The Rest of Your Life
by Miki Saxon
I’m writing this long before election results are in, but it doesn’t matter. I can guarantee, without a doubt, that some of you are very happy campers and the rest of you are POed, angry, upset, depressed or scared.
No matter which, I suggest that you focus instead on your personal ikigai—your reason for being. Or, as is said on Okinawa, “a reason to get up in the morning”, that is, a reason to enjoy life.
Few Americans are willing to invest the time to get to know themselves well enough to identify their real ikigai, so they substitute all kinds of prefab things to give meaning to their lives.
Politics. Religion. Work. Followers. “Friends.” Klout score.
All of which are prone to failure as a reason to get out of bed, because they are external as opposed to internal.
In other words, they were created by others.
To possess a strong, stable ikigai you must come to it from deep self-knowledge.
Even if it includes one or more of the above elements you need to know why it/they are included.
If you do invest the time and effort to truly identify your own personal ikigai you really will live a happier, more satisfying and satisfactory life.
It’s guaranteed.
Flickr image credit: The Shopping Sherpa
November 16th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Very good post. I think that at the end the most important thing is “Credibility”: A man can get a reputation from very small things.
November 26th, 2012 at 8:52 am
Hi Tracey, Sorry for the slow response, but your comment was caught as spam.
I agree with you, especially regarding the “very small things.” It is often the very small things that do the most damage, too.
Thanks for visiting and taking time to add your thoughts.