4 overlapping components of Ikigai: Find your passion, mission, profession, or vocation

So, in last week’s blog, I discussed 4 components of Ikigai and how you can find your ikigai by understanding what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for and what the world needs. And I also created a workbook on how to find your ikigai, which you can download for free.

If you haven’t read that article, then I highly suggest that you do, as it will create a base for you. You can find the article by clicking here.

Apart from the 4 main components of ikigai, there are overlapping components too. These are your passion, mission, profession and vocation. See the diagram below.

To find your true ikigai, we must explore these 4 overlapping components in detail. A word of warning and reminder here that we are only talking about the more modern westernised concept of ikigai, which helps you find your ideal career and profession.

Passion

Oprah Winfrey quotes, “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you”.

Your passion is the overlapping area between what you love and what you’re good at. When you do things that you are passionate about, you feel satisfied and happy.

Recently, I visited SeaWorld, an amusement park in Queensland, Australia, focusing on wildlife conservation. We were there for a work-related function and were invited to attend their Dolphin show. The show was magnificent, and being in the presence of such intelligent and kind-natured animals was a humbling experience. However, more than the show, the dolphins, and the energising experience, my mind kept going to this particular handler. She could not wipe the smile off her face. She looked like she was enjoying every single bit of that performance as everyone else was watching. That is what passion is about. Finding what you love and becoming good at it over time.

Finding your passion can be difficult, but when you see it, you will recognise it easily, whether it is within you or others. Passion is what drives you every day to achieve the impossible, willingness to achieve the unthinkable.

Mission

A mission in your life gives you direction and clarity to make decisions. It is something that you dedicate your life to and helps you understand the reason behind your existence. It defines who you are and what values you hold.

The mission comes from what you love and what the world needs. The world here refers to community, your sphere of influence or literally the world. Having a clearly defined mission will help you set your goals quickly because you know what outcome you want.

To find your mission, think of things you can do effortlessly but that also solve a problem or aims to improve someone’s life. Think about yourself and what your life would be like if you could achieve that. Ask yourself about your motivation to do that work and how it will help you develop a stronger relationship with the world. Do the work that describes your values.

But having a mission only serves 2 elements of ikigai. If you don’t get paid for it or don’t become proficient at it, you won’t find it meaningful. However, you can train to become good at anything. The hardest part will be to get paid for it. For some people, it will be easy, and for some, it won’t. It will all depend on your circumstances.

Once you become an expert by either training or repetition, you can utilise your skills and knowledge to get paid for what you love and make an impact simultaneously.

Profession

The intersection between what you are good at and what you get paid for is a profession. Your profession usually depends on your qualifications because unless you prove that you are good at something or you have the capability to complete a job, people won’t pay you.

When thinking about your profession, you need to think about your career and not just your job. Think about your strengths and identify people who are getting paid for those. You may want to look at the whole industry, not just a particular job. This will help you figure out where to best fit within that industry.

Say you want to work in the building industry, and you are good with tools. You might want to look at getting a qualification that will help you work in the industry. The kind of qualification you get will be based on your personal interests and will also help you identify any gaps. It will also give you some universal skills you can improve over time.

However, just getting paid for what you do well does not always mean that it’s making any meaningful impact on the world. To find your ikigai, you will need to find something that is helping the community or the world and enjoy doing it.

Vocation

Vocation is the intersection where you can find a specific job that pays you but also has a purpose, and the world needs it.

Both profession and vocation can sometimes refer to employment or career through with we get paid. Still, vocation is something that requires a particular set of skills, and profession is something that is acquired via training and study.

To find out your vocation, you will need to determine the skills you have and if they match the available jobs. Also, how will you eventually get paid for those skills? You may also want to look at the skill or a qualification gap and get the appropriate training.

Summary

Look, I understand that, like many other motivational bloggers, I have used the concept of ikigai from the lens of business, career, and personal development. I also understand that some people may not agree with this concept and will challenge it. However, think about the bigger picture. Even if you feel this is not ikigai, it still is an excellent way to find a meaningful career. At the end of the day, the more important thing is to find something you love, enjoy and make a career out of it than being stuck in the definitions.

Download the free workbook here and answer the questions to find your ikigai today.