Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy Life

Book Review and Synopsis

Book Title: Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy Life

Authors’ Name: Hector Garcia Puigcerver, Francesc Miralles

Book Genre: Self-help book

Quick Summary

• The book focuses on the topics related to living better, living happy and living long.
• The authors construe ikigai and its rules. To understand it well, they conducted a total of one hundred interviews in Ogimi, Okinawa trying to unfold the longevity secrets of centenarians & super centenarians.

What is Ikigai?

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that basically means “the happiness of always being busy”. Ikigai is written by combining the symbols iki that means “life” and gai that means “be worthwhile”.

We all have passion in us - some unique talent inside us - which is our ikigai. It gives meaning to our life and helps us  share the best of us until the very end. If one doesn’t know what his or her ikigai is, your mission is to discover it.

This ikigai is hidden deep inside each of us, and is unique for each one of us. According to those born on Okinawa, our ikigai is “the reason we get up in the morning.” Once we discover our ikigai, pursuing it and nurturing it every day brings happiness and meaning to our lives. People with a clearly defined ikigai pursue their passion no matter what.

The book takes into account the Japanese island of Okinawa, where ikigai has its origins, and it is the  home to the largest population of centenarians in the world. Our state of mind governs our body. This book cites ikigai as the major reason behind the extraordinary longevity and active, happy lifestyle of the Japanese people, especially on the island of Okinawa. 

Book Highlights

Many people look older than they are. According to various researches, the main cause of premature aging is stress. Most health issues are caused by stress. Another reason for aging fast is the existential crisis, which is typical of a modern society in which people follow what others ask them to do rather than what they want to do. These people lose their purpose in life and live an unhappy life, numbing their feelings. It is important to discover our ikigai so that we keep doing things that make us feel happy and valuable, and that makes the world a better place around us, even after our ‘official’ professional activity has ended.”

On the north end of Okinawa is Ogimi, a rural town, also known as the Village of Longevity. It is inhabited by ppl, having the highest life expectancy in the world. People on this island live by the principle of ichariba chode, a local expression that means “treat everyone like a brother, even if you’ve never met them before.” As such,they harbor no animosity towards anyone. Residents practice yuimaaru (teamwork) from an early age, hence helping one another comes naturally to residents here.

They follow Moai (Page 15):  Connected for life, forming close bonds within local communities.

Moai is an informal group of people with common interests who look out for one another. Members of a moai make a monthly set contribution to the group to smoothly run the activities related to the group. It helps its members maintain emotional and financial stability.

According to the wisdom offered through this book, below are the major takeaways to discover our ikigai and pursue it

• A sound mind in a sound body “mens sans in corpore sano” ( Page 20) Just like physical workout, mental workout is equally important. Learning something new everyday, playing games and interacting with other people are essential anti-aging strategies for the mind.
• Be mindful about reducing stress (Page 25, 26) Practice mindfulness by focusing on the self and through meditation.
• A lot of sitting will age you (Page 27) For an active lifestyle, walk at least 20 minutes everyday, replace junk food with fruits, and sleep at least for seven to nine hours everyday. Also, play with children or join any sport.

• Anti Aging attitude (Page 30) : The key element of ikigai. A positive attitude and a high degree of emotional awareness, along with a stoic attitude keeps us young, as it lowers stress levels and anxiety.
• Logo-therapy and Morita therapy help us to find our Ikigai. 
• Logo-therapy (Page 39-42) a philosophy which helps us to  find reasons to live. The basic idea conveyed is that everything can be taken from a human but the freedom to choose one's attitude in any given situation. We don’t create the meaning of our life, we discover it. Each one of us has a reason for being, which can transform many times over the years. Excessive attention to a desire can keep that desire from being fulfilled. Humor can break negative cycles and reduce anxiety. We all have the capacity to do noble or terrible things. The side of the equation we end up on depends on our decisions, not on the conditions in which we find ourselves.

• Morita therapy (Page 47). This therapy focuses on Accepting your feelings. Do what you should be doing, and discover your life’s purpose.
• Naikan meditation (Page 50) This therapy makes us realise that we are responsible for our actions.

• Flow (Page 56): The state in which we all have felt our sense of time vanish. When we lose ourselves in an activity that we enjoy doing so much that we forget about our worries while we are doing it. It is the pleasure, delight, creativity, and process when we are completely immersed in life. Basically this STATE IS OUR IKIGAI. The experience we find so enjoyable that it involves us to the extent that nothing else matters. We love every bit of what we do.
• Flow strategies (Page 59) Choose a moderately difficult task; have clear and concrete objectives and focus on the process; concentrate on a single task by being in a distraction-free environment, and having control over what we are doing at every moment.
• Rituals over goals (Page 85) Happiness is in the doing, not in the result.

• Wisdom words/ lessons from Japan’s centenarians 
• “Food won’t help you live longer. The secret is smiling and having a good time.” (Page 106)
• Key to happiness is Celebrate each day, together and in local Spiritual ways.(Page 108) Happily busy but never in a rush.
• The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to so, something to love, and something to hope for (Page 111)
• Don’t worry, open your heart to people with a nice smile on your face, go out in the street and say hello to people (Page 112). 
• Cultivate good habits (Page 113)
• Nurture your friendships everyday (Page 115): Talking each day with the people you love, that’s the secret to a long life.
• “Doing many different things everyday. Always staying busy, but doing one thing at a time, without getting overwhelmed”. 
• Occupy yourself with tasks that allow you to relax. (Page 116, 118)
• Be optimistic.

• The ikigai diet. 
• Hara hachi bu (Page 14): Fill your belly to 80 percent.
• Okinawans follow ancient wisdom that advises against eating until we are full. Stop eating once your stomach starts to feel full.
• Eat a wide variety of foods. Variety seems to be the key. Eat at least 5 servings of vegetables and fruits everyday. Okinawans eat at least 7 types of fruits and vegetables everyday. Grains are the foundation of their diet (White rice basically). They rarely eat sugar, and if they do, it is cane sugar.
• People who live longer are not the ones who do the most exercise but the ones who move a lot and are highly active. Combine a physical exercise with an awareness of your breath. 
• It’s not what happens to you, but how you react that matters.
• Ichi-go ichi-e: this moment exists only now and won’t come again. We should enjoy the moment and not lose ourselves in worries about the past or the future (Page 172)
• Wabi-sabi: appreciate the beauty of imperfection as an opportunity for growth (Page 173)
• Antifragility: things that get stronger when they are harmed (Page 174). Create more options; Bet conservatively in certain areas and take many small risks in others; Get rid of the things that make you fragile (Page 176)

• Ten rules of ikigai:

1. Stay active; don’t retire
2. Take it slow
3. Don’t fill your stomach
4. Surround yourself with good friends
5. Get in shape for your next birthday
6. Smile
7. Reconnect with nature
8. Give thanks
9. Live in the moment
10. Follow your ikigai 

• Simplicity and attention to detail is the intrinsic part of Japanese philosophy.

Analysis

This book, Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy Life, is a fantastic effort to introduce the concept of ikigai to the west and the world. The language is simple, persuasive and lucid. It makes us seek basic answers to our questions in life, spontaneously. Questions such as What is the meaning of my life? Why few people appear so content while others look languish and lost. 

As the book tries to reveal the secrets of Japan’s centenarians to us, it provides us with the tools to discover our own Ikigai. 

I  liked the Japanese philosophies in this book but all the topics have been discussed just on the surface. More or less it is sheer common sense. I would have been happy if the authors discussed more on the “how” of ikigai. The book tries to cover many topics; thus, it shifts its focus unnecessarily to the introduction to a variety of different topics such as: the Blue Zones, logotherapy, longevity, Tai chi, Yoga etc. If you’re the one unaware of these topics, then this part of the book will be fun too for you as it efficiently introduces a fair idea about the art of living concepts.

I  recommend this book for reading to everyone. It is not that typical non-fiction banal read, but is pretty refreshing and easy on the mind. 

Read it and discover your ikigai.