Insights from Ikigai by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles
In the small Japanese island region of Okinawa, people live past a hundred at a higher rate than anywhere else in the world. Garcia and
Miralles moved to Okinawa to discover why.
They observed how incredibly cheerful Okinawans were – they smiled often and greeted strangers like long‐lost friends.
They marveled at Okinawans' active lifestyle. Elder Okinawans spent much of their week working in their gardens and walking
with friends. The Okinawans lived true to a local song that ended with: "If you keep moving and your fingers working, a hundred
years will come to you."
At dinnertime, Okinawans had a rule: "Hara hachi bu," meaning "Fill your belly to 80 percent." They ate slowly and stopped
short of being full to avoid consuming excess calories. The food they consumed was remarkably clean and colorful ‐ at least 30%
of their calories came from colorful vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, carrots, bamboo shoots, and seaweed, which supplied
them with polyphenols (compounds that reduce inflammation in the body). They consumed very little sugar, processed foods,
or alcohol.
How Okinawans ate, moved, and interacted contributed to a longer life. But the key to their longevity was believed to be their ikigai ‐ a
strong, guiding sense of purpose.
Feel essential
Okinawans work to be an essential part of their moai. A moai is a tight‐knit social group with shared interests and values who look out for
one another. Okinawans wake up each day looking for ways to contribute to their moai. They share food they grow in their gardens and
use their resources to support each other in times of need. Constantly giving to their moai gives them a sense of purpose and peace
because they trust their small community will be there for them during hard times.
Finding your ikigai starts by identifying who you want to give to; this could be your family, your team at work, enthusiasts of your favorite
hobby, or your best customers and loyal fans. Once you identify who you want to give to, ask: "What more can I give?" and "How can I
give in a way that only I can give?" Giving strengthens your sense of purpose while taking weakens it.
When you give to people in a community you care for, give in interesting and unexpected ways. Be like a flight attendant who adds
something extra to make a safety speech funny, a salesperson who deviates from the script to create a human connection, or an artist who
goes above and beyond to make something special, like Japanese potter Yukio Shakunaga. Steve Jobs had long been a fan of Shakunaga's
work and asked him to produce a special teacup with "a new style." To satisfy this request, Shakunaga made 150 teacups to test new ideas
and then chose the twelve best and sent them to Jobs.
When you give to your community in unique ways, your
community will come to rely on your quality input, and you will
feel essential.
Find flow
If you can find a way to give that makes you feel essential and give
while in a flow state, you'll discover the sweet spot of life and
discover your ikigai. Wikipedia curators feel essential and
experience flow by researching and writing in a flow state while
doing work that is essential to the Wikipedia community. Open‐
source software contributors find the sweet spot by programming
in a flow state and improving the software their community relies
on. Okinawans find this intersection by interacting with members of their moai and making them feel heard and loved (a rare and highly
underrated skill).
When people experience flow, they usually do something they're good at and lose track of time doing it. Therefore, to find flow, challenge
yourself to develop skills that allow one action to flow effortlessly into the next. Skills like learning quickly, thinking critically, writing
clearly, leveraging AI, and running a business make you a more effective human being and extremely useful to others.
Think of the people you want to give to and the problems they're struggling with. Then, consider three skills you can develop to solve
those problems. Now, devote yourself to developing those skills while experiencing as much flow as possible. Increase your flow by
getting crazy clear on three questions:
1. What's my immediate goal?
2. How am I doing?
3. How might I do slightly better?
Once you have the answers to those three questions, focus intensely on your actions. Garcia and Miralles say, "Concentrating on one thing
at a time may be the single most important factor in achieving flow."
Your ikigai is at the intersection of what makes you essential to the people who love you and what puts you in a flow state.
"Once you discover your ikigai, pursuing it and nurturing it every day will bring meaning to your life." ‐
Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles
www.ProductivityGame.com
