Consumer Insight

New Life Concepts: Ikigai

The West is taking inspiration from

the East for a life of longevity, good
health and purpose.

Auntmasako
Analysis
The Ja p a nese concep t of " ikig a i" is the
la test cultur a l lifestyle tr end to mov e
tow a r d s the ma instr ea m. It mea ns
" p ur p ose" or " r ea son for b eing " . Ikig a i
follow s " hyg g e" fr om Denma r k, w hich
a cknow led g es a sp ecia l moment of comfor t;
S w ed en' s " la g om" , w hich tr a nsla tes a s " just
enoug h" a nd hig hlig hts the countr y' s
eg a lita r ia n mind set; a nd " fr iluftsliv " or " fr ee
a ir life" – the Nor w eg ia n ter m for
emb r a cing the outd oor lifestyle.
These concep ts ha v e ha v e b ecome p op ula r
of the la st tw o yea r s a s consumer s
look to other cultur es for mor e a susta ina b le
lifestyle a nd fulfilment.

Okina w a , a n a r ea in Ja p a n tha t liv es b y the

p hilosop hy, is sa id to b e the home of the
long est-liv ing p eop le on the p la net. With
the cur r ent focus on w ellness, The West is
looking to a ncient w isd om fr om the Ea st.
Ikig a i is sa id to foster inner zen, ha p p iness
a nd hea lth thr oug h huma n consciousness
a nd self-exp lor a tion. It ca n b e und er stood
b y a d d r essing four p r incip les: w ha t you
lov e d oing , w ha t you ca n b e p a id for , w ha t
the w or ld need s a nd w ha t you' r e skilled a t.

Jay Mantri
Then and now
On the Ja p a nese isla nd of Og imi,
p eop le liv e into their second centur y. A
2 017 WHO r ep or t found tha t Ja p a n ha s the
hig hest life exp ecta ncy in the w or ld , a nd
TED sp ea ker a nd r esea r cher Da n B uettner
cla ims ikig a i is the r ea son. A 2 015 Amer ica n
Psychosoma tic S ociety a na lysis found tha t
p eop le w ho ha v e a hig her sense of p ur p ose
in life, or ikig a i, a r e a t low er r isk of d ea th
a nd ca r d iov a scula r d isea se. ikig a i: The
Ja p a nese S ecr et to a L ong a nd Ha p p y L ife,
Giovanni Randisi a b ook p ub lished in S ep temb er 2 017,
outlines v a r ious p r incip les for liv ing a s
Ja p a nese centena r ia ns d o, such a s ea ting
until you' r e only 80% full, r econnecting
w ith na tur e a nd sta ying a ctiv e r a ther
tha n r etir ing .
The Wor ld Economic F or um p icked up on
Ikig a i this Aug ust. Amid fea r s of AI ta king
huma n job s a nd the Alzheimer ' s Associa tion
cla iming tha t " w e' r e in a n Alzheimer ' s
cr isis" , Ikig a i could b e seen a s a
susta ina b le p r ev ention str a teg y for ill-
hea lth, r ed ucing str a in on hea lthca r e
ser v ices (in the UK , the NHS fa ces a £30
b illion fund ing g a p na tiona lly b y 2 02 0),
or simp ly a fuelling of the multi-b illion
d olla r self-help ind ustr y ($ 10b n in the US
a lone, a ccor d ing to the B B C). The Wor ld
Economic F or um und er lined the imp or ta nce
of ta king a ction w ith the concep t of ikig a i
a nd not just a cknow led g ing the thinking
b ehind it.
A p er son' s ikig a i ca n cha ng e w ith a g e,
g iv ing it a w id e-r a ng ing consumer a p p ea l.
It is not a lw a ys w or k-r ela ted (a lthoug h this
is a common a ssocia tion in the West).
" Ikig a i ca n a lso b e a micr oflow , w her e you
enjoy d a ily r outine ta sks like d oing the
d ishes. F or this r ea son, B ill Ga tes for
exa mp le d oes his d ishes ev er y nig ht. It
help s him to r ela x a nd he tr ies to d o it
b etter ev er y d a y. Your ikig a i d oes not ha v e
to b e a b ig mission to cha ng e the w or ld b ut
something [tha t] g ets you into a flow , "
w r ote b log g er The Gr eenCr ea tor in
a r ev iew of the b ook.
The school of thoug ht ha s clea r simila r ities
to mind fulness, w hich ha s b een linked to
imp r ov ed menta l hea lth a nd w ellb eing .

@ikigaibook
 Consumer appeal
@juanmavidal61
"I N DEP EN DEN T P U BL I SH I N G
FO R M E, V ER Y M U C H C AM E
FR O M T HAT PLAC E O F WANT I NG
T O T AK E SO M ET H I N G T H AT H AS
BEEN A N EGAT I V E FO R C E I N M Y
LI FE AND O W NI NG I T ."
Kimi Hanauer
Founding editor, Press Press
Ikig a i fits w ell w ith Millennia l consumer s,
w ho p la ce a hig h v a lue on a uthenticity.
They' r e p la cing g r ea ter exp ecta tions on the
w or kp la ce, w a nting to b e a cknow led g ed for
w ho they a r e p er sona lly a s w ell a s
p r ofessiona lly.
As w e hig hlig hted ea r lier this yea r , Gen
Xer s a r e a d d r essing a ttitud e instea d of
their a g e, looking for mid life p ur p ose in
their w or k, fa mily a nd time out. In a 2 016
inter v iew w ith Chef' s Ta b le, 4 9 -yea r -old
B r a zilia n Chef Alex Ata la exp la ined how he
ev entua lly found his " mea ning of life" a fter
ma ny yea r s exp lor ing his r oots, cultur e a nd
p a ssions. This S ep temb er , the a ctor Id r is
Elb a , 4 5, tea med up w ith the a d ult illiter a cy
r ea d ing initia tiv e, Pr oject L iter a cy. He
r etold the stor y Chicken L ittle for
Inter na tiona l L iter a cy Da y to sup p or t a n
issue close to his hea r t. In a 2 017 B a la nce
Ma g inter v iew , he r eflected on his mea ning
a nd the b a la nce in his life: " I w a nt b oth my
kid s to look up a t the old ma n a nd g o,
' Da d d y w ent for it' , " sta ting tha t fa ther hood
w a s " the b ea ting hea r t of a ll of it" .
L iv ing long er a nd w ith mor e a utonomy tha n
ev er , B oomer s ca n look to ikig a i to r eta in
p ur p ose p a st r etir ement. The Gua r d ia n
outlined key tr a its of these " p r e-tir ee"
consumer s – w ho still ha v e sp end ing p ow er
a nd a n a p p etite to w or k (b ut mor e flexib ly).
B y 2 030, ov er 6 0s in w ester n Eur op e w ill
a ccount for 59 % of consump tion g r ow th in
cities, sa y McK insey.
Gen Z, a n infor ma tion-fuelled , conscientious
cohor t, is a lr ea d y fa ir ly w ell-v er sed in ikig a i
menta lity. Using their skills to find their
p ur p ose, they a r e a lr ea d y ma king their ma r k
on the w or ld a s they na v ig a te their
id entities. Gr a p p ling w ith their menta l
w ellness, ikig a i p r incip les could b e
integ r a ted into new initia tiv es a nd help them
sta y a floa t.
One cr itiq ue of this p hilosop hy is its ea se of
imp lementa tion in a n isla nd lifestyle. F or
Wester ner s, ikig a i could b e emb r a ced a s
sma ll-sca le a ction, such a s cha ng es to
ea ting ha b its a nd d a ily r itua ls.
 "I K I GAI – I T ' S O N E W AY O F DEFI N I N G T H E

H U M AN EXP ER I EN C E O F W AK I N G U P I N

T H E M O R N I N G, FEEL I N G T H AT FI R ST

ST R EAM O F C O N SC I O U SN ESS AN D

FEEL I N G T H AT YO U ' R E AT P EAC E W I T H

YO U R L I FE. T H I S SP AC E W H ER E P ASSI O N ,

M I SSI O N , V O C AT I O N AN D P R O FESSI O N

C AN C O N V ER GE… I T ' S N O T EASY;

SO M ET I M ES T H ER E AR E A L O T O F

C O N ST R U C T S O F H U M AN SO C I ET Y

T EL L I N G YO U T O FO L L O W T H I S T R EN D O F

T H I N K I N G, T H AT T AK ES YO U AW AY FR O M

FI N DI N G YO U R SEL F."

Charles Michel
Artist, philosopher and philomath
Jay Mantri
Influencers
P eg g y Oki – Surf er, skat eb o ard er, art i st ,
act i vi st : In her TEDxQueensla nd ta lk, 6 2 -
yea r old Oki sa id her lov e of motion, w a v es
a nd the w a iting in b etw een led her to her
ikig a i. S he b a la nces a ctiv e hob b ies w ith her
mission – the Or ig a mi Wha les Pr oject –
w hich comb a ts commer cia l w ha ling .

G an g ad h aran Men o n – W ri t er, t each er,

p h o t o g rap h er: After 2 8-yea r s in
a d v er tising , a nd tr a v elling Ind ia for 30
yea r s, Menon' s July 2 017 TED ta lk
outlined how he found his ikig a i
@drjeevak @juanmavidal61 ser end ip itously. " Don' t ma ke thing s ha p p en;
ev en if a g a r d ener p our s 100 p ots of w a ter
ev er yd a y, the tr ee w ill only fr uit d ur ing
fr uiting sea son, " he sa ys.

J uan ma V i d al – Sp an i sh zen art i st : Vid a l

cr ea tes a ud io-v isua l a r ts to sha r e the
contentment he d r a w s fr om ikig a i.

Dr J eevak Sh et t y – Marat h o n er, surg eo n ,

co ach , t ab at a t rai n er, yo g i : " One should
a lw a ys d ed ica te some time to a hob b y a nd
if you ca n ma ke a ca r eer out of it, tha t' s
g r ea t! " he sa id in a 2 017 Economic Times
Ind ia a r ticle in S ep temb er 2 017.

@peggy_oki The Better India

Iniatives
Iki g ai Fest i val
With the fir st ev ent held in Gua d a la ja r a ,
S p a in this 2 017, the festiv a l – emb od ying
the p hilosop hy of ikig a i – comp r ises a
B onsa i exhib ition, w or kshop s a nd
confer ences, g a mes, film p r ojections a nd
the sa le of a r ticles a nd g a str onomy. Asid e
fr om their p la nned yea r ly festiv a l, they a lso
offer yea r -r ound w or kshop s.

Th e Cul t ure, In n o vat i o n & Sust ai n ab i l i t y

P ro j ect (l aun ch i n g J an 20 18)
" The g r ea test g ift you ca n g iv e to a n
emp loyee is to ena b le them to b etter
themselv es w hile help ing society, "
exp la ined the p r oject' s found er , Ja mes
Mur p hy. F ocusing on p eop le fir st,
the p r oject encour a g es b usinesses a nd
emp loyees to sig n up a nd commit to
cr ea ting a susta ina b le economy, society
a nd env ir onment. To g r ow a sense of
p ur p ose a nd mor a le in the w or kp la ce, they
a im to g ener a te £1m for susta ina b le ca uses
a nd four million hour s of v olunteer ing in the
UK a lone b y 2 02 0.

The Culture, Innovation & Sustainability Project

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