What is ikigai and how can it help me in my expat life?
Have you been wondering what ikigai is and how ikigai can help you in your expat life?
Here we discuss what ikigai is for the Japanese and how this beautiful philosophy can help you live a better more fulfilling expat life.
What does ikigai mean to the Japanese?
Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy of finding and establishing meaning in life. It involves a process of cultivating your inner potential, being authentic with yourself in your relationships, work and creative processes, and approaching life with a strong sense of self and purpose.
Ikigai is often described as the reason we get up in the morning, and it shares some similarities with the French concept of raison d’être.
It is an honest and authentic way to look at ourselves. It provides us with tools to understand the complexity of our lives and to pursue the big and small things that give a sense of purpose and meaning. A strong sense of ikigai allows us to feel the joy, gracefully weather the challenges, and pursue what we identify as important.
Ikigai fills the basic needs of our lives
This multidimensional and positive perspective on daily living and well-being helps us build self-awareness, gain clarity of direction, and experience life with joy and vibrancy. To learn more about what ikigai means to the Japanese, click here.
How can ikigai be helpful in the context of expat life?
When we move abroad we lose many of the basic needs required for a happy and fulfilled existence. We need to pick up the pieces in our new home and rebuild our lives. We must work towards fulfilling life’s basic needs - the needs of ikigai - to have a fulfilling expat experience.
Moving abroad affords us an incredible opportunity to reinvent who we are. We are free to choose how we show up in our expat life and this may be the first time we are truly free to design the life we want.
This can be incredibly liberating.
It can also feel overwhelming.
Where do you begin?
How do you start to pull the pieces together?
What do you tackle first?
This is where knowing and pursuing your ikigai makes all the difference to your life as an expat.
This is where the magic happens.
Fulfilling life’s basic needs as an expat
Kamiya Mieko identified the basic needs in our lives that must be satisfied in order to have a high sense of ikigai (and overall well-being):
-Life Satisfaction
-Meaning and Value
-Bright Future
-Change & Growth
-Resonance
-Freedom
-Sense of purpose
-Self-actualization
As expats, we lose some of these basic needs when we move abroad (and some may have never been fulfilled even in our home country). Some of these losses include our sense of belonging and community, our inability to pursue the regular activities that bring us a feeling of life satisfaction, and maybe even a feeling that we have lost our sense of self.
Sometimes as expats, we feel there is something missing in our lives but we can’t quite figure out what it is. Often as newly arrived expats, the lack of these needs makes us feel lost and unsure of ourselves. And for most expats, we have moments where we are happy and on top of the world and other times where we feel riddled with challenges.
Knowing, pursuing and fulfilling the needs of ikigai is a game changer for the struggling expat.
- Which of your needs are being met?
- Which ones are not?
- What steps can be taken to move closer to satisfying these needs of ikigai in your expat life?
- What can you do right now, today, to move closer to finding an expat life that is more aligned with your values?
- How can you respect your needs so you can build the expat life you want?
Exploring ikigai can be a valuable tool for expats who are struggling to find meaning and purpose during their time abroad. It can help you overcome challenges, improve your mental and emotional well-being, and have a more positive expat experience.
If you need help figuring out what is missing in your expat life or are struggling to find your way in your new country, book a free call today and let us guide you in fulfilling these vital needs for a happy and fulfilling life!
We give expat women, like you, the tools, resources and support you need to thrive in your expat life. Our approach to successfully navigating expat life focuses on the 8 basic needs that must be satisfied in order to have a high level of well-being (and ikigai) in our lives.
Using our coaching tools and strategies along with our experience as expats, we support you as you move through the ups and downs of this exciting global lifestyle.
