Knowing Your Life Purpose, Ikigai Can Add Years to Your Life
And you’ll be much happier, too.
I’ve been on a quest. Or perhaps I should call it a long-standing research project to learn how to become an older person, or more specifically, a happy older person.
Being happy and healthy includes getting enough exercise, maintaining social connections, and eating properly to ensure our muscles stay strong.
Yet, there’s one more essential ingredient.
My father unexpectedly retired early from a job he loved because of health problems and never adjusted. Honestly, his work was what gave his life meaning. In fact, he told me, “You should have just let me die.”
Dad was single; his lady friend had just broken up with him, saying, “All you ever want to do is work.” He’d allowed relationships with his six children to fade due to lack of cultivation, and he had never spent time with hobbies or volunteer activities.
His life was lacking what the Japanese refer to as ikigai.
Ikigai (生き甲斐, “a reason for being”) a Japanese concept referring to having a direction or purpose in life, providing a sense of fulfillment and towards which the person may take actions, giving them satisfaction and a sense of meaning.
—Wikipedia
In Japan, there is no word for retire that means leaving the workforce for good. People continue working in various positions as long as their health allows.
While previous studies connected a sense of purpose with longer life, a 2019 JAMA Network Open study showed that among the nearly 7,000 adults over 50, those who reported the strongest life purpose were less likely to die during the four-year study.
Researchers can’t prove exactly what it is about purpose that improves health. But they believe having strong goals encourages people to take better care of themselves and reduces stress, which lowers inflammation.
I believe work CAN be our passion, too.
I think of Jane Goodall as an example of a person living with ikigai.
For more than 60 years, she has not only championed primate research, but her work has expanded to a broader mission of conservation and protection of endangered species.
To me, her life epitomizes that rare yet satisfying overlap of passion and livelihood.
A sense of calm came over me. More and more often I found myself thinking, this is where I belong. This is what I came into this world to do.
—Jane Goodall
My dad was a civil engineer. As I wrote that sentence, I realized that his career choice defined him. His work was limited to developing infrastructure for the public, which is important. But it was an activity he only did for the Army Corps of Engineers, and that is a narrow description of an entire life.
It’s so easy for the years to rush by, carrying us along the rapids of work and responsibility that we never take time to ask if this river of life carrying me where I truly want to go? I think that’s what happened to my father.
The three biggest concerns older people have.
In his book, Healthy Aging, A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-being, Andrew Weil, M.D. says that older people often torment themselves with three general concerns.
They don’t want to suffer.
They don’t want to be a burden to others.
And they want the remainder of their lives to be meaningful.
Weil subtitled his book, A Lifelong Guide because it’s more effective to consider these three things before they’re needed. Regardless of age, everyone should have both an advanced healthcare directive and a will. Ideally, everyone will have been able to plan for our financial needs in advance or made plans to keep body and soul together.
Each person needs to think about their purpose in life early and often. None of us should wait until we are bored and lonely before becoming motivated to find a sense of self-worth. The range of purposes is as diverse as humanity itself.
Many people, like Jane Goodall, find purpose and passion in their work.
Other people continue to be very involved in family lives, and many find they have time to become active volunteers. Often, changing responsibilities allow them to shift to a broader vision over time. To me, the essential element seems to be something bigger than ourselves.
One of my favorite stories of finding purpose comes from the founder of this publication, Debbie Walker. She is a great-grandmother, a writer, and a muse to many.
Inspiration gives you purpose. The desire to help others, lend a hand, march for social justice, etc. For me, the only action I can take is writing because disability prevents me from physical participation. —Debbie Walker
Purpose can mean many different things, but we all need one.
Life purpose is having an aim or goals. Some common aspirations people mentioned to me include:
family and relationships
community
helping others
learning new skills
taking part in leisure activities or hobbies
completing projects
How do you find your purpose?
Many of us have the same passion for decades. Others find their priorities shifting with time, perhaps even questioning long-held beliefs and searching for new meaning.
Suggestions that may help include:
think about things you do well and enjoy.
consider how those talents can be used to help others or make the world better.
cultivate the sense of awe and wonder you probably felt as a child.
what have you always wished that you could do?
what have you learned in life, and how can you share those lessons with others?
join others to work for causes that are important to you.
And of course, as a writer, I would suggest everyone devote some time to writing.
Consider this quote by philosopher John Stuart Mill, who said,
Those only are happy (I thought) who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way.
If you’re not sure what your purpose in life is, spend some time thinking about it. You will probably be healthier, and I’m positive you will be happier.
I’d love to hear what your passions and purposes are if you’d like to share.
Helpful books:
What Makes Life Worth Living? How Japanese and Americans Make Sense of Their Worlds By Gordon Mathews, 1996
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life Hardcover by Héctor García, 2017
The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters Hardcover by Emily Esfahani Smith, 2017