Most people want to change something in their life and the world. They are frustrated or angry with circumstances beyond their control. The only thing you can control and change is yourself.
It is useless trying to change conditions, people, and circumstances out there because life is constantly changing. You don’t have to change the world.
You just have to change what you pay attention to in the world. And that is a powerful thing. It is an inside-out job.
Here I will present you some of the ideas I came across in my search. I’m fond of Japanese culture and philosophy and their way of living. Their business and life philosophy is mind-blowing and yet very simple and easily applicable.
I hope some of these philosophies you also will like and find useful. Ikigai, wabi sabi and kaizen are some of my choices this time. They amazed me even more with their simplicity.
Living Your Ikigai
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your “reason for being”. You can start with this Japanese secret to a long and happy life of ikigai.
Ask yourself: ”What rules can I easily implement that will help me with my day-to-day life?”
Your ikigai can help you:
- Design your ideal work lifestyle
- Create strong social connections at work
- Create a healthy work-life balance
- Pursue your career dreams
- Enjoy your work
Ikigai Rules
The following are the habits you could easily adopt to improve your health and well-being so you can discover and live your ikigai.
Ten rules of Ikigai
1. Stay active (don’t retire)
Don’t stop being active even after your “official” professional activity has ended. Keep doing things of value, making progress, bringing beauty or benefit to others, helping out, and shaping the world around you for example by becoming a Certified Coach.
2. Take it slow
We live a life of urgency and constant hurry. That makes us stressed and not in control of our decisions. When you slow down and leave urgency behind life gets a new meaning.
3. Don’t fill your stomach
When you eat to stay healthier longer, you should eat a little less than your hunger demands. Don’t overeat yourself, when eating try to fill only 80% of your stomach, it deters the doctors away.
4. Surround yourself with good friends
Without relationships and friendships, we can’t experience connection, intimacy or love, nor can we share our joys, hopes, struggles, and fears. People who isolate themselves can’t have ikigai – meaning or purpose.
5. Get in shape for your next birthday
Move your body, keep it daily maintenance for 10-15 min and you will feel much better. Exercise releases hormones that make us feel happy.
6. Smile
A relaxing attitude helps make friends. Smile every time you have and don’t have a reason for that. Even if you don’t have a reason to smile when you smile you develop a positive attitude.
7. Reconnect with nature
Spend more time in nature. Go for a walk in the forest or on the beach. Recharge your batteries. Enjoy the clear air and the sun, absorb the sounds of nature and walk barefoot. Humans are an inseparable part of nature. Reconnect with nature so that you can rejuvenate the body and give the mind a moment of peace.
8. Give thanks
Spend a moment every day to be thankful for everything you have and you are. By giving thanks every day, you will watch your reserve of happiness grow.
9. Live in the moment
Be aware of the present moment. Make the most of it. Live in the present.
10. Follow your ikigai
Live your ikigai. If you don’t know what it is, discover it. It can be several things, a spectrum where you don’t have to be the best version of yourself, just your honest authentic self in all of life’s moments.
Wabi Sabi Concept
Another great Japanese concept of living in today’s chaotic world is wabi sabi. In a few words, one could say that wabi sabi is the beauty of imperfect things.
The idea of wabi sabi can be understood as an appreciation of something that becomes more beautiful as it ages, fades, and consequently acquires a new charm. Pursuits of perfection are unrealistic.
It reminds us that everything in life, all things including us are impermanent, incomplete, and imperfect. Wabi sabi is the view or thought of finding beauty in every aspect of imperfection in nature. It celebrates the passage of time and its sublime damages.
Buddhist teaching, wabi and sabi when taken individually are two separate concepts:
Wabi – recognizing beauty in humble simplicity.
Sabi – concerned with the passage of time and how it manifests itself beautifully in objects.
Wabi sabi is a feeling, more than a concept, for Japanese people and a philosophy for approaching life. Accept what is, stay in the present moment, and appreciate the simple, transitional stages of life.
Wabi sabi can be found in classical Japanese aesthetics: flower arrangement (ikebana), literature, philosophy, poetry, tea ceremony, Zen gardens, etc.
It goes against modern over-consumption but also encourages simplicity and authenticity in everything.
One Japanese concept more I want to present here is kaizen. Continuous learning and continuous growth. An approach to creating continuous improvement and continuous change based on the idea of small change.
Kaizen Meaning
The meaning of kaizen can be explained in two words. Kai – change and Zen – good/for the (best).
kai·zen
/ˈkīz(ə)n,ˈkīˌzen/
noun
A Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc. Kaizen means improvement. It means continuing improvement in personal life, home life, social life, and working life. When applied to the workplace it means continuing improvement involving everyone, managers and workers alike.
Kaizen A Constant Improvement
The main or core philosophy behind kaizen is that you always can make or do things better, no matter if they are working well at a particular moment. It doesn’t matter whether change happens at once or it is constant, whether is big or small as long as it is a change for the better.
Nowadays, if you don’t grow and improve yourself and your life, you will eventually fall behind. The origins of kaizen are in lean manufacturing and the Toyota Way set of principles.
The two pillars of the Toyota Way:
- respect for people and
- continuous improvement
Kaizen as a life philosophy can be applied in every way for reaching success in personal life. It is continuous improvement without any excuses. It encourages you to constantly grow personally and professionally, to look for possible improvements and then to initiate positive change in your surroundings, working place, and daily life.
Final Thoughts
Japanese culture, philosophy and way of life is a way faster and more advance than the western world but still, they tend to have a balance in everything. They live more naturally in connection with their environment and themselves.
A new item that I adopted in 2023 is “Don’t give up on the Sun within you”! Master your better version and upgrade it to the best and highest version of yourself. Accept new and simple things that can help you to be a more happy and kinder person. Practice new habits and develop new routines.
Enjoy the process of making it, every single step. I find it not so long ago, that happiness is the journey, not the destination.
Start to be happy with what you have, and be thankful for this today. Make your life more interesting and enjoy every moment of it.
Good article.
Thank you,
for reading and leaving the comment. It means a lot to me. I haven’t been so active on my website for the past few months because I relocate myself but I will give my best to come up with new article as soon as posible.