Ikigai — The Japanese secret to a long and happy life
Okinawa in Japan is one of the top five “BlueZones” — where people live the longest and are healthiest.
When Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles interviewed people in Okinawa for their secret of longevity, the expected (obvious) answer might be “Daily workouts” or “Strict diet” or their “Secret resources for food” (despite being the fact that it is near Hiroshima).
Though the above factors might contribute to their longevity, the major reason that they said was something called “Ikigai”.
Have you ever felt any one of the following emotions
- What am I doing in my life? (As if you are in a labyrinth)
- Why am I doing this?
- Ahh!! When will I finish this work? I am not able to do it
- This is so boring. There is no point in doing this anymore
- Why should I get up today?
- I’ll work till 30, earn a lot and then retire and relax for the rest of my life
- Why does it happen all the time to me? My fate is very bad
If so, you might need to search for your “Ikigai”.
The term “Ikigai” is a Japanese concept that means “ a reason for being”. In simple terms, it is just the sole reason for your life.
The book (Ikigai — The Japanese secret to a long and happy life) might not show you what your Ikigai is but it helps how to search for it. Or in the least case, gives some techniques to stay happy and fit which eventually leads to finding one’s purpose on this planet. Few points that I have taken down are:
1. A little stress is good for health
In an experiment, a doctor was asked to solve rigorous mathematical problems which eventually makes him/her stressful. They have taken blood sample to study the effects of stress. The antibodies (generated because of stress) reacted as if a pathogen has entered thus destroying the good cells as well. This leads to age-prematurity. In simpler terms, a lot of stress succumbs.
If there is no stress (a care-free), though nothing gets damaged, neurons won’t work in their full capacity, new connections in the brain won’t occur thus leading to other health issues. So, the secret of longevity and achieving our purpose in life is to have some healthy stress. In simple terms, the advisable order to maintain is:
Low-level stress > No stress at all > High-level stress
2. Achieve your FLOW
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle/Will Durant
“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.” — Albert Einstein
In brief, whatever you do, focus on that to your maximum extent. No distractions allowed. Tips given by the authors are
- Choose a task that is challenging enough. Neither an easy task nor a beyond our ability task because it results in boredom or anxiety respectively
- Have a clear, concrete objective and focus on process rather than the end result or the objective itself because:
A vague objective → Confusion
Clear objective and focusing on process → FLOW
Obsessive desire to achieve objective while neglecting process → Fixation on objective, mental block ( Famously quoted as “Writer’s block” )
Principle of compass over the map: Prefer the compass (know the destination and follow the directions, flexible, adaptive) rather than a map (preplanned path, rigid).
3. Focus on a single task. (Eg: First eat, then watch TV etc)
A big myth regarding the above point is multitasking helps to cut our time or we will be much more productive. But the fact is it reduces productivity by around 60% and reduces IQ by around 10pts. The simplified reason is
“Our mind needs to do back and forth switching between various processes and that hurts the entire processes.”
Imagine a juggler whose capacity is to juggle 5 balls successfully. What if a 6th ball is introduced. Instead of falling only the 6th ball, the entire process of juggling will be damaged and all the balls will be dropped down.
In an experiment, a group of participants are asked to count the number of red arrows on a screen which has both red and blue arrows. As the number of arrows increased, the persons who are good at multitasking had difficulties in counting because they pay attention to each and every task thus failing the objective.
4. Use the “Pomodoro technique” — Short FLOW durations with a break.
3. The quest for learning
“A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future” — Albert Einstein
“Stay active, don’t retire”
“Walk slowly, you will go far”
There is no concept called “Retirement” for many people in Japan. They just follow their Ikigai, do whatever they are passionate till their last breath. They just believe “Never stop learning, whatever it may be” because it helps your mind to work actively thus being a source for your living.
4. “Hara Hachi bu” — Stop when satisfied, not stuffed
“Less is more” — Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
“Eight parts of a full stomach sustain the man: the other two sustain the doctor” — Japanese Proverb
In Japan, the usual restaurant serves in 5 small plates rather than one big full plate. They believe that it makes us psychologically to feel that we are having more food and thus end up eating less. This concept is called “Hara Hachi Bu” which instructs to eat until your belly is 80% full.
There are a lot of scientific reasons behind this
- If we make our tummy full, it becomes difficult for it to digest and thus adds a lot of weight
- More caloric intake results in an increase of Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) which is an ageing factor.
So, next time you have food remember to say “Hara Hachi bu”
Other suggestions from Okinawa are
- They have less than 10gm of salt per day
- Check if your diet has “RAINBOW” (different colors of food) to get various nutrients
- Less sugar intake (Average Okinawa intake is 1700 cal vs 2200 cal of the world)
- Fast once or twice per week which helps the digestive system
- Green tea, carrots, cabbage, onion, broccoli, citrus fruits (Basically anti-oxidants)
- Eat food slowly. It helps in several ways
“Being hurry is inversely proportional to quality of life”
5. Exercises
Instead of saying what exercises to do, they insist to do some sort of physical stretches because
“The metabolism slows down 90% after a continuous sitting for 30min. Enzymes which remove/burn fat will slow down and good cholesterol reduces 20%”
The author suggests to follow one from a variety of options that include “Radio Taiso”, “Yoga”, “Sun-salutation/Suryanamskara”, “Tai chi”.
The path might be different but the destination/purpose remains the same.
Meditation, on the other hand, corresponds to the passage of thoughts rather than free of thoughts.
Mind → Screen, sky, or river path. Thoughts →Frames, clouds, flowing water.
“Our mind is like a river, one needs a continuous flow of thoughts else the stagnant will be waste” — Robert Greene (abridged)
6. Wabi-sabi and Ichigo ichie
“God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.” — Reinhold Neibuhr
“It doesn’t matter what has happened to you, it matters what you do with what has happened to you. Life is like a poker game. You don’t get to choose the cards you are dealt, but it’s entirely up to you how to play the hand.” — Regina Brett
“The things we love are like leaves of a tree, can fall at any moment”
We only have one action to do: Focus on what we can control.
Accepting the way it is, finding beauty with the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay is the concept of “Wabi-sabi”
“Ichigo ichie” or the famous “Carpe diem” roughly translates to the same, “this is the moment, focus on the present, don’t worry much about the future”
So, it is very important for one to develop resilience, perseverance or else he/she will be doomed by others at any moment.
7. At the end
“Life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced” — Soren Kierkegaard
“It’s not about how long we live. It’s about how meaningful it was” — Unknown (Summary quote by myself)
Their philosophy is simple. In short, it is as follows:
1. Stay active and don’t retire
2. Leave urgency behind and adopt a slower pace of life
3. Only eat until you are 80% full
4. Surround yourself with good friends
5. Get in shape through daily, gentle exercise
6. Smile and acknowledge people around you
7. Reconnect with nature
8. Give thanks to anything that brightens our day and makes us feel alive.
9. Live in the moment
10. Follow your Ikigai
Find your Ikigai, and follow it no matter what. Don’t worry too much about finding him/her because finding one’s own Ikigai might be a “Micro-Ikigai”.
Do read the book as there are some more concepts which the authors cover in detail such as
- Differences between psychoanalysis and logotherapy. (The main one is the former deal’s with the past while the latter deal's future)
- Interviews with many artists related to their Ikigai’s
- Stoicism, Morita therapy and many anecdotes
Finally,
It takes only 1 hand to throw a stone at others but two to clap. So, why not try that so that you may burn extra calories as well (a gentle exercise)!!!
P.S: Clap is a feature in medium app to appreciate the author. So, try to do this as well😎
Personal Website: namburisrinath.github.io
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