Forget 'Follow Your Passion' Find your Ikigai

If there’s one piece of career advice that pervades our generation its, “follow your passion.” This has a lot of merit, if you can find something that you’re passionate about you’re likely going to do it well, enjoy the time you spend doing it, and eventually master it, but there are a few major issues with advice so simple.

That’s where Ikigai comes in.

Ikigai is a single Japanese word, but can only translate to a concept in English, loosely translating to, “your reason to get up in the morning” or “your purpose in life.”

In more impactful terms, your ikigai stands on four pillars that help derive what you should do in life. Now, before we go on I should clarify something. When I say, forget your passion I only mean the expression, “follow your passion”. Everyone needs passion in their life and your career is no different. In fact it’s one of the central pillars of ikigai.
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Here, passion is defined as the crossroads between that which you love and that which you are good at. I think this definition is almost perfect, but I would suggest that your passions be composed of skills which you are driven to become good at.

It’s more common than ever that the hard skills you’ll need to do well in your job won’t even be around when you’re going through basic education. Because of this, it’s more important than ever to be able to grow into a set of skills that you find intriguing and challenging.

This brings me to another major point, the things you’re passionate about are going to change. Probably a lot more than you think. Spending time trying to find your passion now isn’t a waste of time, but you need to realize that as you grow your interests do too, and none of them are permanent.

Alright, so passion’s change. Knowing that, shouldn’t I be able to plan for it, and still follow the advice? Unfortunately, there are still a few more problems planning your life on simple advice.

Chiefly, passions are hard to prioritize. Are you more passionate about teaching a foreign language or educating adults in literacy? Neuroscience or biochemical engineering? The list could go on and on, but you’re not going to know which you’re good at until you start educating yourself in the subject.

Second, and perhaps more unfortunately you may not be very successful at it. Sportscasting, art, brain surgery, these professions all have high thresholds to entry. Spending time pursuing a career without the knowledge that you’ll do well puts you on shaky grounds and can lead to a huge upset in life.

Finally, it’s a self-centered ideal. What you take out of this world is worth so much less than what you leave. If your primary goal in life is to pursue your passion, you’ll likely miss out on contributing to the greater good and making an impact in the lives of others. Countless individuals have said their best memories are found in good they did for others, not themselves.

Whether, you’re just starting out on your path, or thinking of a career change, make sure you move in the right direction. Find an ikigai.