30 Days Challange & Ikigai

One of my favorite parts of my MDE journey was the "30 Days Challenge". Because it was great to contribute to our development by steadily progressing towards a goal within the specified time. We all set a routine for our own development and had the opportunity to observe our progress by following this routine.

Although I have been interested in meditation since I was little, there are only a number of moments when I can focus and meditate properly. Although my yoga practices have helped me a lot in this regard, it has always been difficult for me to spare time or stay focused on the "moment". 

In this article, I won't go into the topics of "What is meditation and why is it useful?", but I have to make a small recap here. The main thing in meditation is to be able to stay in the "moment" by isolating yourself from external factors. I have a request from you: for just for 30 seconds please try not to think about anything, and you won't believe yourself when you realize how hard it is. The human brain either goes to the past or to the future in a few seconds. :) I bought Osho's book calles "Meditation for Busy People" several months ago, but ironically couldn't even read it, I decided that this wouldn't be the case. Just then, I came across "Ikigai", one of the popular books of the last period, written by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles, fortunately, I managed to complete it. :) Ikigai offers both a very ordinary and a very different philosophy. When I finished the book, I realized that I already knew 80% of the things written in it. But the book changed my perspective and brought awareness to this information I already have. I guess it would be a correct description if I say that it processed the raw information in my head. Now let's come to Ikigai and how to discover ours ...

Now I want you to think like this: Think of something you enjoy doing and don't understand how the hours' pass.

Just as a child gets away from the world and enjoys intense pleasure while playing with his toy for hours, try to remember what the situation is that gives you the same feeling. It could be cooking, writing, painting, watching science fiction movies, playing the piano, reading history, running, growing plants, doing make-up, traveling, or even collecting cups. This is your ikigai! My advice is that your ikigai should not be indexed to a human. Determining something you can sustain yourself is very important for the continuity of your happiness:)

For example, to give an example from myself, while I am writing, reading a gripping novel, doing make-up [mocking is forbidden! :)] I don't think of anything else while traveling to a place I've never seen or making a cake. I am so happy with the situation I created at that moment that I really get lost in the "moment", time stops for me. In meditation, too, what you have identified as your Ikigai will already have a meditation effect in your body, since the thing is that the brain is purified from the toxic thoughts that have happened in the past and are uncertain in the future. All you have to do is identify your ikigai and add it to your routine!

Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy that emphasizes your reason for existence, essentially defined as "reason for being."

In fact, this philosophy offers you a lifestyle that tries to balance your inner peace with practical life. According to this philosophy, everyone has a purpose of existence, strengths, qualities that can contribute to the world and people. If you can discover this and add it to your routine, then you can easily get rid of stress and continue your life in a healthier way. At the same time, your Ikigai will give you a life purpose, so you stay more motivated towards life, active and young.

The authors of Ikigai conducted detailed research in two villages in Japan, where the longest-lived people in the world live. The 110-year-old people living there have a few common characteristics.

I will list the most basic ones for you, who knows, maybe you owe me the extra few years of your life :)

• They all eat healthy, (We are not surprised at this, we already know but we cannot do it much)
• They all have easy exercise routines such as gardening every day. (Sport is important, we know this now, but making it happen is a bit troublesome)
• All of them care very much about their friendships and they always have a pleasant time with their friends every day. (Important, yeah but I didn't think it would take my life that long)
• They all have a Ikigai. (The surprising part here, it is this happening :))

Leaving aside the villages of Japan, a study of 15 of the world's most successful people has shown that they all have a Ikigai in common. In fact, almost all of them succeeded in transforming their Ikigai into work, thanks to these passions, they became one of the most successful people in the world. This issue has been on the agenda so much recently that even Forbes, one of the most popular business magazines in the world, has included the importance of Ikigai in its content.

So then "what is ikigai and what path should we follow in discovering our own Ikigai?" The cluster system in the image above helped me a lot to answer the question. You can add speed to your Ikigai journey by answering the questions below. In fact, my advice would be to take a paper and pen and list it immediately.

• What are the things you love so much?
• What are your passions, what you cannot give up?
• Are there any issues in life that you take on a task for yourself or feel responsible for?
• Do you think you have a special mission in the world?
• What are your abilities? People around you usually tell you what you are good at?
• What do you have that the world and people need, what can you add?
• When you consider your experience and training, on which subjects are you knowledgeable and expert?
• What is your job in professional life, and with which competencies do you make a living?
• What feature of you do people agree to pay for?

After answering these questions, you will feel that you are getting very close to your ikigai. If you cannot find your ikigai despite all the work, do not force yourself and try to observe the moments you enjoy in the flow of life. You will surely notice over time.

I am waiting for comments from anyone who has discovered ikigai, who has not discovered it, or who has drawn a message from this article. I wonder how your ikigai adventure will be. :)

Yours,

Zümra ♥