Misako Yoke developed genki habits: one is 'embrace who you are and who you are becoming.' This habit of being true to oneself is one of the vital aspects of ikigai; Misako explains that for people to recognize their ikigai, they have to know and embrace who they really are.
Nick: I think this is a really core aspect of ikigai -- embracing who you want to be. It's about who you want to be and it's not about being your best self. It's about being your true self.
So I love that aspect. Who do you want to be? If that's in line with your true self? You'd definitely be genki.
Misako: I love the way you mentioned ikigai, ikigai cannot be separate from embracing who you are. So when you feel 'what's my ikigai? What do I want?' -- is embracing who you truly are and calling yourself.
Sometimes we adapt wrong ideas. As a fire-horse woman, I can tell you a lot of people told me wrong ideas I adapted without thinking and it took too long to realize, wait a minute, this is my life, I can change the way I respond.
So I was always reacting. So that ikigai is very important. Knowing ikigai is essential to embrace who you are.
Nick: Yeah, you've highlighted a big point. Many people with good intentions or sometimes bad will tell you who you should be: your parents, the teachers, your best friends.
They have these expectations of you to be sometimes perhaps someone different to your true self.
Misako: You just mentioned a very important point, because they don't have bad intentions, they kindly suggest for us to be better, to adapt better, but sometimes it doesn't really resonate with who you are.