Perhaps we all desire to find our Ikigai - the Japanese word for 'reason for being'. The same term is found in multiple cultures: "raison d'ētre" in French or "swadharma" in Sanskrit. All point to our deep and inescapable purpose of existence.
More than 10 years ago, as I was looking for a role change at my company, I approached my manager with a 3-circle Venn diagram which represented 'What is Good For Me', 'What is Good for the Company', and 'What I am Potentially Good At'. I did not know the concept of Ikigai back then, but something was pulling me towards it. Since then, I have had three incredible role changes - Category Head for Quaker Oats, Country GM for Indonesia and GBS Transformation lead for AMESA/APAC sectors.
Something that emerged through the journey was my love for looking within and for serving others. It took the form of me questioning why things are the way they are and trying to understand how I can serve better. I immersed myself in Vedanta and Buddhism, started to offer my time for Coaching colleagues at work beyond my day job, and I joined a task force that worked on reducing plastic as part of the Sustainability journey at my company.
Earlier this year, I took the leap to set up my own Life & Executive Coaching practice, Three Circles (coincidentally titled that way though based on a different concept). As I look back, the 4 components of Ikigai fell into place quite seamlessly:
Begin with what you Love: Love is the energy that keeps you alive and strong in your seemingly weakest moments. It powers your whole being to take on whatever the world might throw at you. As one of my coaching clients said in a session just today, "The turn-out at the event was limited and I was okay with that." I reckon it was his love for what he was doing that made him okay with any outcome. For me, it is my love for connecting with my inner being that helps me to be at ease with the world around me.
Do what you are good at: We all have something that we are extremely good at. It's writing for some, public speaking for others, some are good with numbers and analysis and others are good at sports. Whatever is your A-Game, bring it to the center of your work plate. One of my clients is great at serving others - be it hosting a farewell for her interns or making over a hundred beautiful hand-crafted gifts for her friend's wedding, she thrives in doing stuff for the people she cares about. I am good at connecting with people on a one-on-one level and I thrive on the energy exchange in conversations.
What the world needs: Our world needs so many skills that we all have to offer. From business ideas to energy solutions to influencing skills, our world is replete with opportunities. There are a number of skills that are rapidly getting replaced by automation and AI is changing tomorrow's job market landscape quite dramatically. By some estimates, more than 40% of the jobs that exist today will be become redundant in their current form. The one thing that will never be replaced, however, is human connection. The need that pulled me was for people to have a non-judgmental sounding-board to talk to, and I embarked on a journey to help others discover their own unique answers to their life challenges.
What you can be paid for: In an amazing book that a friend gifted me recently, 'What the Heck do I do With my Life', the author, Ravi Venkatesan, talks about the meta skills needed in today's VUCA* world: Learning Agility, Entrepreneurial mindset, Soft Skills, and Leadership. As we carve out our own unique proposition, it is useful to gauge what the market is willing to pay. The Life and Executive Coaching space is relatively nascent and rapidly growing. What it took on my part was some googling and my own experience of having been a coachee to get me the answers.
We find our Ikigai at the sweet spot where all four of these components converge without overpowering each other and we feel fulfilled with our lives.
While it is still early days in my private practice as a Life & Executive Coach at Three Circles, I can share one thing that is inalienable: When it sits right with you, you feel it in your very being! And as the Metallica song title goes, "Nothing else Matters!"
*VUCA - Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous
Photo - Courtesy Forbes.com
The Author, Anuj Chadha, is Founder of Three Circles - Coaching to create the Life that you love! At Three Circles, we come with a deep understanding of what it takes to navigate the challenges that life throws at us. We partner with our clients, listen to their life aspirations, and support them to break through the obstacles that seem to be holding them back. Life is too precious to be unhappy, unsure, or unfulfilled. Give us the opportunity to partner with you as you re-imagine and re-create the Life that you Love!
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