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WHY IS IKIGAI YOUR WHY?

Updated: Sep 17, 2023




Live to age 101? Age 130? Age 150?


As long as you are healthy and vibrant and excited..... Why NOT? Start here......Part 2


This continues last weeks blog about a subject of living a long vibrant life and why you should begin thinking about it seriously. It may be here before you know it.

In his quest for answers to this, Dan Buettner traveled to Okinawa - one of 5 original "blue zones". These are places where large percentages of the entire population live VERY long lives. Currently, an easy way to take travel tours of these places is NetFlix. If you enjoy seeing some beautiful sights and learning some fun ideas simultaneously, that's the answer.


Right now, I can only tell you in a few minutes that Buettner found a key to longevity called IKIGAI. We know it as Purpose, Drive, Motivation, Reason for Living, and many other terms. He found others too, but without this sense of purpose there was little progress towards a happy life.


You will know it best when you don't have it. And when you do, you jump out of bed to love the day ahead and all that is in it. At the end of the day, you sleep easily and well.


What Can I Do About This?


IKIGAI was found in every blue zone demographic. Where it was not found there was a lot of sickness and other discontent. In the US we often look first to fix all this malaise with a pill. Our culture strongly believes this or we would not have such a big pharmaceutical industry. We would not have such powerful research centers in the US and other countries. Whoever finally finds THE pill for Cancer will be rich and famous.


However, there are other natural causes of death, caused by disease and external events like a tornado - "Acts of God" is the insurance phrase. There is an awful lot of that kind of thing we can't control. What can YOU control without waiting for a pill? It would be a quiet mind set, an internal reference point, a place of peace that follows you around most of the day. On Okinawa, it's IKIGAI. And you can most certainly begin to find it in your head, and in your daily tasks also.


It's time - rearrange concepts about your head and how it works


Actually we all do this rearranging every day to some degree. We aren't conscious of it, but our habits are there, some still working well for us and other's not so - we may have to drop something. You can do this gradually, or you can just STOP, then SUBSTITUTE something else. There are many ways to make transitions - but not all of them fit you, or could work for you sometimes but not others. You may need some help from your close friends or a life coach - but it is a lifelong process of leaving the old and finding the new healthier and more vital YOU.


I guarantee the new and more vital YOU is there - what could be more interesting and fun than finding out who that is? Or could be? That person will be living where they feel they belong and are supported, and will be doing what they love. They will have the feeling called IKIGAI - Happy and Healthy and Vibrant.


The pill will take a few more years - in the meantime your choices about your mind and body will be more important than the date on your birth certificate. Call sometime to share!


Happy Days Ahead

Joe Grant, MBA

Certified Retirement Coach

Contact me for a Free 45 minute Consultation at https://yourvantagepoints.com


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