A Venn diagram of me so far
AKA more detail on applying ikigai and how that may help you find your niche
I love a Venn diagram me, probably why finding *that* particular image described as ikigai, has stuck with me over the years. Although perhaps a tad shortsightedly, I haven’t ever really worked through any process to define what tangibly would move me nearer to *my* ikigai.
The last time I tried to fill out the boxes; 1) Things I LOVE, 2) What the WORLD NEEDS, 3) Things I’m GOOD AT and 4) Things you can get PAID FOR I found it really easy to populate the first two with lots of ideas.
Though I still have a sense looking back at it that there are heaps and heaps of things missing in those two boxes, especially the LOVE box. Where is mention of having raised a daughter, committing to a successful marriage? Where indeed is Firefly, Star Trek, Asimov, Independence Day, The Little Mermaid, Bullet Journalling and many other things? There is definitely scope for a worksheet just on that topic alone to ensure that you are really considering every angle of the things that give you the most pleasure in life.
I think it’s important to do this LOVE exercise first and especially in the context of helping younger people navigate the confusing world of choosing GCSE, A-Level and their options beyond, to try and keep as many options open for avenues they actually enjoy rather than topics you think they should do. I was at a work event last week and two people were talking to me about their children watching and emulating gamers on YouTube and not really getting it. I talked about it with passion and enthused that there are so many skills they are learning even if they don’t end up being solely a gamer and/or YouTuber, that I hope I’ve made them think a bit more broadly about it.
What I find really difficult, in fact impossible when I was in a slightly unconfident mood, is to write what I am GOOD at, hence the strikethrough and rename to Skills, and with these boxes just the way they are without any guidance I get unclear about what is important to list in both that and the PAID FOR box. I think these are definitely ripe for guided exercises and/or really good AI prompts or of course real life coaching.
So I’ve had this increasingly nagging sense that I should be applying myself more purposefully in terms of what I should be doing next in my career and also what I should be learning in my spare time. I also need to push myself, time goes by so quickly and I want to have created something worthwhile through this exercise before my 50th birthday.
I’ve also found some really interesting points of view on related topics recently, especially people talking about finding your niche. It is an often talked about theme on LinkedIn, though people tend to call it your ‘Personal Brand’ which I know can come across as more than a little w*nky to those who aren’t fans of this professional networking site. I personally love LinkedIn because it is mostly very positive and optimistic, if you haven’t been on it for years it has moved on from just being an online CV and/or way to sell things to people. There are so many inspirational people on there who confidently speak in their own authentic voice and are in that abundance mindset that is there to share, to help, to connect and to lift. They recognise that people do business with people, so they have made it clear who they are and what their values are.
I don’t yet have that confidence in terms of speaking consistently as the rounded me and not just talking about my current job role, so that is definitely what I want to hone through writing, sharing and connecting with like-minded souls.
Blogging always worked for me as both therapy, working through things and connecting with people around the world so I know the value of online writing. I recently came across David Perell’s essays and I love that he calls this niche, this ikigai even, a Personal Monopoly;
The ultimate goal of writing online is to build a Personal Monopoly. It’s your unique intersection of skills, interests, and personality traits where you can be known as the best thinker on a topic and open yourself up to the serendipity that makes writing online so special.
So this topic, Seeking Ikigai, has become a little inception for me. I am still going down the path of how to find that purpose and also while I am I want to document a better process for doing that to help others (especially as an end game to develop tools for young people and also confidence boosting methods for women later in their careers). I have a sneaking suspicion that *this*, might possibly evolve into being my direct path to actual ikigai, but at this stage I don’t know until I try if it does end up resonating with others or indeed if I have the skill to build it well, and if others do see value in paying for it *grin*
I’d love to hear from you if you’ve read this far, what are YOUR instinctive top three LOVES and do you get to do them in your job role?
Sarah, Seeking Ikigai xxx