IKIGAI : THE JAPANESE SECRET TO A LONG AND HAPPY LIFE

What is the purpose of my life? What drives me? Why do some people know what they want? What is my passion?

lkigai - The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. lkigai is a Japanese word and means "the happiness of always being busy". Now there are a lot of ways to keep yourself busy, not all yield results. This book aims to explain the concept of ikigai and the practices that you can follow that will help you find your lkigai. It will also go on to explain how your life will improve once you start living a life where you love every action you do.

This book has been making a space for itself for some years now. However, the concept of Ikigai is centuries old. The author explains how a similar practice followed in Europe to find life purpose and how Ikigai differs from that and is better. It is well written and is captivating from the beginning. The author ensures he includes real examples of real people while explaining a method/term, this ensured the connection with the reader. The best part, unlike other books in the similar category, the book does not claim as life-changing or Eureka experiences, it focuses more on the practices. The practices that if you follow will ensure you have a healthy mind, body and soul.

However, towards the end, it starts to cover some aspects like how to exercise, steps for Tai-chi and Surya namaskar. That really felt like filler pages as I believe in this era we don’t require an instruction manual for exercise. You can totally skip those parts and the book will be still relevant.

There is tension between what is good for someone and what they want to do. This is because people, especially older people, like to do things as they’ve always done them. The problem is that when the brain develops ingrained habits, it doesn’t need to think anymore. Things get done very quickly and efficiently on automatic pilot, often in a very advantageous way. This creates a tendency to stick to routines, and the only way of breaking these is to confront the brain with new information. 

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. 

there is nothing wrong with enjoying life’s pleasures as long as they do not take control of your life as you enjoy them 

In today’s materialistic and stressful world, it can be very difficult to find your 'ikigai’- your reason to get out of bed every morning, something that makes you happy. But there are people in this world, who are over a hundred years, who are active, and happy, doing what they love! If they can be so passionate 

MY VIEWS:- This book talks about literally everything. From finding your ikigai to nurturing friendships. There are so instances of what food we should eat to live longer and healthier, the mindsets, day to day activities and ways to achieve the following. The book contains interviews of some oldest people of Japan and a brief study of their lives. The book is inspiring. I recommend it to everyone.

I personally learnt many lessons from this book.

1. Even a small impact can make a big difference in your life.

2. Every experience can be a powerful lesson.

3. Stay active and don’t retire.

4. Surround yourself with good friends.

5. To find your lkigai, you need to know yourself well.

6. Reconnect with Nature and spend some time with the nature every day.

7. Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it. Make it worth remembering.

8. Wake up with purpose and be more creative.

9. Walk slowly and you’ll go far.

10. Avoid spending time doing things we don’t enjoy.

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Happy Reading!!