Japan is known for its traditional, unique culture, wisdom and its natural beauty. Japan does have a concept that can help a person to find a meaning in their life. There are Japanese concepts which are very insightful and they can give you peace and happiness.
Here, I will tell you about five Japanese concepts that can help you transform your life. This will help you to uplift your struggle and start a fresh life.
- Ikigai
It’s a Japanese concept that means your ‘reason for being’. ‘Iki’ in Japanese means ‘life’, and ‘gai’ means ‘value‘. To put it simply it means to discover your purpose in your life or determine the reason you wake up each morning. Everybody needs to have ikigai. There are four questions that can help a person to find their ikigai:
- What do you love to do?
- What are you good at?
- What can you get paid for?
- What does the world need?
It’s hard to find your own ikigai but these questions will help you to find your passions, skills, missions, problems etc. It depends on your effort on how much you spend to find out what makes you happy, so you should spend more time to find your reason for your life. There is also a book, Ikigai- The Japanese secret to a long and happy life by Hector Garcia, Francesc Miralles.
This book is worth reading if you’re looking for a purpose in life, this concept can be an eye-opener for you.
- Wabi-Sabi
It’s a Japanese concept that ‘discovers the beauty within the imperfection’. It’s to find peace in imperfection and understand that nothing in this life is perfect, rather than looking for flawlessness, find joy in the imperfections that make your life unique.
Nowadays, everyone is looking for a perfect life and this also affects their mental health. You don’t need to win everytime, you need to embrace your losses. You need to focus on the present moment and continue your journey. Wabi-Sabi concepts give us the reason for how we should view our life and this can also help us to find peace and joy in every moment.
- Kaizen
It’s a Japanese business concept that means ‘continuous improvement’ for better results. Kaizen consists of two Japanese terms, ‘kai’ means ‘change’ and ‘zen’ is ‘good’. You have to improve your life even if it’s a small change that can make a big impact over time. For the competitive business world, kaizen is a good example:
Encourages teamwork, improves employee and customer satisfaction, employees participation and encourages them to share their suggestions, improves decision making, better problem solving, and reduces waste of time.
The main theme of Kaizen isn’t to reach perfectionism but to find solutions, adapt to the changes, boost team spirit, and improve continuously.
- Shikata Ga Nai
It’s a Japanese concept which encourages people to accept the things you can’t control, that means to live in the present moment and focus on what they can control instead of worrying about what’s not within their control. In one word, Shikata Ga Nai means ‘it can’t be helped’.
There are many events that happen in our life, we don’t prepare ourselves for these events. We have to accept any unfortunate events and we shouldn’t compare our life with other people. Being in an unfortunate situation or having stress over the past, you need to let go of thinking about the past since no one can change the past. You also can’t change the present in many cases. You should focus on your present situation and accept the reality.
- Oubaitori
Oubaitori is a Japanese concept written with four kanji characters: 桜梅桃李. It’s an inspiration which comes from the trees, it comes from the kanji for the four trees that bloom in spring: cherry, apricot, peach and plum. This means that each flower blooms in its own time and similarly, every individual human being has his own journey. You should never compare yourself to others, but rather compare who you were yesterday. Comparison can also let you miss the opportunity for focusing on other people.
So, as Oubaitori, focus on your own goal, your strengths, abilities rather. It will help you live a happier life free from comparison anxiety and self-doubt.
Life can be looked at differently by finding value in another culture’s perspective. Practicing these concepts is easy if you’ve got the will, discipline, and determination to lead a meaningful life. These five Japanese concepts will transform your life by offering you strength, wisdom, and courage to face any adversity with grace.
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Writer
Towhida
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE