Finding Your Ikigai: A Gentle Guide to What Makes Life Feel Worth Living
I came across a simple video about ikigai the other day, nothing flashy or “life-changing,” just a gentle explanation of this Japanese idea of a reason to wake up in the morning. But something in it landed deeply.
It made me pause and ask myself: What is my ikigai? What actually makes my life feel worth living…beneath the goals, the roles, the doing? Especially since I recently retired, what is my reason for being at this stage in my life?
That small moment of reflection inspired me to write this blog post and to explore what ikigai really means and to invite you to discover your own.
We often imagine purpose as something big and world-changing. But in Japan, ikigai (生きがい) simply means:
A reason to wake up in the morning.
A feeling of aliveness.
A quiet joy that makes life feel worthwhile.
Ikigai isn’t about achievement or monetizing your passion. It lives in the everyday simple pleasures, grounding rituals, and moments that feel real.
What Ikigai Really Means:
In Japan, ikigai doesn’t require mastery or payment. It’s whatever brings color, meaning, and connection to your life. Your ikigai is allowed to be ordinary. That’s where it thrives.
Why Ikigai Matters:
Knowing what gives you that inner “yes” helps you slow down, choose intentionally, reconnect to joy, and focus on what truly matters. Ikigai isn’t a goal, it’s a relationship with your own life.
How to Find Your Ikigai:
Notice what brings ease. What softens you? What feels like an exhale?
Name your quiet joys. Warm coffee, sunrise walks, creative moments, honest conversation.
Follow what connects you. Meaningful relationships, shared experiences, presence.
Honor your rhythms. Your need for solitude, being in nature, movement, slow mornings, or creative space.
Keep it simple. Your ikigai is one true sentence—not a performance.
After reflecting and writing about what brings me joy each day and what I want more of…and less of, I wrote my own that could be summed up pretty easily.
My Ikigai:
To live at a pace that lets me breathe…immersed in nature, nurturing deep and honest connection, moving and eating in harmony with my body, and creating in ways that feel authentic, playful, and deeply fulfilling.
Try writing your own. It doesn’t need to be profound. It just needs to be yours…and it can evolve as you do.
From my soul journey to yours,
Maria
