What's my ikigai? A 3-minute reflection on what makes life worth living

About 3 minutes · 14 statements · Your answers stay on this page

Maybe you've seen the four-circle diagram, what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for, and wondered where you'd land. Ikigai is a Japanese word usually translated as a reason for being, or what makes life worth living. In everyday Japanese use it can be smaller and more ordinary than the diagram suggests: a morning ritual, a craft, being needed by a grandchild. This reflection looks at three places it can come from: the small things in your day, something you're absorbed in and still growing at, and being of use to particular people or to something beyond you. You'll rate fourteen everyday statements, which takes about three minutes. At the end you'll see where your answers lean, what that can look like, what it might mean for your work, and one small practice to try. It won't hand you a single answer or a job title, and it isn't a test of whether your life is meaningful enough. Your answers never leave this page.

This is a reflection on what makes your days feel worth living, not a measure of wellbeing or mood. If life has felt flat or empty for a while, a doctor or counsellor is a better guide than any quiz.

Think about your life as it is these days, ordinary parts included.

Slide each statement from “Not at all like me” to “Very much like me”. Each answer is set when you let go, and shows you something back right away.

1. There's at least one small thing in an ordinary day that I look forward to.

2. There's something I do, paid or not, where I lose track of time.

3. Knowing someone is relying on me makes the day ahead feel worth showing up for.

4. A familiar ritual, like a first coffee, a walk or tending plants, quietly makes my day better.

5. I'm still getting better at something I love, and I like noticing that.

6. There's a person, a group or a cause I feel I'm genuinely useful to.

7. I notice little pleasures as they happen: the light, a smell, a good bit of bread.

8. I have a craft, hobby or skill I'd keep doing even if nobody ever saw it.

9. Some of my best days are the ones where I made something easier for someone else.

10. I tend to rush past the small moments of a day to get to the parts that count.

11. These days, most of what I do is about getting things done rather than enjoying the doing.

12. Whether anyone needs me isn't a big part of what makes life feel worth it to me.

13. If someone asked what made yesterday worth it, I could name something small.

14. When I have a free hour, I know what I'd want to spend it on.

The patterns this reflection describes

About the idea

The Japanese psychiatrist Mieko Kamiya wrote a widely read book on the idea, Ikigai ni tsuite (On the Meaning of Life), in 1966. She described ikigai as having two sides: the thing that makes life worth living, and ikigai-kan, the feeling that life is worth living. Japanese researchers have since studied that sense of life being worth living, including in a large population study in Ohsaki. The neuroscientist Ken Mogi, writing for English-language readers in 2017, describes ikigai through everyday pillars such as starting small and the joy of little things.

The four-circle diagram most people meet online is a more recent Western adaptation, and it does not come from Japan. In 2014 the writer Marc Winn took an existing purpose Venn diagram, credited to Andrés Zuzunaga, and put the word ikigai at its centre; his post was shared very widely. Winn has since said the diagram wasn't his and that he added one word to a shape that already existed. It can be a useful way to think about work. But Ken Mogi, for one, describes the Japanese understanding as embedded in daily life, relationships and hobbies as well as careers, which suggests the everyday sense doesn't depend on being paid, being good at something, or serving what the world needs.

This reflection takes both seriously. Its three threads, small daily reasons, something absorbing, and being of use, are our own way of dividing the territory, and the statements are written for IX Coach. It describes where your answers lean right now, not a purpose you're meant to find once and keep.

What this reflection looks at

Small daily reasons — Higher means ordinary moments, a ritual, a walk, a familiar face, are part of what makes your days feel worth getting up for.
Something that absorbs you — Higher means there's something you love doing and are still getting better at, paid or not, that you can lose yourself in.
Being of use — Higher means being needed by particular people, or useful to something beyond you, is a big part of what makes your days feel worth it.

Questions people ask

Is the ikigai Venn diagram the real Japanese idea?

Not quite. The four overlapping circles, what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for, come from a Western purpose diagram that the writer Marc Winn relabelled ikigai in 2014. In everyday Japanese use, ikigai is broader and often smaller at the same time: whatever makes life feel worth living, which can be a hobby, a person, a role or a morning ritual. The diagram can still be a helpful way to think about work.

Does my ikigai have to be my job?

No. For many people it isn't. Work can be one source, and some people find their work and their ikigai overlap a lot. But a reason to get up in the morning can sit entirely outside paid work, and that doesn't make it count for less.

How is this different from the sources of meaning reflection?

Our sources of meaning reflection asks where meaning tends to come from: people, giving or making, or understanding and growth. This one starts from the idea of ikigai and looks at small daily reasons, something that absorbs you, and being of use. They overlap, so if one stirs something up, the other can be a useful second look. What makes life feel worth living can also shift with age, health, relationships and work, which is why both describe where your answers lean now rather than a fixed answer.

When should I talk to a professional?

If life has felt flat, empty or pointless for weeks, or if getting through each day has become hard, please talk to your doctor, a counsellor or someone you trust; that deserves more care than a reflection can give. If you are in crisis, the numbers on this page connect you to someone now. A coach can help if you'd like company thinking about direction and work.

Sources

Mieko Kamiya. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mieko_Kamiya
Supports: Kamiya's 1966 book Ikigai ni tsuite (On the Meaning of Life) and her distinction between ikigai and ikigai-kan, the feeling of life being worth living. Secondary source; the book has not been translated into English.
Mogi, K. (2017). The Little Book of Ikigai. Quercus. www.quercusbooks.co.uk/titles/ken-mogi/the-little-book-of-ikigai/9781786489050/
Supports: Mogi's five pillars of ikigai, including starting small and the joy of little things, and ikigai as embedded in daily life.
Winn, M. (2014, May 14). What's your ikigai? The View Inside Me. theviewinside.me/what-is-your-ikigai/
Supports: The popular four-circle ikigai diagram came from Winn adding the word ikigai to an existing purpose Venn diagram credited to Andrés Zuzunaga.
Sone, T., Nakaya, N., Ohmori, K. et al. (2008). Sense of life worth living (ikigai) and mortality in Japan: Ohsaki Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70(6), 709–715. doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e31817e7e64
Supports: Japanese researchers have studied ikigai as a sense that life is worth living in a large population study.

The statements in this reflection were written for IX Coach; they are not taken from any published questionnaire. Last reviewed 2026-10-07.

Practice this with IX Coach

Not sure which pattern fits, or want to go further? Io, IX Coach's AI coach, can explore your ikigai with you.

Talk it through with Io