DISCOVERING MY LIFE’S PURPOSE & JOURNEY - IKIGAI

‘IKIGAI’, the Japanese concept that translates to "a reason for being."

It's like a career GPS, guiding you through four circles: What You Love, What The World Needs, What You Can Be Paid For, and What You Are Good At.

Here's the essence of finding your Ikigai according to an article published by Hamza Khan on Medium:

1. Answer 12 questions with a resounding YES or NO (swipe to see the questions).

2. If all 3 in a circle get a thumbs-up, lock it in and keep on moving forward.

3. Strive to make all answers YES across the board.

4. When you achieve a YES for all 12, cue the drumroll! You've just cracked the code to your Ikigai!

This framework encourages intentional career moves, allowing for thoughtful pivots based on your locked-in circles.

To those who are reading this and still have not found your life’s purpose & direction, I hope this helps🙏🏼

Also, if this post calls out to you, pls do not hesitate to reach out & ask any questions!

STORYTIME…:

For the longest time ever, I was lost & directionless… being stucked in that zone soon became a huge struggle for me.

Clueless on where to venture into next, I find myself subconsciously drawing myself away from my friends as time went by, I was slowly losing confidence in myself.

Most of my peers had already progressed onto their next phase of life.

While I, on the other hand, still couldn’t catch a glimpse of what my future entails.

Out of desperation, I started consulting my closer/trusted group of friends, seeking their thoughts & ‘advice’ one person at a time, but to little or no avail at all.

Ultimately realising that friends of my age & life stage aren’t able to give me the advice i sought for (understandably due to a lack of experience), I then took on the leap of faith to interview numerous older people out of desperation, particularly people who has ‘been there, done that’.

No amount of money can buy their life’s insights & experiences, these are WORDS OF GOLD.

I started this journey off first by approaching my friend’s dad, I nerve-rackingly asked for an opportunity to learn from his dad, to gain clarity & guidance on life & career choices.

LESSON 1:

Through this experience, I learnt that the path of great learning opportunities first begin with the simple act of ASKING.

Feeling more assured, I then progressed onto my colleagues (was working a contract job then), pulled individuals out one by one during lunch & dinner breaks for to interview & learn from them😂

At that point in time, being the low self-esteem guy I was, I thought I was weird to ask for help & I feared being judged for my actions.

LESSON 2:

However, I learnt that anything is possible as long as we dare to ASK, most things aren’t bad as we picture them to be.

All we need is that first & toughest step to take, and everything will flow.

LESSON 3 (my biggest takeaway):

Through this repetitive journey is also where I got first introduced to the concept of ‘IKIGAI’, which truly transformed my life, and it’s also what kickstarted my career journey:)

Discovering your Ikigai may take some time, but trust me, it's an incredibly rewarding journey.

Seize control, find your rhythm, and dive into work that resonates with your heart.

Once you embrace your Ikigai, you'll reflect on those demanding work hours and marvel at how time flew while living your true purpose:) 💫

#CareerJourney #FindYourWhy