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When do you feel in flow?Flow is often experienced while playing sports, music, or games, or in partaking in religious rituals. It is generally accepted as an optimal state of mind that is achieved when an individual is intensely involved in one of these activities. What is often forgotten is that flow involves a balance […]

Discussions of self-improvement in Japan often involve the verb gambaru. Its noun form gambari could be translated to mean ‘endurance’, ‘perseverance’, ‘effort’, or ‘tenacity’. Gambari indicates ‘exerting effort and hard work’ or ‘persevering and not giving up’. It is a key cultural value that guides Japanese motivation and the attitudes towards life’s challenges. I use the

In episode 20 of the Ikigai Podcast, Dr Iza Kavedžija, Assistant Professor of Medical Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and author of the book Making Meaningful Lives: Tales from an Ageing Japan, recounted her experience of volunteering for an NGO at a community café in the south of Osaka.As part of her doctoral research

What is a sense of purpose? When do you feel a sense of purpose? The Japanese word shimei-kan provides us with some answers.If we take a closer look at the kanji characters that form the word shimei-kan, 使命感,  使 (shi) is used for the verb 使う(tsukau), meaning ‘to use’, and 命 (mei) means ‘life’. Thus,

Purpose can be defined as ‘the feeling of being determined to do or achieve something.’ But how would you characterise that feeling – how do you know when you are experiencing it? You can certainly feel a sense of purpose when you are focused on and determined to achieve your goals – and you can

Where is your place to be?  Ibasho is another of my favourite Japanese words – one that describes the community I have built within Ikigai Tribe. Like ikigai, ibasho has no direct translation, is used in daily conversations, and encapsulates both psychology and philosophy. A Japanese-to-English dictionary would translate ibasho as ‘whereabouts; place; location’, but in recent

Leisure researcher and regular Ikigai Tribe podcast guest Dr. Shintaro Kono describes ibasho, authentic relationshsips, as the social aspect of ikigai.  While studying keiken, valued life experiences, amongst university students Dr Shintaro Kono noticed a strong effect of ibasho on the experience of ikigai-kan: ‘Our results suggested that students’ ikigai was strongly influenced by ibasho, authentic relationship.

Ibasho is another of my favourite Japanese words – one that describes the community I have built within Ikigai Tribe. Like ikigai, ibasho has no direct translation, is used in daily conversations, and encapsulates both psychology and philosophy. A Japanese-to-English dictionary would translate ibasho as ‘whereabouts; place; location’, but in recent decades the word has been used in relation to belongingness and mental wellbeing.

Yutori is psychological state in which one feels a sense of wellbeing and life satisfaction because she or he feels a sense os space in their mind and life.

A term you hear often if you visit Japan, ikizurasa: “It’s tough to live”. I think two years ago I was in Hiroshima, right after a conference, in a bookstore. It was just a small bookstore, but there was an entire section on ikizurasa.