Ikigai by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.  What is Ikigai?  Ikigai translates to a reason to live.  Here’s the review of the book Ikigai.  If you prefer to listen to the podcast version, click on the audio below or the link to the podcast where this episode can be found.

Ikigai is a book that details the Japanese principles of living a happy, purposeful, and fulfilled life.  Ever wonder what is Ikigai?  Ikigai translates to a reason to live.  Two researchers went out to Okinawa in Japan, the leading blue zone, where the Centenarians live.  They were seeking to study longevity of life and their Ikigai.  When it comes to self-help, this is a good starter book, I feel. After reading several, there are different categories.  Some books talk about action with purpose and some books talk about happiness and some books combine the two.  The category can reach far and wide.  It can even overlap into psychology because after all, aren’t we trying to shape human behavior, even if it’s our own and doesn’t that involve the study of psychology.

So, when you are picking a self-help book, It’s a matter of what you are looking for and also what book speaks to you.

I’m glad I read this book because I like several of the concepts presented in this book and I feel it’s important to understand them. Whether we want to or can implement in our lives, is a different story.  What concepts am I talking about?  The book talks about working til you die, as in working on what you love and what you are passionate about, but that’s just one of the philosophies of this book.

Of course, it talks about eating healthy and eating less. Eat vegetables.  As a matter of fact, the book talks about how the centenarians garden their own vegetables and cook the produce from their own backyards. It’s a matter of how they spend time being busy.  So, while one aspect is eating healthy, the other aspect is spending time, using your body, and keeping it in motion.  What book doesn’t talk about exercise.  This one does.  There are pictures outlined in the book and it goes over the movements.  If you are looking for something easy and workable. The book also talks about community and helping each other.  At the center of it all is living in moderation and following your interests for life.  It’s simplistic.  In our modern Western world, I don’t know how easy it can be to find this enlightenment and follow your passion principles because of the pesky thing called finance, but it’s a good book to read.  A good book to consider and a good book to make micro changes in your life.

I liked it for a first read but there were elements that took me away from the book, like quotes from centenarians that were all different and didn’t really give me useable information.  Balancing, elements I liked and others that were just OK,  I give it 3 stars.  And there you have it.

This is Dr. Shahnaz Ahmed with Living a Life through books reviews.  Check out my other reviews.  Here’s one of China Rich Girlfriend