Before starting the Ikigai book summary, Let us know the exciting story of the writing of this book. Incidentally, the authors of this book, Hector Gracia and FranceseMiralles, met in a tiny basin in Tokyo, Japan. They knew each other but never met before. They exchange their opinions on several issues, Like the Meaning of life, the purpose of life, etc. At one point in their conversation, the mysterious word Ikigai came up. They knew Ikigai was the related lifestyle of the people of an island named Okinawa, Japan. They wanted to details about it but needed to find more information about it and decided to research the inhabitants of Okinawa. It took one year to complete their study. After that, they wrote this book. So, this book is a research paper about the secret of happiness and longevity of the world’s older adults on the tiny island of Okinawa, Japan.One Thing I should make it clear that reading summary you can get only have an overview of it. To take actual message of this book you must read full book.
I have also some other book summaries like Miracle Morning, Eat That Frog, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Time Management, Dopamine Detox , The Four Agreements, Make Your Bed etc.
I will discuss with you a detailed summary of this book’IKIGAI’.
Chapter 1 : Ikigai Book Summary :The Art Of Staying Young While Growing Old
People from Okinawa island believe everyone has an ikigai which is the main reason to get up in the morning. What is ikigai? According to them, it is the pursuit or purpose of our life. Some people find it, while others Don’t. To live a lone centurion spy life, you must have an ikigai. To find it, you need the following four questions to be answered.
- What do you love? That is your passion.
- What are you good at? That is your skill.
- What can you be paid for? The monetary value of your love and skill.
- What the world needs? That is the benefits of people from your activity.
The combination of the best answer to these four questions is your ikigai. If you are still looking for your ikigai, answer the above four questions.
Surprisingly, the people of Japan, whatever they do, don’t retire! Most of these centurions keep doing what they love as long as their health allows. In Japanese culture, the idea of retirement doesn’t exist. What exists is a sense of purpose to every day that plays an essential role in their health and longevity. They take tea and eat until their stomachs are only 80% full. They form an informal group called ‘Moai’ to serve common interests among members. Moai Helps maintain emotional and financial stability among members. The feeling of belonging and support gives the individual a sense of security and helps increase life expectancy. That’s why the people of Okinawa islands hold first place among the’ world’s blue zones’ of books by Dan Buettner.
Chapter 2 : Ikigai Book Summary : ANTIAGING SECRETS
Little Things That Add Up To A Long And Happy Life:
Can we achieve biological immorality? Some scientists have claimed that we will reach this within the following decades. In contrast, Others believe no matter how much technology we have, we cannot achieve immortality as our cells stop regenerating after about 120 years. But, we can follow some basic anti-aging techniques. That’s :
Active mind and youthful body:
Both mind and body are interconnected to each other. Maintaining a dynamic, adaptable sense with a healthy lifestyle is one of the critical factors in staying young. Dealing with new situations, learning something new daily, and interacting with others are essential anti-aging strategies for the mind.
Stress is very harmful, but a little pressure is good for you:
Stress is accused of damaging healthy cells, weakening cell structures that ultimately have a worse effect on our nervous system. We suffer from irritability, insomnia, anxiety, high blood pressure, etc. As a result, our aging process becomes faster. One thing should be mentioned here: a small dose of stress is a positive thing to developing healthier habits, smoking less, and drinking less alcohol.
Developing anti-aging attitudes:
Following atomic habits might help to anti-aging
– Walk to work or walk for at least 20 minutes daily.
– Use of legs instead of lifts
– Participate in social activities
– Make a hobby that recharges you
– Avoid completely junk food or any processed food
– Sleep Deep for 7 to 9 hours every day.
– Be conscious of your daily routine.
– Be mindful. Do meditation.
– Enjoy every moment of every day’s life.
So, these are the little things for anti-aging.
Chapter 3 : Ikigai Book Summary FROM LEGOTHERAPY TO IKIGAI:
How to live longer and better by finding your purpose: Lego therapy might be the best to find our purpose in life, that is ikigai. In the traditional cure system, it is believed that frustration arises when our life is meaningless or when that purpose is skewed. On the contrary, lego therapy doesn’t see this frustration as a mental illness but rather as a natural and beneficial phenomenon that drives those suffering from it to seek a cure for greater life satisfaction. Lego therapy helps the person who needs guidance in discovering his life’s purpose and later in overcoming conflicts so he can keep moving toward his objectives. Frankel, writer and Lego therapist believed that when a person perceives a Gap between his accomplishment and his future target, he does not need a peaceful existence but a challenge he can strive to meet by applying all the skills at his disposal. Frankel also Mentioned in modern society; People do what they are told to do rather than what they want to do. They often try to fill the gap between their expectation and achievement with economic power or physical pleasure. After a while, the individual realizes how empty he is inside. he has to find a solution for life’s purpose. Frankel showed four case studies to better understand the search for meaning and sense. After all, he provides the following critical ideas for better living through logotherapy.
- We don’t create the meaning of our life, but we discover it
- We each have a unique reason for being, which can be adjusted or transformed many times over the years
- We all can do novel or terrible things.
Chapter 4 : Ikigai Book Summary : FIND FLOW IN EVERTHING YOU DO:
How To Turn Work And Free Time Into Spaces For Growth:
This chapter started with a famous quote from Aristotle, “ we are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act but a habit”.When we focus on a work We enjoy by our heart,
we know precisely how to move at each moment. There is no future, no past; only the present exists. We feel Our consciousness and our body United as a single entity. This kind of experience Bruce Lee described in his famous “Be water, my friend.” The ability to reach this state of flow is one of the key ingredients for living according to your ikigai. If there is some distraction, the Following strategy we can employ to increase our chance of achieving flow:
Strategy 1:
Choose a moderately tricky task: Choosing too difficult work brings anxiety to us. Similarly, when we choose an easy task, it brings boredom to us. Instead, we can select a job Slightly beyond our comfort zone. It is a scratch on our abilities that we experience as a challenge. That is what Ernest Hemingway meant when he said, “Sometimes I write better than I can.”We can enrich our skills by learning something new related to it. For example, We can be graphic designers and then learn a new software program for my next project. Similarly, we can be a programmer, and then I can try to learn a new programming language.
Strategy 2:
Have a clear and concrete objective: A clear goal is essential in achieving flow, but we must also know how to leave it behind in business. Once our work has begun, we should keep this objective in mind without Obsessing over it. As soon as we take the first small steps in our work, our anxiety will disappear, and we will achieve a flow in the activity that we are doing. Getting back to Einstein, “ A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell on the future.”
Strategy 3:
Concentrate on a single Task: We often think multiple tasks will save us time and energy, but it has the opposite effect scientifically. Today, there is so much technology that brings so many distractions. We have social media, YouTube, and e-mail, which are the main obstacles to our focus. Technology is great if we can control it. Unfortunately, it is seen it takes control of our lives. Several Stanford University studies Showed that concentration on a single task increases our flow, productivity, calmness, and control. Other studies indicate that working on several things simultaneously lowers our productivity by at least 60% and our IQ by more than 10 points. So, Here are a few ideas for creating a space and time free of distraction to increase our chances of reaching a state of flow:
-Avoid any screen for the first hour you are awake and the last hour before you go to sleep.
– Switch off your phone for a particular time. Arrange a system so people closest to you can contact you in an emergency.
-Set up a routine for technological fasting
– Always try to be present. Practice mindfulness, yoga, or other form of meditation. Have a walk or do any things that can center your scattered mind.
-Divide each activity into groups of related tasks and assign each group its place and time.
Flow is mysterious. If you maintain your discharge, you will surely be closer to your ikigai.
Chapter 5 : Ikigai Book Summary :MASTERS OF LONGEVITY
Words of wisdom from the longest living people in the world:
In this chapter, you find some super centurion people who live 110 years of age or more and, in one sentence, their secret of longevity.
Jeanne Calment(122): “ Everything is fine”.
Misao Okawa(117): “Eat and sleep and you will live a long time; you must learn to relax.”
Maria Capovilla(116): “ I have never eaten meat.”
Walter Breuning(114): “ If you keep your mind and body busy, you will be around a long time.”
Alexander Imich (111): “I just have not died yet.”
Chapter 6 : Ikigai Book Summary : Lessons from Japan’scenturions:
Traditions and proverbs for happiness and longevity:
Conducted a total of 100 interviews. Asking the eldest members about their life philosophy, they are ikigai and the secrets to longevity. 100% of people interviewed keep a vegetable garden; most have a garden of tea, mangoes, etc. All belong to a Neighborhood Association where they feel cared for as though by family. They are passionate about everything they do, however insignificant it might seem.
They’re always busy but occupy themselves with tasks that allow them to relax. Here is some bullet point of their statements.
1. Don’tDon’t worry
2. Cultivate good habits
3. Nurture your friendships every day.
4. Live an unhurried life
5. Be optimistic.
Chapter 7 : Ikigai Book Summary : The Ikigai diet
What the world’s longest living people eat and drink:
They follow the 80% rule while eating that we discussed earlier. Locals eat a wide variety of foods, especially vegetables.
They eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. More than 30% of their daily calories come from the vegetables. Rice is the primary food in Okinawa. They rarely eat sugar. But take green tea every day. They consume an average of 1785 calories per day. Several serious diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, inflammation, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease are rare here.
Chapter 8 : Ikigai Book Summary :Gentle movements, longer life
Exercise from the east that promote health and longevity
People who live longest are not the ones who do the most exercise but rather the ones who move the most. In this chapter, we will take a look at some of the practices that promote health and longevity. Radio, Yoga, Tai chi, Qigong, and Shiatsu are the exercises they follow. The takeaway is that they all combine physical activity with an awareness of our breath.
Chapter 9 : Ikigai Book Summary :Resilence and wabisabi
How to face life’s challenges without letting stress and worry age you:
Resilience has become influential among psychologists. Resilience is not just the ability to preserve. Instead, it is an outlook we can cultivate to stay focused on essential things in life rather than what is most urgent and to keep ourselves from being carried away by negative emotions. In the final section of this chapter, we also find that we go beyond resilience to cultivate anti fragility.
Wabi-Sabi:
Wabi-Sabi is searching for beauty in imperfections, flawed, and incomplete. It teaches us to appreciate the beauty of fault as an opportunity for growth. The critical point here is that we accept certain things over which we have no control. It teaches us to focus on the present and enjoy each moment life brings us. This is why it is so important to find and pursue our ikigai.
Life is not a problem to be solved. We should remember one thing that keeps us busy doing what we love while being surrounded by those who love us. As long as we have a purpose, we will achieve a happy state of flow in all we do, like a Caterpillar at his canvas or the chef who, after half a century, still prepares sushi for his patrons with love.
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