Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life
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Read between August 7 - August 9, 2025
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the keys to longevity are diet, exercise, finding a purpose in life (an ikigai), and forming strong social ties—that is, having a broad circle of friends and good family relations.
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Presented with new information, the brain creates new connections and is revitalized. This is why it is so important to expose yourself to change, even if stepping outside your comfort zone means feeling a bit of anxiety.
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“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
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“He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.”
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Accept your feelings. If we have obsessive thoughts, we should not try to control them or get rid of them. If we do, they become more intense.
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“If you are angry and want to fight, think about it for three days before coming to blows. After three days, the intense desire to fight will pass on its own.”7
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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
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Having a clear objective is important in achieving flow, but we also have to know how to leave it behind when we get down to business.
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Concentrating on one thing at a time may be the single most important factor in achieving flow.
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Our ability to turn routine tasks into moments of microflow, into something we enjoy, is key to our being happy, since we all have to do such tasks.
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The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.
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“Eat and sleep, and you’ll live a long time. You have to learn to relax.”
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“If you keep your mind and body busy, you’ll be around a long time.”
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“The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”2
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“The secret to a long life is not to worry.
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“My secret to a long life is always saying to myself, ‘Slow down,’ and ‘Relax.’ You live much longer if you’re not in a hurry.”
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“Every day I say to myself, ‘Today will be full of health and energy. Live it to the fullest.’
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Wabi-sabi is a Japanese concept that shows us the beauty of the fleeting, changeable, and imperfect nature of the world around us.
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A complementary Japanese concept is that of ichi-go ichi-e, which could be translated as “This moment exists only now and won’t come again.” It is heard most often in social gatherings
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“Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.”
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As Taleb writes in Antifragile, “We need randomness, mess, adventures, uncertainty, self-discovery, hear traumatic episodes, all these things that make life worth living.”
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Life is pure imperfection, as the philosophy of wabi-sabi teaches us, and the passage of time shows us that everything is fleeting, but if you have a clear sense of your ikigai, each moment will hold so many possibilities that it will seem almost like an eternity.
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“Happiness is always determined by your heart.”
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“Keep going; don’t change your path.”
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Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you.
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Stay active; don’t retire.
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Take it slow.
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Being in a hurry is inversely proportional to quality of life.
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Don’t fill your stomach.
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Surround yourself with good friends.
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Get in shape for your next birthday.
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Smile.
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Reconnect with nature.
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Give thanks.
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Live in the moment.
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Follow your ikigai.
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There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet,