaizen
    Kuzushi
    Leadership
    Lessons
    Lineage
    Meditation
    Mind
    Mindset
    Motivation
    Muscle
    Myths & Legends
    Perseverance
    Practicing
    Principles
    Promotions
    Purpose
    Rank
    Reishiki
    Respect
    Ritual
    Soke Dai
    Soke-dai
    Splits
    Strength
    Stress
    Stretches
    Titles
    Tori
    Uke
    Wisdom

    RSS Feed

    ©2012 Branson Karate & Kobudo™
©2010-2023 Vashon Enterprises LLC, DBA Branson Karate™
Picture
Picture
  • Health Protocols & Waivers
  • ​Membership Site
  • Contact Us
Follow us!
  • Home Page
  • Classes
  • About
  • ​Blog
  • Store
Photo used under Creative Commons from babar141
  • Home
  • Classes
  • About
    • Katas
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Members
  • Gallery
  • Tai Chi