You Cannot Find 'Ikigai' Alone — Insights from a Collaborative Project with Minerva University Students
An encounter that began with a Civic Project
Minerva University students engage in hands-on projects called 'Civic Projects' at each location as they travel and learn in cities around the world.
Working with companies, startups, and organizations tackling social issues, they face real-world questions and carry out everything from research to output in one go.
It is such a dynamic learning environment.
This spring, Project MINT partnered with a team of Minerva University students for three months.
The theme was 'IKIGAI × Life Design'
The theme this time was,
“Living with Ikigai: Designing Your Life To Age Well”
It was a project that explored not only 'how to live,' but also 'how to age well,'
investigating how to cultivate ikigai from a relatively early stage in one's 30s and 40s.
It was a project that explored how to cultivate ikigai from a relatively early stage in one's 30s and 40s.
In the background are quiet issues spreading in modern society such as
burnout
a sense of disconnection from society
loss of meaning
and so on.
In Japan, the population is aging rapidly,
and it is said that by 2060, approximately 40% of the population will be 65 or older.
However, at the same time, many people experience a
disconnection between 'role' and 'identity'after retirement or during career transitions.
The more a person has demonstrated value in society, the more they face the question,
'Who am I?'
This is precisely the theme that Project MINT has been facing.
Three months spent with students of diverse roots
The people we worked with on this project were,
a third-year student with roots in Italy and Brazil
A fourth-year student from Ukraine
A first-year student from China
These were members with very diverse backgrounds.
Every meeting had a very flat and friendly atmosphere.
At the same time, the discussions were surprisingly deep, and it was impressive to see how seriously each of them engaged with the theme of the 'meaning of life'.
What the students worked on
During the project, the students carried out the following activities:
Research on academic studies regarding IKIGAI (psychology, sociology, neuroscience, etc.)
Interviews with practitioners and stakeholders in Japan and abroad (5–10 cases)
Exploration of the secrets to longevity and practical wisdom of Ikigai in Okinawa (a Blue Zone)
Analysis of intergenerational relationships and the role of 'Ibasho' (a place where one belongs)
Practical program design based on the research
Furthermore, the results were not just reports, but were
shared as outputs open to society, such as websites and workshops.
The difference between 'IKIGAI' and 'Sense of IKIGAI'
At the core of this project was the perspective of psychiatrist Mieko Kamiya.
She considered IKIGAI by dividing it into the following two categories:
IKIGAI (Object): Children, work, creative activities, relationships with others, etc.
Sense of IKIGAI (Feeling): The subjective feeling that one's life has value
The important point is that
even if you have an object that could be your Ikigai, you may not necessarily feel a sense of Ikigai.
The Impact of 'Ikigai' as Shown by Science
Ikigai is not an abstract concept.
In the large-scale Osaki Cohort Study conducted in Miyagi Prefecture, it was shown that
people who do not feel a sense of Ikigai have:
a 1.6 times higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease
a 1.9 times higher risk of death from external causes
compared to those who do.
A Core Insight Reached by the Students
This time, the students redefined Ikigai while crossing multiple fields such as history, psychology, neuroscience, and sociology.
From this, they derived a very simple yet essential insight.
Ikigai is not something you 'find' alone, but rather something that is 'recognized' within relationships with others.
It is not a sense of accomplishment from something you did intentionally, but rather a 'sense of Ikigai' realized in the moments when you share joy with others.
We then discussed whether this is unique to Japan or if it is a commonality across other cultures as well.
For example, the students shared traditions from their home regions.
In Italy, there is a proverb, 'La felicità è vera solo quando è condivisa' (Happiness is only real when shared), reflecting the idea that
happiness becomes genuine only when shared with others.In Ukraine,
cherishing the happiness of family and loved ones is a very important value in daily life.In China,
values are changing significantly across generations, and loneliness is becoming a serious problem, especially in urban areas,
leading to an increasing number of people who find it difficult to feel a sense of Ikigai.
By sharing these stories,
it emerged that while Ikigai is a concept unique to Japan,
it is actually a question common to every culture.
Ikigai Workshop in the MINT Community
In the latter half of the project,
the students held an Ikigai workshop for the MINT alumni community.
Although it was held online,
we split into small groups of 3 to 5 people in breakout rooms for in-depth dialogue.
For example, the themes were:
How is Ikigai integrated into your daily life now?
How do you perceive your roots and ancestors?
How do you want to live your life?
Mixing English and Japanese,
it was a time for everyone to articulate their own lives in their own words.
Different from our usual MINT sessions,
the 'deep dialogue born from incorporating an outside perspective' was very impressive.
Overlap with Project MINT
Looking back, this is exactly what Project MINT has been doing.
Do not find the answer alone
Discover your Ikigai through dialogue
While touching upon someone else's life, the contours of your own Ikigai become visible
While working on this project with the students,
I felt as if they had articulated that value for us once again.
In closing
What I felt anew over these three months is something very simple.
People can only truly feel the 'meaning of living' when they feel they are being received by someone else.
Ikigai may not be something far away,
but something that already exists within our daily relationships.
Through this collaborative project with multinational Minerva students, I was able to reaffirm that 'Ikigai' is a universal concept shared across cultures.
Moving forward, Project MINT
would like to continue creating such 'spaces where Ikigai emerges'.
*Click here for the research and deliverables compiled by the students
To the next step
What I felt once again through this project is that ikigai is not just something you "think" about, but something that
emerges through dialogue.
Project MINT offers programs that allow you to re-examine your future through such dialogues.
▶ A collaboration between IKIGAI author and world-renowned bestselling writer Héctor García and MINT has been realized! Why not join us to learn about "ikigai" at our free online event?
▶ Click here for details on MINT's ikigai discovery program and the next application period
▶ For those who would like to chat casually about the program first (Free individual consultation)