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3 Steps to Find Your IKIGAI

Updated: Apr 21


Many of my coaching clients reach out because:

...they are unhappy with their job...

...they are not using their full potential...

...they desperately lack meaning in their life...

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They tell me:

"I want to have an impact on our society." "I want to find a fulfilling role where I could get a decent salary." "I want to clarify what I really love." "I want to understand my strengths."


Sounds familiar? Well, like all of us, they are searching for their ikigai.

But what is behind this buzz word?


Ikigai is a Japanese word whose meaning translates roughly to "a reason for being, encompassing joy, a sense of purpose and meaning and a feeling of well-being."


The word derives from iki, meaning "life" and kai, meaning "the realisation of hopes and expectations."


To help my clients find their Ikigai, I have developed an approach which requires a conscientious and diligent hunt to achieve a whole new level of awareness about appetences, competences, drivers, and purpose.




Step 1 – Create Awareness


The first step involves creating awareness about the four circles, independently. You can start by asking yourself/discussing the following questions:


What You Love

  • What could you talk about for hours?

  • What are your three favourite books and movies?

  • What could you spend hours on?

  • What aspects of your life that bring you the most joy?

  • What part of your current job do you love the most?

  • If money were no object, what would you do for a career?

  • Which activities do you get lost in? (when you are in the flow)

What you are good at

  • What do you get complimented on most?

  • What do you like about yourself?

  • Where do you bring value? Where do you have impact?

  • What unique skills do you have that come most naturally to you?

  • What comes easily to you?

  • What talents have you cultivated and what do you excel at even when you aren’t trying?

  • What parts of your current job do you find effortless?

What the World Needs

  • What do you like to see different in the world?

  • What problems would you like to help solve?

  • What change would you most love to create in the world?

  • What cause do you believe in?

  • What breaks your heart or pulls at your gut?

  • What are the trends in your industry? In other industries?

What you can get paid for

  • Which skills could you be paid for?

  • Which passion could you get paid for?

  • What do people value and pay you for?

  • What is mainly valued in your experience?

  • Why people would hire you today?

  • Have you been hunted? What for?



Step 2 – Identify the Overlaps


The second step involves looking for areas of natural overlap in the circles, reflecting on the various elements and how they may relate to each other.