Introduction
This book talks about the word Ikigai, which basically means to find your purpose in life, and how to find your Ikigai. The word Ikigai can also be translated as “the happiness of always being busy pursuing your purpose” or “the thing that gives your life worth, meaning and purpose”. It also talks about why the population of Okinawa, Japan have the longest life expectancy and the habits these people have. Ikigai can be summarised with the following picture.
The Art of Staying Young While Growing Old
Everyone has an Ikigai but finding it can take time and effort. Our Ikigai is the reason why we get up in the morning. Having a clearly defined Ikigai brings happiness, satisfaction and meaning to ones life. Many Japanese people never really retire, they keep staying active and keep doing their Ikigai for as long as their health allows. It gives a sense of purpose to every day and research shows that it plays an important role in their health and longevity.
Our exact Ikigai is different for all of us but something we all have in common is that we want to live a meaningful life. When we do things that are connected to what we think is meaningful we are happy. When we lose that connection we feel empty. Our curiosity is a good guide to find our Ikigai. Modern life has separated us from our true nature and made it so that we prioritize money, success and attention. What happens then is that it becomes easy to live a life without meaning.
Joining a Community
Most people in Okinawa join and form close bonds with different communities. The members of the community share similar interests and look after each other. They have regular meet ups and serving the community becomes part of many peoples Ikigai. It is also good for overall health since most people need some kind of social interaction.
Little Things That Add Up to a Long and Happy Life
An active mind and an healthy body are both equally important if you want to stay young longer. Having a curious and active mind also leads to a healthier lifestyle. Our neurons in our brain will slowly deteriorate if if stop giving our mind stimulation. This can for example be reading, learning something new, interacting with people and going outside of your comfort zone.
A lot of stress causes a person to age faster and look older than they are. Stress affects everything from our digestive system to our skin. Some of it is caused by technology because we see small notification as something important and get a little bit stressed and worried over it. Way to improve this is to practice mindfulness, meditation and taking breaks from technology.
A lot of sitting is not healthy and will age you faster. The solution is to move around and stand up more.
Sleep is very important because it helps us recover and generates melatonin. Some of the benefits are it strengthens immune system, cancer and heart disease protective.
Two important traits to a healthier and longer life is to have a positive attitude and emotional awareness. By have a positive attitude you can better handle your emotions and stress.
How To Live Longer and Better by Finding Your Purpose
Around 50 percent of adults are experiencing some kind of existential crisis. Existential crisis when our life is without purpose. This can be seen as a positive thing, that something needs to change. This void is filled by discovering ones purpose in life, to find something to live for. Our overall happiness in life comes from comparing what we have accomplished so far to what we want to accomplish in the future. Meaning are we living to our full potential or not.
Ask yourself these following question if you are angry at someone. These questions will stop you from blaming other for your problems and instead take responsibility for them.
- What have I received from person X?
- What have I given person X?
- What problems have I caused person X?
Find Flow and Turn Work and Free Time Into Spaces for Growth
Our happiness in life is related to the total amount of flow state we experience. Being in a state of flow basically means to be in the zone. It can be described as: the state that a person is so involved in an activity that they forget about all other things. The people enjoy doing activity so much that they do it of its own sake. So you want to experience flow as much as possible but don’t chase and be addicted to it.
Microflow can be described as turning small tasks into things we enjoy, such as doing dishes, making one’s bed and cleaning the house. We will be happier and enjoy these small tasks more if can can turn them into moments of microflow. One way to do this is to be grateful for the fact that you get to do the task, you have things and opportunities many people don’t.
“Ganbare” meaning: “to stay firm and always do your best”. A rule can be no matter what task, always do you best.
Words of Wisdom From the Longest-Living People in the World
This chapter contains advice from supercentenarians, people who have lived over 110, on how they did it and how they have found meaning in their lives.
- “Eat and sleep well, and you will live a long life. You also have to learn to relax.”
- Stay away or limit the consumption of meat.
- “If you keep you mind and body busy, you will be around for a long time”
- Never stop learning. Learn new skills and things about the world.
- You need social interaction. This can be done by joining a community.
- “Learn to smile, laugh and have a good time.”
Japanese Traditions and Proverbs for Happiness and Longevity
“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years” – Japanese Proverb
“You have to accept that the world – like the people who live in it – is imperfect but that it is still full of opportunities for growth and achievement.”
“If you want to fight, then first think about it first for three days. After three days, the desire to fight will have passed” – Morita
“The essentials to happiness in life is something to do, something to love and something to hope for.”
“Worry less. Open you heart to people with a smile on your face. This way you grandchildren and everyone else will want to see you.”
“If you don’t work, your body breaks down.”
“To live a long life you need three things: exercise to stay healthy, eat well and spend time with friends, family and people.”
“Slow down and relax. You live much longer if you are not in a hurry.”
People in Okinawa also help each other out a lot when needed. This helps to form stronger bonds between people.
The Ikigai Diet – What the World’s Longest-Living People Eat and Drink
People in Okinawa eat a wide variety of foods, especially vegetables. They eat around 18 different foods and at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. They “eat the rainbow”, meaning that the vegetables they eat have different colors. They eat white rice every day. They rarely eat sugar, processed food and fast food.
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals that cause damage and accelerate aging. Here a 13 foods that are high in antioxidants that people in Okinawa eat: tofu, miso, carrot, fish (tuna, salmon, etc), bitter melon, seaweed, citrus fruits (especially one called shikuwasas which is high in nobiletin), cabbage (any kind), onion, soy beans, sweet potato, peppers and green tea.
The 80 Percent Rule
Low calorie intake is very common amongst people who live long lives. Many people in Okinawa follow the rule to stop eating when they feel 80 percent full. Overeating damages the digestive system which accelerates cellular oxidation which speeds up ageing. Two ways they do this is to use smaller plates and skip dessert. A way to let the digestive system rest and recover is through fasting. This can for example be 16h (intermittent fasting) and 1 day.
Exercises From the East That Promote Health and Longevity
Metabolism slows down by 90% after around 30 minutes of sitting. Instead of burning fat it gets stored. Standing up and moving around for 5 minutes gets everything going again.
The exercise they do in the east are yoga, tai chi and qi gong. These exercises are mostly not hard or intense.
How To Face Challenges Without Letting Stress and Worry Age You
It is very important to be resilient if you want to succeed. Resilience is our ability to deal with failure and setbacks. Resilient people know how to adapt and change. They focus only on the things they can control and don’t worry about the things they can’t. Its ok to take breaks but not to give up even things are going against you.
Another thing to practice is negative visualization. You imagine the worst thing that can happen so you can prepare for it. You want to reflect on the negative events but without worrying about them.
