How to find your purpose, your why, your ikigai

The start of the year is usually a good time to define what your purpose is and why it is that you do what you do. I don’t know about everybody but I usually prefer to start something new at the start, as in the start of the year, or the start of the month or week; all depends on what the new thing is and how long do I foresee it happening. Maybe you have the same habits because really, how does one start a 7 day challenge, for instance, on a Wednesday?

Anyways I assume that having read my previous post about reflecting on your year and making resolutions for the new year, you have indirectly started defining what your why is. In case you are a late bloomer, which is perfectly fine, maybe you should read the post first :).

http://lets-be-royalty.blog/2020/12/28/reflections-and-resolutions-for-the-new-year/

Great, now let’s move forward. Ever heard of the Japanese word “Ikigai” it means “a reason for being” – see the cover photo right at the top. Ask yourself the following questions: What am I good at? What am I interested in? What am I passionate about? What pressing issues bother me? Is there an overlap in all these questions? If the answer to the last question is “yes”, then you have possibly found your ‘why’, your purpose, your ikigai – Anata ga ikiru riyū (straight from Google translate, sorry if it is totally butchered).

As you can see, your ‘why’ is catered to you and only you. Nobody can give it to you, nor can they redefine it for you. It doesn’t have to be major, it just has to have meaning to you. Your reason for being and what sort of impact or trail you want to leave behind when your time on Earth has come to an end, something that will inevitable happen. Luckily a legacy can still live on no matter what, depending on what you did while still living. Beyonce – I was here. I would say there are no rules, it is your own personal journey. Then I came across this post by Hotch_Potchh, quite insightful guidelines:

10 Rules of Ikigai

Most of my life I have felt pretty lost. For those that have known me long enough, they will definitely find this very hard to believe. I’ve got this thing where it looks like I’ve “got it all put together”, not my own words. Trust me when I say, if you could see what goes on in my head on a daily basis, you’ll find complete and utter chaos. I didn’t have a reason/purpose for living. You know when you have all these ideas but it becomes so difficult to focus your mind, then it is just a blur. There are quite a few reasons for this, such as being haunted by certain pain from the past. Sometimes it is having too many gaps that need to be filled but having no way of doing that, well, no way that the necessary people would approve of or understand.

On top of feeling lost, I tend to feel that there is something wrong with me, and that I am just not good enough. To sum it up, I kept asking the 5W’s + 1H (who, what, where, when, why + how) Turns out I had to answer that myself. This video helped, I literally went through it again, get a pen and paper ;).

Finding your ‘why’ can be lifechanging. The first definition might not even be the most accurated. It will require you to state it differently for various people’s understanding. A whole process, but worth it when you finally get it right and just the way you like it. From my point of view, I had to become involved in different things to find it, because I was curious about everything. I think that helped me. I enjoyed math, having fun (on a childish level sometimes). I started being interested in learning, how it’s done and how to make it better. I generated all of that, while acquiring skills in different areas at the same time, to make it my purpose. I have a passion for education, there is so much to be done in SA’s education system and even better I was a recipient of a bursary that caters to that exactly.

I heard about a book called The Alchemist. I have not read it (I will though, but cannot promise when) but I was told that it explains some concept about the universe

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

Paulo Coelho

To second that, these words have remained with me since the day I heard them

If you have a dream, go for it. You don’t need to worry too much about the how. How you live your life will sort that out.

Chinezi Chijioke

Goes hand in hand with the first quote. So I’m not too worried and neither should you be too worried, life has a way of running its course. All you need is a dream (but it should get out of your head at some point), an ikigai and then how you live your life will let the universe know and it will conspire to help you. It is a process, It does not need to be rushed and there is no harm in having to start over. Just do not give up!

So have a go at it! Find your purpose and put it out there in the universe and let the universe work itself out in your favour!

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