# Ikigai

> Map what you love, what you're good at, what's needed and what pays.

Chapter V, Learning and growth · 5.01 · Origin: Japanese concept; four-circle diagram by Marc Winn (2014) · Time: 30 to 45 min · Solo

**Use it when** you are deciding what work to spend your life on.

Interactive workspace: https://kogu.tools/tools/ikigai

## Abstract

Ikigai is a Japanese word for a reason to get up in the morning. In Japan it usually refers to everyday things, like a morning routine or the people you look after. It doesn't have to be a job, and for many people it isn't.

The four-circle diagram that made the word popular abroad is a Western addition. Marc Winn drew it in 2014 by putting the word ikigai in the middle of an earlier Venn diagram of purpose by Andrés Zuzunaga. As a prompt for thinking about work it's still useful: list what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for, then see where the lists overlap.

## Method

1. **List what you love.** Things that absorb you, whether or not anyone pays you or notices.
2. **List what you're good at.** Skills people come to you for, and things that come easily to you.
3. **List what the world needs.** Problems you see that deserve more attention, nearby or far away.
4. **List what you can be paid for.** Work someone would pay for now, or after a bit more practice.
5. **Find the overlaps.** Tick every circle each item belongs to. Start with the items that sit in three or four.
6. **Try one small step.** Test one overlap in real life before you reorganise anything around it.

## When to use it

- You're choosing a direction for work and every option feels like only part of the answer.
- Your job pays well but something's missing.
- You have a passion and want to see if it could be more than a hobby.

## Common pitfalls

- Expecting the centre to be one perfect job. Most people piece it together from several parts of their life.
- Writing down what you think you should love instead of what actually holds your attention.
- Mixing up the Western diagram with the Japanese idea, which is about everyday meaning more than career planning.
- Making a big change based on the diagram alone. A few small experiments will tell you more.

## References

- Kamiya, M. (1966). Ikigai ni tsuite (On the meaning of life). Misuzu Shobō.
- García, H., & Miralles, F. (2016). Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. Penguin Books.
- Mogi, K. (2017). The Little Book of Ikigai. Quercus.
- Winn, M. (2014). What's your ikigai? The View Inside Me.