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Guest SirVladimir

Ikigai Worksheet Mega-Thread

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First of all, I had been searching for my life purpose for 3 years. Today I will give you a worksheet that you can download and print for yourself. At last, I will provide you with my personal example of a filled Ikigai.

The Ikigai is very closely interrelated with Leo's Life Purpose Course and can be of great help as a tool. You can think of it as a flower of life. It consists of four leaves (circles) - what you LOVE, what you are GOOD AT, what you can be PAID FOR, what the world NEEDS. How they interact with each other when they overlay will reveal your PASSION, PROFESSION, VOCATION and MISSION. Below is an image:

https___blogs-images.forbes.com_chrismyers_files_2018_02_ikigai-1.png

The structure of the Ikigai

Here's what you do: You pick whichever of the outer sections and you brainstorm it. After you're done, you move on to the second one, the third and the fourth. In the end you will have filled the non-overlaying parts of What you LOVE, What you are GOOD AT, What you can be PAID FOR and What the world NEEDS. 

Take your time and don't overthink it. One of the traps I see people do is getting stuck in the thinking part, and not going with their guts. It's not a race, don't worry if you take a question with into bed. You may wake up the next day and see things more clearer. 

Let it be natural. Whatever purpose you are seeking you already are. You're not seeking a purpose of somebody else, of some future you. Whatever you seek is buried within you. Now, to make things easier for you, I have created a worksheet that you can download and print for yourself. If you have the option, I find it better to print the file instead of filling it on a screen. It stimulates you more, it's in your hands and you can access it anytime, and if a thought comes up, you can write it down right away.

The worksheet I have created is quite simple. I was originally searching for a similar file on the internet (that I could download and work on), but nowhere have I found it available for free in this simple, no add-on layout. You can all share it anywhere, including @Leo Gurahere on the blog if you want. Save and print the file below:

Ikigai_Worksheet.pdf

After you have filled the outer four circles, it's time to look at the four overlays: PASSION, PROFESSION, VOCATION and MISSION. You should have a good idea of what to do, but here are some of my personal tips:

  • Now is the time to start thinking about how two overlapping circles interrelate with each other. I'll give you an example. Let's take a look at the What you are GOOD AT and What you can be PAID FOR circles. Together they form a PROFESSION. I state in my example that I'm good at understanding one's inner motives, and in the second circle I see I can be paid for consulting people 1-on-1, or through a therapeutic session. Therefore, my ideal PROFESSION could be a psychotherapist. 
  • Pick a statement from each circle and ask yourself: How could these two work together? What do they create? What are their similarities and differences? Try to feel it. If thinking doesn't work, try observing and feeling.
  • See those even more centered overlaps of, for example, PROFESSION and VOCATION? That's the place where not two, but three circles overlap. Below are the general axioms you should expect to be met at each of these positions:

Ikigai-2.jpg

The Ikigai with general direction pointers

At last, the flower blossoms and it forms an Ikigai at the center. This will be your unique life purpose, or at least, depending on how you use the phrase, a unique statement that leads to it. Note that the MISSION should be similar to your Impact Statement, if you have taken Leo's course. The PASSION could even represent your Zone of Genius. 

Finally, here is my personal Ikigai that you can use for the underlying inspiration. Save it below: 

Example_Worksheet.pdf (Note that the original is written on a paper, this is a digital doppelganger just to be read)

My personal Ikigai goes as follows: To lead people to love through understanding (making them understand) their emotions. Share yours below.

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My last question, very nuanced, is for the long-masters on this journey. I have spoken about big chunks of my purpose already in the past, here on the forum, and internally my Ikigai feels aligned with me - as do the exploration statements I wrote about in earlier posts. There's one major difference though. While on one hand the exploration core of the purpose resonates with me in a very hermit-ish way (a half of me longs for living like a hermit), you can't help but notice that my Ikigai on the other hand is close to the bodhisattva path. I have yet to discover how to deal with this dissonance, and a mature look would be greatly appreciated.

With that in mind, love to ya. 

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However far you have come, please know that in the end your life purpose is something unique to you.

I remember years 2017-2019 when I first started interacting with the forum. For two and a half years, I kept looking for my purpose somewhere in the stars. I read stories of others here on the forum. Most of the time I looked outwards like there was a secret ingredient hidden. 

There's no secret ingredient. I cannot emphasize this enough - a life purpose is something you already are. Finding it is not a process of looking outwards, seeing what others are doing, finding something new, but rather digging deep. Hitting it home is an awakening on its own, I would say. Because a life purpose is something you already intuitively know, there's no need to worry about whether you have it. It's been trying to carve its way out since your birth - and if you're like me, you have always overlooked it because the darkest place is under the candle.

If you gave up all control of thought, you would be living your purpose right now. Nailing the theory is important in the beginning, but when you're packed, you need to pull your lazy ass up. Stop reading inspiring stories. Nobody will show it to you. Unless a story somehow triggers an emotional response, you'll most likely never find your purpose here on the forum (not even by reading this). I know, because that's what I had been doing for years. 

Look inside. It's already there, behind those foggy thoughts of hope. It may not buy you a hot-dog on its own, but it's certainly worth all the hot-dogs in the world. And like with many other awakenings, it's a question of degrees. You may feel totally blind to your purpose, or you may know what it is, but not how to make it real, or you may see the path unfold. 

Feel it in, rather than thinking it out. ^_^

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