Ikigai [ee-key-guy] is a Japanese term for one’s reason for being, discovery of which brings satisfaction and meaning to life. Everyone, according to the Japanese, has an ikigai. Finding it requires a deep and often lengthy search of self. Such a search is regarded as being very important, since it is believed that discovery of one’s ikigai brings satisfaction and meaning to life.
In the culture of Okinawa, ikigai is thought of as ‘a reason to get up in the morning’; that is, a reason to enjoy life. In a TED Talk, author Dan Buettner offered ikigai as one of the reasons people in the area had such long lives.
The Daily Omnivore 