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Are you struggling to find your passion and purpose in life? This post is about the 4 actionable steps you can take to finding your passion & purpose in life, using a famous Japanese concept, Ikigai which embodies the idea of finding “happiness in being.“
I have always had a hard time finding a good balance between occupation, money, and happiness. Sometimes we feel like we have to choose either purpose or money. But never both.
Many times, society pressures us to pick a path that’s more realistic and less risky. But is that the best path for you in life? Do you find the most fulfillment? Are you your happiest self?
I am sure a lot of people ask themselves these questions year after year. Guess what, me too! I landed upon this Japanese concept that resolves the feeling of being lost in life. I just had to share it with everyone. It’s just that good, trust me.
DRUMROLL PLEASE!!! This concept is called IKIGAI.
Finding Your Passion & Purpose Using IKIGAI
According to a BBC article, there is no direct English translation of Ikigai, “but it’s a term that embodies the idea of happiness in living. Essentially, ikigai is the reason why you get up in the morning.”
Simply, “The reason for being.”
In my own translation, I’ve figured out that happiness in life is not about choosing between purpose and money, but having a balance of all the 4 concepts from the Ikigai chart.
Let’s dive in…
Here are the 4 actionable steps to finding your passion & purpose in life.
1. Doing What You Love – Create a list of passions
What is that one thing that you look forward to doing after work or during the weekends? What’s that one thing you do even if you’re not being paid? What’s that one thing that you do for hours and never get tired of?
Well, this is called passion. Basically, you find the utmost enjoyment and satisfaction blindly doing it.
For example, my passions lie in fashion, creativity, aesthetics, photoshoots, motivation, and business.
Therefore, I could:
- Go shopping for outfits for 10 hours even if I’m not buying anything.
- Put an outfit together in a minute with just what I have.
- Dance to African music till morning even if I’m not the best dancer.
- Do photoshoots for fun with whatever I have and make it work.
- Mindlessly create cute templates for hours playing with designs.
- Design a cute home with not enough money.
- Speak life into someone without paying attention.
- Talk about growth and business strategies until I tear your ears off.
At the end of the day, I will do it and have a blast.
So, your passion is simply defining your happy place. Therefore, list down every hobby you can think of to find your passion. (Here are 150+ Hobby Ideas Broken Down by Interest and Personality)
2. Doing What You are Good At
The second step is picking what you are good at or something you can grow into from your list of passions.
Therefore, this is a step to help you find your purpose/calling. (Here are 20 Ways to Find Your Calling)
See you can be passionate about something, but not be good at it. For example, I am passionate about dancing, but your girl barely makes it on Instagram reels. I am probably good at attending an African Zumba class, but not instructing it. Do you feel me?
While on the other hand, some passions need more effort, practice, and training to become an expert, such as getting a degree, doing a course, an internship, working at the job to gain experience, networking, etc.
For example, I aspire to be a strategist. I would love to share tips and encourage ordinary women who feel stuck to level up in their businesses, careers, and life. So for me to be excellent at it, I need to first succeed in the space, gain experience, do research, make connections and build a community.
Therefore, write down a list of your passions that you are good at, or else, if you’re struggling to find what you are good at, then write down a list of your interests that you could grow into through education and practice.
3. Doing What The World Needs
The third step is determining if the world needs your specific skills. The good news is that nowadays nothing is impossible because the online platform has opened up endless opportunities.
This is the step where you refine your mission in life.
Basically, how can you:
- offer value?
- change someone’s life today?
- bless somebody?
- improve somebody’s quality of life?
My current mission is to empower women to look chic and classy, just like a million bucks. Well, this might be mistaken for a fashion statement, but, there is more to it. For women to look and feel like their most expensive selves, they have to fulfill these other parts of their lives:
- Outward & inward appearance and presentation.
- Health & wellness.
- Being in a thriving space, career & environment.
- Being financial independent.
- Creating healthy relationships & community.
And many many more…
Therefore, out of your list of passions, find out what people are struggling with and how you can help them.
4. Doing What You Can Be Paid For
Lastly, after you have identified your passion, purpose, and mission, it’s time to think of a monetization strategy.
Not unless it is a charity, never do anything for free. You deserve to be well paid for your hard work. Therefore, do not undervalue yourself.
If you’re doing what love, what you’re absolutely good at and it is what the world needs, you have a business, and you should treat it like one.
Again, it is good that with the online space, it is easier to make money. In the blogging space alone, people are making a ridiculous amount of money through advertisements, affiliate marketing, brand deals, coaching, educating, etc.
Anybody and everybody should be making money doing what they love.
It is just about educating yourself on how to make money in your industry. It is also about trusting the process and never giving up. Nevertheless, if you are a beginner, it’s about creating systems, that will lead you to make money once you have an audience.
Last thoughts on how to find your passion & purpose in life…
In conclusion, I encourage you to find your passion, stop struggling, and quit living an unfulfilling lifestyle year after year. You have control over your life. Just find your IKIGAI and take ACTION slowly but surely.
Nevertheless, I hope this blog post was beneficial in helping you find your happiness and reason for being.
What if you don’t know what I am passionate about, to begin with?
I thought it would be interesting for you to see from this perspective as well. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
A Gift From Me To You!
Here is a cute template that can help you get your goals rolling.
- List your passions.
- Out of your list of passions, list what you’re really good at. (Your purpose/calling).
- Out of what you’re good at or can become an expert in, list what the world needs.
- Lastly, write down a monetization strategy.
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