ikigai: the japanese secret to a long and happy life

1. sentence one
2. sentence two
3. sentence three

• these will be notes i write as i’m reading the book itself
• it should follow the structure of the book by chapters for the most part, taking down bullet points or things i find useful

“those who study why the inhabitants of this island in the south of japan live longer than people anywhere else in the world believe that one fo the keys - in addition to a healthful diet, a simple life in the outdoors, greentea, and the subtropical climate (its average temperature is like that of hawaii) - is the ikigai that shapes their lives.” - prologue, p2

“rather than harbour animosity towards outsiders, however, okinawans live by the principle of ichariba chode, a local expression that means treat everyone like a brother, even if you’re never met them before.” - prologue p4

ikigai

in addition to a healthful diet, a simple life in the outdoors, green tea, and the subtropical climate (its average

temperature is like that of hawaii)—is the ikigai that shapes their lives.

this japanese concept, which translates roughly as “the happiness of always being busy,” is like logotherapy, but it goes a step beyond. it also seems to be one way of explaining the extraordinary longevity of the japanese, especially on the island of okinawa, where there are 24.55 people over the age of 100 for every 100,000 inhabitants—far more than the global average.

rather than harbor animosity toward outsiders, however, okinawans live by the principle of ichariba chode, a local expression that means “treat everyone like a brother, even if you’ve never met them before.”

one of the secrets to happiness of ogimi’s residents is feeling like part of a community. from an early age they practice yuimaaru, or teamwork, and so are used to helping one another.

according to the japanese, everyone has an ikigai—what a french philosopher might call a raison d’être

according to those born on okinawa, the island with the most centenarians in the world, our ikigai is the reason we get up in the morning.

blue zones—the geographic regions where people live longest

in japanese, ikigai is written as 生き甲斐, combining 生き, which means “life,” with 甲斐, which means “to be worthwhile.” 甲斐 can be broken down into the characters 甲, which means “armor,” “number one,” and “to be the first” (to head into battle, taking initiative as a leader), and 斐, which means “beautiful” or

okinawa, japan (especially the northern part of the island). the locals eat a diet rich in vegetables and tofu typically served on small plates. in addition to their philosophy of ikigai, the moai, or close-knit group of friends (see page 15), plays an important role in their longevity.

sardinia, italy (specifically the provinces of nuoro and ogliastra). locals on this island consume plenty of vegetables

and one or two glasses of wine per day. as in okinawa, the cohesive nature of this community is another factor directly related to longevity.

loma linda, california. researchers studied a group of seventh-day adventists who are among the longest-living people in the united states. the nicoya peninsula, costa rica. locals remain remarkably active after ninety; many of the region’s older residents have no problem getting up at five thirty in the morning to work in the fields. ikaria, greece. one of every three inhabitants of this island near the coast of turkey is over ninety years old (compared to less than 1 percent of the population of the united states), a fact that has earned it the nickname the island of long life. the local secret seems to be a lifestyle that dates back to 500 bc.

one of the most common sayings in japan is “hara hachi bu,” which is repeated before or after eating and means something like

“fill your belly to 80 percent.” ancient wisdom advises against eating until we are full

it is customary in okinawa to form close bonds within local communities. a moai is an informal group of people with common interests who look out for one another. for many, serving the community becomes part of their ikigai.

the speed at which the rabbit walks to the future is our technology. the more we advance technology and knowledge of our bodies, the faster we can make the rabbit walk. aging’s escape velocity is the moment at which the rabbit walks at a pace of one year per year or faster, and we become immortal.

imagine a sign far off in the future with a number on it that represents the age of your death. every year that you live, you advance closer to the sign. when you reach the sign, you die. now imagine a rabbit holding the sign and walking to the future. every year that you live, the rabbit is half a year as far away. after a while, you will reach the rabbit and die. but what if the rabbit could walk at a pace of one year for every year of your life? you would never be able to catch the rabbit, and therefore you would never die.

there is much wisdom in the classic saying “mens sana in corpore sano” (“a sound mind in a sound body”): it reminds us that both mind and body are important, and that the health of one is connected to that of the other

there is a tension between what is good for someone and what they want to do. this is because people, especially older people, like to do things as they’ve always done them. the problem is that when the brain develops ingrained habits, it doesn’t need to think anymore. things get done quickly and efficiently on automatic pilot, often in a very advantageous way. this creates a tendency to stick to routines, and the only way of breaking these is to confront the brain with new information.1

presented with new information, the brain creates new connections and is revitalized. this is why it is so important to expose yourself to change, even if stepping outside your comfort zone means feeling a bit of anxiety

“you begin exercising your brain by doing a certain task for the first time,” he writes. “and at first it seems very difficult, but as you learn how to do it, the training is already working. the second time, you realize that it’s easier, not harder, to do, because you’re getting better at it. this has a fantastic effect on a person’s mood. in and of itself, it is a transformation that affects not only the results obtained, but also his or her self-image.”

“we have to learn to turn off the autopilot that’s steering us in an endless loop. we all know people who snack while talking on the phone or watching the news. you ask them if the omelet they just ate had onion in it, and they can’t tell you,”

after observing a group of test subjects for more than twenty years, dr. howard s. friedman, a psychology professor at the university of california, riverside, discovered that people who maintained a low level of stress, who faced challenges and put their heart and soul into their work in order to succeed, lived longer than those who chose a more relaxed lifestyle and retired earlier. from this, he concluded that a small dose of stress is a positive thing, as those who live with low levels of stress tend to develop healthier habits, smoke less, and drink less alcohol.2

science has shown that sleep is a key antiaging tool, because when we sleep we generate melatonin, a hormone that occurs naturally in our bodies. the pineal gland produces it from the neurotransmitter serotonin according to our diurnal and nocturnal rhythms, and it plays a role in our sleep and waking cycles.

one study, conducted at yeshiva university, found that the people who live the longest have two dispositional traits in common: a positive attitude and a high degree of emotional awareness. in other words, those who face challenges with a positive outlook and are able to manage their emotions are already well on their way toward longevity.

“the life you live is equally or more important for longevity,”

to keep healthy and have a long life, eat just a little of everything with relish, go to bed early, get up early, and then go out for a walk. we live each day with serenity and we enjoy the journey. to keep healthy and have a long life, we get on well with all of our friends. spring, summer, fall, winter, we happily enjoy all the seasons. the secret is to not get distracted by how old the fingers are; from the fingers to the head and back once again. if you keep moving with your fingers working, 100 years will come to you.*

a study conducted by frankl in his vienna clinic found that among both patients and personnel, around 80 percent believed that human beings needed a reason for living, and around 60 percent felt they had someone or something in their lives worth dying for.2

“everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”3

in man’s search for meaning, frankl cites one of nietzsche’s famous aphorisms: “he who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.”

existential crisis, on the other hand, is typical of modern societies in which people do what they are told to do, or what others do, rather than what they want to do. they often try to fill the gap between what is expected of them and what they want for themselves with economic power or physical pleasure, or by numbing their senses. it can even lead to suicide.

we don’t create the meaning of our life, as sartre claimed—we discover it. we each have a unique reason for being, which can be adjusted or transformed many times over the years. just as worry often brings about precisely the thing that was feared, excessive attention to a desire (or “hyper-intention”) can keep that desire from being fulfilled. humor can help break negative cycles and reduce anxiety. we all have the capacity to do noble or terrible things. the side of the equation we end up on depends on our decisions, not on the condition in which we find ourselves

many western forms of therapy focus on controlling or modifying the patient’s emotions. in the west, we tend to believe that what we think influences how we feel, which in turn influences how we act. in contrast, morita therapy focuses on teaching patients to accept their emotions without trying to control them, since their feelings will change as a result of their actions.

morita explained the idea of letting go of negative feelings with the following fable: a donkey that is tied to a post by a rope will keep walking around the post in an attempt to free itself, only to become more immobilized and attached to the post. the same thing applies to people with obsessive thinking who become more trapped in their own suffering when they try to escape from their fears and discomfort.5

accept your feelings. if we have obsessive thoughts, we should not try to control them or get rid of them. if we do, they become more intense. regarding human emotions, the zen master would say, “if we try to get rid of one wave with another, we end up with an infinite sea.” we don’t create our feelings; they simply come to us, and we have to accept them. the trick is welcoming them. morita likened emotions to the weather: we can’t predict or control them; we can only observe them. to this point, he often quoted the vietnamese monk thich nhat hanh, who would say, “hello, solitude. how are you today? come, sit with me, and i will care for you.”6

do what you should be doing. we shouldn’t focus on

eliminating symptoms, because recovery will come on its own. we should focus instead on the present moment, and if we are suffering, on accepting that suffering. above all, we should avoid intellectualizing the situation. the therapist’s mission is to develop the patient’s character so he or she can face any situation, and character is grounded in the things we do. morita therapy does not offer its patients explanations, but rather allows them to learn from their actions and activities. it doesn’t tell you how to meditate, or how to keep a diary the way western therapies do. it is up to the patient to make discoveries through experience. discover your life’s purpose. we can’t control our emotions, but we can take charge of our actions every day. this is why we should have a clear sense of our purpose, and always keep morita’s mantra in mind: “what do we need to be doing right now? what action should we be taking?” the key to achieving this is having dared to look inside yourself to find your ikigai.

what have i received from person x? what have i given to person x? what problems have i caused person x?

		through these reflections, we stop identifying others as the cause of our problems and deepen our own sense of responsibility. as

the opposite can also happen. when we have to complete a task we don’t want to do, every minute feels like a lifetime and we can’t stop looking at our watch. as the quip attributed to einstein goes, “put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. that is relativity.”

csikszentmihalyi called this state “flow,” and described it as the pleasure, delight, creativity, and process when we are completely immersed in life.

as csikszentmihalyi asserts in his book flow: the psychology of optimal experience, flow is “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”

knowing what to do

knowing how to do it knowing how well you are doing knowing where to go (where navigation is involved) perceiving significant challenges perceiving significant skills being free from distractions1

schaffer’s model encourages us to take on tasks that we have a chance of completing but that are slightly outside our comfort zone.

activities that are too easy lead to apathy.

abilities but just a bit of a stretch, so we experience it as a challenge. this is what ernest hemingway meant when he said, “sometimes i write better than i can.”2

video games—played in moderation—board games, and sports are great ways to achieve flow, because the objective tends to be very clear:

what often happens, especially in big companies, is that the executives get lost in the details of obsessive planning, creating

strategies to hide the fact that they don’t have a clear objective. it’s like heading out to sea with a map but no destination.

“compass over maps”

“in an increasingly unpredictable world moving ever more quickly, a detailed map may lead you deep into the woods at an unnecessarily high cost. a good compass, though, will always take you where you need to go. it doesn’t mean that you should start your journey without any idea where you’re going. what it does mean is understanding that while the path to your goal may not be straight, you’ll finish faster and more efficiently than you would have if you had trudged along a preplanned route.”

having a clear objective is important in achieving flow, but we also have to know how to leave it behind when we get down to business.

as soon as you take these first small steps, your anxiety will disappear and you will achieve a pleasant flow in the activity you’re doing. getting back to albert einstein, “a happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell on the future.”4

our brains can take in millions of bits of information but can only actually process a few dozen per second. when we say we’re multitasking, what we’re really doing is switching back and forth between tasks very quickly. unfortunately, we’re not computers adept at parallel processing. we end up spending all our energy alternating between tasks, instead of focusing on doing one of them

concentrating on one thing at a time may be the single most important factor in achieving flow.

don’t look at any kind of screen for the first hour you’re awake and the last hour before you go to sleep. turn off your phone before you achieve flow. there is nothing more important than the task you have chosen to do during this time. if this seems too extreme, enable the “do not disturb” function so only the people closest to you can contact you in case of emergency. designate one day of the week, perhaps a saturday or sunday, a day of technological “fasting,” making exceptions only for e-readers (without wi-fi) or mp3 players.

go to a café that doesn’t have wi-fi. read and respond to e-mail only once or twice per day. define those times clearly and stick to them. try the pomodoro technique: get yourself a kitchen timer (some are made to look like a pomodoro, or tomato) and commit to working on a single task as long as it’s running. the pomodoro technique recommends 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest for each cycle, but you can also do 50 minutes of work and 10 minutes of rest. find the pace that’s best for you; the most important thing is to be disciplined in completing each cycle. start your work session with a ritual you enjoy and end it with a reward. train your mind to return to the present when you find yourself getting distracted. practice mindfulness or another form of meditation, go for a walk or a swim—whatever will help you get centered again. work in a space where you will not be distracted. if you can’t do this at home, go to a library, a café, or, if your task involves playing the saxophone, a music studio. if you find that your surroundings continue to distract you, keep looking until

ganbaru, which means “to persevere” or “to stay firm by doing one’s best.”

japanese people often apply themselves to even the most basic tasks with an intensity that borders on obsession.

if you go to japan, you’ll experience this attention to detail firsthand in almost every transaction.

these takumi, or experts in a particular manual skill,

her hands danced and flowed in concert with her tools and the bristles she was sorting.

have in common? simplicity

what do japanese artisans, engineers, zen philosophy, and cuisine have in common? simplicity and attention to detail. it is not a lazy simplicity but a sophisticated one that searches out new frontiers, always taking the object, the body and mind, or the cuisine to the next level, according to one’s ikigai.

they enjoy themselves completely when they are in the kitchen; that is their happiness, their ikigai. they’ve learned to take pleasure in their work, to lose their sense of time.

jiro, like yukio shakunaga, begins his work at “the source.” he goes to the fish market to find the best tuna; shakunaga goes to the mountains to find the best porcelain. when they get down to work, both become one with the object they are creating. this unity with the object that they reach in a state of flow takes on special meaning in japan, where, according to shintoism, forests, trees, and objects have a kami (spirit or god) within them.

note: interesting concept - i wonder what are somethings i need to start looking at source

when someone—whether an artist, an engineer, or a chef—sets out to create something, his or her responsibility is to use nature to give it “life” while respecting that nature at every moment. during this process, the artisan becomes one with the object and flows with it. an ironworker would say that metal has a life of its own, just as someone making ceramics would say that the clay does. the japanese are skilled at bringing nature and technology together: not man versus nature, but rather a union of the two.

artists know how important it is to protect their space, control their environment, and be free of distractions if they want to flow with their ikigai.

csikszentmihalyi calls this microflow.

our ability to turn routine tasks into moments of microflow, into something we enjoy, is key to our being happy, since we all have to do such tasks.

following an established order or set of rules he’s made for himself: plates first, forks second, and so on. it’s one of his daily moments of microflow.

training the mind can get us to a place of flow more quickly. meditation is one way to exercise our mental muscles.

it is only a thought—one of the sixty thousand we have every day,

we all carry a spa with us everywhere we go. it’s just a matter of knowing how to get in—something anyone can do, with a bit of practice.

life is inherently ritualistic. we could argue that humans naturally follow rituals that keep us busy note: reminds me of patters nd routine

what is indisputable, though, is that finding flow in a “ritualistic workplace” is much easier than in one in which we are continually stressed out trying to achieve unclear goals set by our bosses.

rituals give us clear rules and objectives, which help us enter a state of flow. when we have only a big goal in front of us, we might feel lost or overwhelmed by it; rituals help us by giving us the process, the substeps, on the path to achieving a goal. when confronted with a big goal, try to break it down into parts and then attack each part one by one.

don’t worry about the outcome—it will come

naturally. happiness is in the doing, not in the result. as a rule of thumb, remind yourself: “rituals over goals.”

flow is mysterious. it is like a muscle: the more you train it, the more you will flow, and the closer you will be to your ikigai.

all that i have produced before the age of 70 is not worth being counted. it is at the age of 73 that i have somewhat begun to understand the structure of true nature, of animals and grasses, and trees and birds, and fishes and insects; consequently at 80 years of age i shall have made still more progress; at 90 i hope to have penetrated into the mystery of things; at 100 years of age i should have reached decidedly a marvelous degree, and when i shall be 110, all that i do, every point and every line, shall be instinct with life.

never stop learning “you may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about

you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. there is only one thing for it then—to learn. learn why the world wags and what wags it. that is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.” —t. h. white, the once and future king

“you stay in your time. you don’t go backward. i think if you relate to the time you’re in, you keep your eyes and ears open, read the paper, see what’s going on, stay curious about everything, you will automatically be in your time.”15

if you want to stay busy even when there’s no need to work, there has to be an ikigai on your horizon, a purpose that guides you throughout your life and pushes you to make things of beauty and utility for the community and yourself.

in addition to playing and celebrating as a community, spirituality is also essential to the happiness of the village’s residents.

every person has an essence, or mabui. this mabui is our spirit and the source of our life force. it is immortal and makes us who we are.

nurture your friendships every day

cultivate good habits

don’t worry

live an unhurried life

be optimistic

it is also the only province that has managed to follow the japanese government’s recommendation of eating less than ten grams of salt per day.

locals eat a wide variety of foods, especially vegetables. variety seems to be key. a study of okinawa’s centenarians showed that they ate 206 different foods, including spices, on a regular basis. they ate an average of eighteen different foods each day, a striking contrast to the nutritional poverty of our fast-food culture.

they eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. at least seven types of fruits and vegetables are consumed by okinawans on a daily basis. the easiest way to check if there is enough variety on your table is to make sure you’re “eating the rainbow.” a table featuring red peppers, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, and eggplant, for example, offers great color and variety. vegetables, potatoes, legumes, and soy products such as tofu are the staples of an okinawan’s diet. more than 30 percent of their daily calories comes from vegetables. grains are the foundation of their diet. japanese people eat white rice every day, sometimes adding noodles. rice is the primary food in okinawa, as well. they rarely eat sugar, and if they do, it’s cane sugar. we drove through several sugarcane fields every morning on our way to ogimi, and even drank a glass of cane juice at nakijin castle. beside the stall selling the juice was a sign describing the anticarcinogenic benefits of sugarcane.

okinawans consume, in general, one-third as much sugar as the rest of japan’s population, which means that sweets and chocolate are much less a part of their diet. they also eat practically half as much salt as the rest of japan: 7 grams per day, compared to an average of 12. they consume fewer calories: an average of 1,785 per day, compared to 2,068 in the rest of japan. in fact, low caloric intake is common among the five blue zones

this brings us back to the 80 percent rule we mentioned in the first chapter, a concept known in japanese as hara hachi bu. it’s easy to do: when you notice you’re almost full but could have a little more … just stop eating!

another benefit of calorie restriction is that it reduces levels of igf-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) in the body. igf-1 is a protein that plays a significant role in the aging process; it seems that one of the reasons humans and animals age is an excess of this protein in their blood.2

they don’t go to the gym or exercise intensely, but they almost never stop moving in the course of their daily routines.

basic version of the radio taiso exercises (5 minutes).

it might seem basic, but in our modern lives, we can spend days without raising our arms above our ears. think about it: our arms are down when using computers, when using smartphones, when reading books. one of the few times we raise our hands over our heads is when reaching for something in a cupboard or closet, while our ancestors were raising their hands over their heads all the time when gathering things from trees. radio taiso helps us to practice all the basic movements of the body.

the word yoga itself comes from the sanskrit term for “yoke,” which refers to the crosspiece that binds draft animals to one another and to the cart they’re pulling. yoga strives to unite body and mind in the same way, guiding us toward a healthy lifestyle in harmony with the world around us.

how to do a sun salutation the sun salutation is one of the most iconic exercises in hatha yoga. to do it, you simply have to follow these twelve basic movements:

			with your feet together, stand up straight but keep your muscles relaxed. exhale.
			place the palms of your hands together in front of your chest; from this position, inhale as you raise your arms above your head and bend backward slightly.
			exhale as you bend forward until you touch the ground with the palms of your hands, without bending your knees.
			stretch one leg back to touch the floor with the tips of your toes. inhale.
			bring the other leg back, keeping your legs and arms straight, as you hold your breath.
			as you exhale, bend your arms and bring your chest to the ground and then forward, resting your knees on the ground.
			straighten your arms and bend your spine back, keeping the lower half of your body on the ground. inhale.
			with your hands and feet on the ground, lift your hips unti

your arms and legs are straight and your body forms an upside-down v. exhale throughout the movement. bring forward the same leg you’d stretched back earlier and bend it so that your knee and foot are aligned under your head and between your hands. inhale. exhale as you bring your back foot forward and straighten your legs, keeping your hands on the ground as in posture 3. bring your arms above your head with your palms together and bend backward slightly, as you did in posture 2, while you inhale. lower your arms to their initial position in mountain pose while you exhale.

		you’ve just greeted the sun; now you’re ready to have a fantastic day.
		
			

despite their differences, these styles all have the same objectives:

			to control movement through stillness
			to overcome force through finesse
			to move second and arrive first
			to know yourself and your opponent
		
		

the ten basic principles of tai chi according to the master yang chengfu, the correct practice of tai chi follows ten basic principles:

			elevate the crown of your head, and focus all your energy

there. tighten your chest and expand your back to lighten your lower body. relax your waist and let it guide your body. learn to differentiate between heaviness and lightness, knowing how your weight is distributed. relax the shoulders to allow free movement of the arms and promote the flow of energy. value the agility of the mind over the strength of the body. unify the upper and lower body so they act in concert. unify the internal and the external to synchronize mind, body, and breath. do not break the flow of your movement; maintain fluidity and harmony. look for stillness in movement. an active body leads to a calm mind.

the takeaway is that they all combine a physical exercise with an awareness of our breath. these two components—movement and breath—help us to bring our consciousness in line with our body, instead of allowing our mind to be carried away by the sea of daily worries. most of the time, we are just not aware enough of our breathing.

but resilience isn’t just the ability to persevere. as we’ll see in this chapter, it is also an outlook we can cultivate to stay focused on the important things in life rather than what is most urgent, and to keep ourselves from being carried away by negative emotions. in the final section of the chapter, we’ll explore techniques that go beyond resilience to cultivate antifragility.

nana korobi ya oki 七転び八起き fall seven times, rise eight.

resilient people know how to stay focused on their objectives, on what matters, without giving in to discouragement. their flexibility is the source of their strength: they know how to adapt to change and to reversals of fortune. they concentrate on the things they can control and don’t worry about those they can’t.

god, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

buddhism and stoicism has been to control pleasure, emotions, and desires

people can be insatiable

the objective of the virtuous person is to reach a state of tranquility (apatheia): the absence of negative feelings such as anxiety, fear, shame, vanity, and anger, and the presence of positive feelings such as happiness, love, serenity, and gratitude.

in the words of epictetus, “it’s not what happens to you, but how you react that matters.”1

another key to cultivating resilience is knowing in which time to live. both buddhism and stoicism remind us that the present is all that exists, and it is the only thing we can control. instead of worrying about the past or the future, we should appreciate things just as they are in the moment, in the now.

wabi-sabi is a japanese concept that shows us the beauty of the fleeting, changeable, and imperfect nature of the world around us. instead of searching for beauty in perfection, we should look for it in things that are flawed, incomplete.

a complementary japanese concept is that of ichi-go ichi-e, which could be translated as “this moment exists only now and won’t come again.”

as nassim nicholas taleb explains in antifragile: things that gain from disorder,4 we use the word fragile to describe people, things, and organizations that are weakened when harmed, and the words robust and resilient for things that are able to withstand harm without weakening, but we don’t have a word for things that get stronger when harmed (up to a point).

antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. the resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.”

step 1: create redundancies instead of having a single salary, try to find a way to make money from your hobbies, at other jobs, or by starting your own business. if you have only one salary, you might be left with nothing should your employer run into trouble, leaving you in a position of fragility. on the other hand, if you have several options and you lose your primary job, it might just happen that you end up dedicating more time to your secondary job, and maybe even make more money at it. you would have beaten that stroke of bad luck and would be, in that case, antifragile.

step 2: bet conservatively in certain areas and take many small risks in others

the key to becoming antifragile is taking on small risks that might lead to great reward, without exposing ourselves to dangers that might sink us,

step 3: get rid of the things that make you fragile we’re taking the negative route for this exercise. ask yourself: what makes me fragile? certain people, things, and habits generate losses for us and make us vulnerable. who and what are they?

we need randomness, mess, adventures, uncertainty, self-discovery, hear traumatic episodes, all these things that make life worth living.”

life is not a problem to be solved. just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you.

the ten rules of ikigai we’ll conclude this journey with ten rules we’ve distilled from the wisdom of the long-living residents of ogimi:

			stay active; don’t retire. those who give up the things they love doing and do well lose their purpose in life. that’s why it’s so important to keep doing things of value, making progress, bringing beauty or utility to others, helping out, and shaping the world around you, even after your “official” professional activity has ended.
			take it slow. being in a hurry is inversely proportional to quality of life. as the old saying goes, “walk slowly and you’ll go far.” when we leave urgency behind, life and time take on new meaning.
			don’t fill your stomach. less is more when it comes to eating for long life, too. according to the 80 percent rule, in order to stay healthier longer, we should eat a little less than our hunger

demands instead of stuffing ourselves. surround yourself with good friends. friends are the best medicine, there for confiding worries over a good chat, sharing stories that brighten your day, getting advice, having fun, dreaming … in other words, living. get in shape for your next birthday. water moves; it is at its best when it flows fresh and doesn’t stagnate. the body you move through life in needs a bit of daily maintenance to keep it running for a long time. plus, exercise releases hormones that make us feel happy. smile. a cheerful attitude is not only relaxing—it also helps make friends. it’s good to recognize the things that aren’t so great, but we should never forget what a privilege it is to be in the here and now in a world so full of possibilities. reconnect with nature. though most people live in cities these days, human beings are made to be part of the natural world. we should return to it often to recharge our batteries. give thanks. to your ancestors, to nature, which provides you with the air you breathe and the food you eat, to your friends and family, to everything that brightens your days and makes you feel lucky to be alive. spend a moment every day giving thanks, and

you’ll watch your stockpile of happiness grow. live in the moment. stop regretting the past and fearing the future. today is all you have. make the most of it. make it worth remembering. follow your ikigai. there is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. if you don’t know what your ikigai is yet, as viktor frankl says, your mission is to discover it. the authors of this book wish you a long, happy, and purposeful life. thank you for joining us,