What motivates you and inspires you? Understand by doing your IKIGAI
Lack of motivation, burnout, malaise at work... Do you sometimes feel like you're going through your working day more than finding pleasure in it? Are you considering retraining, changing jobs or changing industry? It may be time to ask yourself to think about what allows you to flourish. It's quite a broad question and sometimes not easy to identify. So, to help you get to know yourself better, we're talking about a tool often used during professional assessments: the IKIGAI. And we explain how to use it to get the most answers about you, what drives you, motivates you.
IKI.. what?
IKIGAI is a Japanese philosophy of life, coming from the island of Okinawa, which focuses on the present moment to be happy: finding your Ikigai is finding meaning in everything you do. , to have a life filled with positive vibes. This philosophy has been transcribed into a method to understand how everyone can direct their life towards better fulfillment and feel a state of happiness and well-being on a daily basis. It is used in particular for:
- career guidance
- in vocational retraining programs
- To work on his leadership
- To prevent psychosocial risks and improve the quality of life at work.
The 4 components of IKIGAI
How to make your Ikigai? For each of the 4 components, here are some questions to ask yourself to identify what contributes to your development. You can take a paper and a pencil to answer them. This is your moment of introspection:
What you love
In your current professional life, do you like what you do? What do you like about what you do at your workplace?
What activities make you happy at work? What are you doing when, so absorbed in what you're doing, you can't see the time passing?
If you have a new professional project, what makes you want to do this job?
You can also dive into the experiences of your professional career or your free time to ask yourself these questions, and even go back further on what would make you happy when you were a child.
Here is an example about me: When I write this article on Ikigai, I explore for 2/3 hours the resources that exist on the subject to take what seems to me the most relevant for this article. I like to do this work of research, of exploration.
A counterexample: When I spent days on prospecting files when I was a salesperson, I did not see the time passing. I was busy thinking about doing this task out of duty and to do my numbers at the end of the month. I put a lot of pressure on myself and found no job satisfaction.
What you're good at
Feeling useful is also a factor of fulfillment and commitment at work. When do you get positive feedback at work or in your personal life? What services are you called upon for?
Even if comparing yourself is not always the best option, it can be interesting to do it here: what do you do easily that is more difficult for others to do?
An example about me: I have no trouble meeting new people. I enjoy interviewing new people and at the same time I do it easily compared to others.
=> To identify your preferences and what you are good at, this article on the MBTI might interest you.
What the world needs
The meaning of work also contributes to job satisfaction. It is different for everyone and depends on our personality traits and values. The vision of what the world needs is therefore not the same for everyone.
What has been important to you in your professional career? What are the current issues that affect you? What are your emotional feelings towards them?
How can you integrate what the world needs into your work environment?
In the context of a professional reorientation, what are the professions, the structures which for you meet these needs?
About me: I write for jobs_that_makesense on topics of career guidance and impact at work. Many people want to give more meaning to their work by moving towards the world of impact and seek information to define or build a professional project.
What you can be paid for
Are you paid for what you love to do?
How much do you need to live as you wish?
Like the other components, it should not be privileged, otherwise there is no balance. Finding your Ikigai means understanding your personal balance thanks to these 4 elements to define a coherent professional project.
Some advices to use this method
- Ikigai is presented as a method to help you get to know yourself better and find your professional vocation. The answers are not especially to be taken at face value. If you do online tests in particular, keep a step back on the answers they give you. Self-knowledge takes time, and Ikigai, like other tools, should be taken as nudges to support you in your personal development and guide you towards the job that suits you. Ultimately, it is above all your approach of asking yourself and undertaking a reflection on yourself that will allow you to move forward.
- Don't be in too much of a rush to find results. If you don't find answers right away, repeat the exercise, for example by doing small regular check-ups at the end of your days. :)
- Finding your professional path today via IKIGAI does not mean that you have found a path for life. This is an exercise that you can repeat regularly, because you change and so do your needs.
For further
👉 Le petit livre de l’Ikigaï from Ken Mogi
👉 Follow an Ikigai session with Edeni
👉16 steps for your professional transition
👉 Make your resume for a professional retraining
Take action
👉 Training in the professions of ecological and social transition