Book Review - Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Updated: Mar 11, 2025
Book Review - Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Writer: Klinsmann Lee
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Ikigai:
Written by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.
Genre: Self Help
Ikigai is a Japanese concept about finding one’s purpose in life.
A clearly defined Ikigai will bring joy, satisfaction, and meaning to your life.
How to Find Your Ikigai:
Find your Ikigai. BODETREE, ADAPTED FROM FRANCESC MIRALLES [2]
Ikigai is “the reason[s] we get up in the morning” (page. 13)
To find your Ikigai, you need to answer these four questions:
What you are good at?
What are your strengths?
What skills and abilities do you process?
What you can be paid for?
A modest earning?
Bring smiles to the faces of others?
What do you love?
What get you completely immersed in the experience?
What are the things that give you a sense of meaning?
What the world needs:
How will your Ikigai bring a meaningful impact to your world?
To answer these four questions, you need to understand yourself and be patient in your search.
It can be difficult to fulfil all 4 categories, but it is possible to live a fulfilling life by understanding what you love, what you are good at and what you can be paid for.
10 Rules of Ikigai:
In addition to the Venn Diagram provided in the book to find your Ikigai, the authors also explore the 10 rules to live a happy life with a healthy mind and body. These rules include:
Stay active, don’t retire.
Take it slow.
Don’t fill your stomach.
Surround yourself with good friends.
Get in shape for your next birthday.
Smile.
Reconnect with nature.
Give thanks.
Live in the moment.
Follow your Ikigai.
What I find valuable about this book:
Living in the moment:
The world we are in is a fast-paced one. Technology has materially improved our life by enabling us faster access to information and improving daily convenience, such as the availability of instant messaging tools. However, it is also the constant access to technology that makes us feel lonelier.
When I have meals at a restaurant, I often observe many people using their smartphones than having a quality conversation with the people they are having meals with. I find that constant access to technology has prevented us from making personal connections and importantly, living in the moment.
Sometimes, it is worth putting down your phones and enjoying the moment.
As the authors mentioned in the book: “Instead of worrying about the past or future, we should appreciate things just as they are in the moment, in the now” (page 114).
Understand what you want and your path:
People often tend to follow the majority and pursue the options that best “fit” in.
However, this can often be not the best approach as each of us are unique in our values, beliefs, and thinking. The ability to decide what is best for yourself is very important.
To find your ikigai is to find what you value most and what you want to do most.
However, it is also important to consider the other side. Life is like a negotiation. You will often not be able to get what you expect. When this happens, finding a middle point with the other party or an alternative path is the art.
Simple Maths often illustrates this point. There are many paths to get to a total of 4. For example, "2 + 2" or "1 + 3" or "5 – 1". There are many ways to get to the end goal – it is how you get there that matters.
Live a simple life:
The world we live in is materialistic. We desire more and more. When we obtain what we initially wanted, we want even more.
Successful marketing has fuelled material possessions as a way to signal wealth and status. Yet, it is important to step back and consider whether we truly need and want this.
A guide to a simple life is to consider when and how we are going to use the product before we make the purchase.
Learning to live a simple life is an art. A simplistic life is often ideal as it not only helps to keep your thinking clear but also minimises waste to the world.
This reminds me of a quote by Steve Jobs “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains”.
Conclusion:
Ikigai is one of the best books I have read in 2023. Not only did the authors explore various strategies to help the readers identify their ikigai, but I also find the interviews with some of the eldest people in the world to be very helpful in understanding this concept.
It takes time to identify one’s passion, purpose in life and values of living. However, it is also this process that will help you better understand what you want with your life.
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