Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
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About the Book
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • 2 MILLION + COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
Find your ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) to live longer and bring more meaning and joy to all your days.
“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—where what you love, what you’re good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs all overlap—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?
About the Author
Héctor García and Francesc Miralles are the co-authors of the multimillion-copy international bestseller Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life as well as The Book of Ichigo Ichie: The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, the Japanese Way and The Four-Way Path: A Guide to Purushartha and India’s Spiritual Traditions for a Life of Happiness, Success, and Purpose. Their books have been published in more than sixty languages.
Editorial Reviews
“Workers looking for more fulfilling positions should start by identifying their ikigai.” ―Business Insider
“One of the unintended—yet positive—consequences of the [pandemic] is that it is forcing people to reevaluate their jobs, careers, and lives. Use this time wisely, find your personal ikigai, and live your best life.” ―Forbes
“Ikigai urges individuals to simplify their lives by pursuing what sparks joy for them. . . . Much in the same way that The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up emphasizes ‘choosing what we want to keep, and not what we want to get rid of,’ [Ikigai] demonstrates that aging could be an opportunity to keep working, keep smiling, keep active, and keep being social.” — KonMari Newsletter
“Want to live longer? Keep super busy. Ifhyggeis the art of doing nothing, ikigai is the art of doing something—and doing it with supreme focus and joy. . . Pack up those cozy blankets and candles you purchased in last year’s hygge-fueled Ikea spree. Fall’s biggest imported lifestyle trend is ikigai, and it might help you live to 100.” — New York Post
“Originating from a country with one of the world’s oldest populations,ikigai is becoming popular outside of Japan as a way to live longer and better. . . . [It] is helping people live longer on Okinawa as it gives them purpose.” —World Economic Forum
“The Japanese concept of ikigai(the happiness of being busy) [is] attainable and even an important key to living longer.” —Elle.com