“Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning.” – 4.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: centenaries, healthy eating, daily walks, life purposes, retirement, meaningful lives and longevity.

Bring meaning and joy to all your days with this internationally bestselling guide to the Japanese concept of ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy)—the happiness of always being busy—as revealed by the daily habits of the world’s longest-living people.

What’s your ikigai?

“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb

According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense of ikigai—the place where passion, mission, vocation, and profession intersect—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy.

In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds—one of the world’s Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they move, how they work, how they foster collaboration and community, and—their best-kept secret—how they find the ikigai that brings satisfaction to their lives. And it provides practical tools to help you discover your own ikigai. Because who doesn’t want to find happiness in every day?

This little book is full of wisdom! It was exactly the dose of inspiration I needed to keep me on the right track habit wise.

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that says that everyone should have a reason for living in order to live a happy, fulfilling life. The authors visited and studied the villagers from a Japanese village known for having the world’s longest-living people, and came to the conclusion that all of them remained active and did what they truly enjoyed. They had a clear purpose in life by keeping themselves busy.

I personally found this book truly inspiring and there are a lot of things I took away from it, especially on how the centenaries keep their health. It was so interesting to know how they stayed active by going on walks or by taking care of their gardens… even being centenaries! It blew my mind.The retirement part was interesting as well. Many Japanese don’t even feel the need to retire! They just keep working on what they love for the rest of their lives. They also eat very healthy food and don’t fill up their stomachs to full capacity. All of this made me reflect on my own life choices, and it made me want to do better.

One story I particularly enjoyed was about the retirement of Studio Ghibli’s director. He just kept showing up for work to keep drawing because that’s what he loved to do! His commitment to drawing amazed me, and it made me think about finding my own ikigai.

The only thing I would change about this book is the depth of some of the topics, but I can understand how they wanted to keep the book on the lighter side. I would still read a full length book on the subject, because this was enough to inspire me.

I would definitely recommend it if you would like some tips and reminders on how to live a happier, meaningful life!