Best Ikigai Questions

Exploring Ikigai (生き甲斐), or your "reason for being," involves a deep, self-reflective process focused on the intersection of four core pillars: Passion, Mission, Vocation, and Profession. 

Here are the best questions to explore Ikigai, categorized by these pillars and for deeper reflection:

1. What You Love (Passion)

• Time Loss: What activities make you lose track of time?

• Freedom: If you had a year with no financial obligations, how would you spend your time?

• Childhood: What activities did you love as a child that you’ve since abandoned?

• Passion Points: What topics could you discuss for hours? 

• Joy: What brings you the most joy in life?

• Time Spent: What does your ideal day look like?

2. What You Are Good At (Vocation)

• Helpfulness: What do others regularly ask you for help with?

• Effortless Tasks: What work tasks feel easy to you compared to peers?

• Natural Talent: What skills feel natural to you, even if learned through struggle?

• Dismissed Praise: What compliments do you tend to brush off? 

• Peers: What would your friends and family say you are good at?

3. What the World Needs (Mission)

• Resources: If you had all the resources you need, what is the one thing you would change in the world?

• Injustice: What issues make you genuinely angry or driven to change?

• Legacy: What do you want to be remembered for?

• Community: What small, local fix would you immediately implement if you could?

• Shared Struggle: What personal pain could you use to help others?

• Unique Value: What perspective do you have that others lack? 

4. What You Can Be Paid For (Profession)

• Futurism: Which industries or jobs will be in demand in the future?

• Income Alignment: Which of your skills and experience generate income and bring satisfaction?

• Business Model: If you only used skills you enjoyed, what would your business look like?

• Automation Proof: What value can you provide that AI/machines cannot replicate?

• Models: Who is already succeeding in your area of interest?

5. Reflection & Synthesis Questions (Uncovering the Overlap)

• Themes: What themes appear consistently across all four areas?

• Action Plan: What is the smallest step you can take this week to bridge your areas?

• Overcoming Fear: What limiting beliefs keep your circles separated?

• The Pitch: How would you describe your life's purpose in a short sentence? 

Tips for exploration:

• Career Portfolio: One occupation or job is unlikely to fulfil your Ikigai. It is more commonly a portfolio of work, hobbies, study and volunteering.

• Focus on small things: Ikigai is often found in daily, simple rituals rather than a massive career goal.

• Ask for input: Ask friends and colleagues to build on your answers.

• Be patient: This is a process of discovery, not a race

• Revisit: Your answers may evolve and change over time. Keep revisiting your Ikigai when you need to make important career decisions.

Disclaimer: Written by Sean Croon with support from AI.