Hi,
And welcome to today's talk about discovering your life's purpose.
As human beings,
We are always searching for purpose and the meaning for why we are here.
Psychologists have found that people with a strong sense of purpose experience more resilience,
A stronger sense of well-being,
And even better cognitive functioning.
Having a purpose in life fosters resilience in part by protecting the brain against the negative effects of stress and diseases.
Some people are born seemingly knowing their life's purpose from the moment that they enter the world.
Other people may go through their entire lives without ever discovering what their purpose in life is.
And still others,
Myself included,
Find that their purpose in life tends to shift throughout the years or throughout transitions in their life.
Today we're going to talk about discovering your life's purpose in relation to ikigai.
Now if you've never heard of ikigai,
Ikigai is a Japanese term which loosely translated means a reason to live or our life's purpose.
It is the common ground between what we love,
What we are good at,
What the world needs,
And what we are paid for.
It is a great first step to discovering your life's purpose.
Finding and realizing your purpose in life won't happen overnight necessarily,
But by working toward our ikigai,
Over time we will continue to grow and develop in our chosen fields or professions.
And because our ikigai is our choice,
We can feel a sense of autonomy over the journey it takes to get there.
Ikigai is often not something grand or extraordinary,
Which makes it approachable and realistic for many people.
And that way it also improves our well-being because we are always working toward something we find meaningful.
To create your ikigai,
Start with each of these four main areas.
Begin by writing down the activities and topics that you love.
Then write down the things that you are good at.
Next,
Write down what the world needs specifically from you.
And finally,
Write down what you can be paid for in relation to your talents and experience.
As you review these four areas,
Start making connections between each of the areas.
For example,
What do you love that the world also needs from you?
What are you good at that you can be paid for?
Answering these questions will help you identify ways of achieving balance within these four areas.
As you continue to think about your life's purpose,
Take some time to ask yourselves these questions.
Who are you?
Why do you get up in the morning?
What keeps you awake at night?
When do you feel most alive?
What does being successful mean to you?
How might you apply your gifts to a pursuit that is at a deep interest to you and helps others?
What can you do to make a difference in one person's life today?
Take as much time as you need to think about your answers and then create a sentence that represents your purpose.
For example,
I am a leader who thrives on supporting others to change,
Grow,
And become the best version of themselves.
You can write more than one statement based on your answers to those questions and as you look at those four main areas of ikigai.
As we wrap up our time together,
I want to leave you with this great quote by Mark Twain.
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
I hope that this is the first step you can take to discovering your life's purpose and to adding more meaning to your life.
Thank you again for listening and I hope that you will be well and that you will do well in the world.
