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Ikigai - How To Live A Long And Happy Life
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as the famous saying in Okinawa goes at
70 you are but children at 80 you are
merely a youth and at 90 if the
ancestors invite you into heaven ask
them to wait until you're 100 and then
you might consider it Okinawa is an
island south of mainland Japan
containing some of the world's longest
living humans on average men live until
84 and women until 90 there's also a
very high concentration of people who
are 100 or more even the oldest
Okinawans are considered healthy and
have the emotional physical and
intellectual capacity to live and
function independently those who study
why the inhabitants of this island in
the south of Japan live longer than
people anywhere else in the world
believe that one of the keys in addition
to a healthy diet a simple life in the
outdoors green tea and the subtropical
climate is the icky guy that shapes
their lives a key guy I keep meaning to
live and guy meaning reason or as we
would say in English your reason to live
which is why in this video we'll be
learning about a key guy and the other
things people of Okinawa do to live a
long and happy life from the book of a
key guy the Japanese secret to a long
and happy life by Hector Garcia and
Frances Mariah's number one follow
you're a key guy in the culture of
Okinawa a key guy is thought of as a
reason to get up in the morning that is
a reason to enjoy life Okinawans
especially the old ones discovered that
early on and can easily describe the why
behind their daily life they have a
reason for getting up in the morning
which means they have something to live
for a key guy is the philosophy that
blissfully keeps them busy until the end
of their days most of us from other
cultures are confused we follow a path
that society is created for us living by
someone else's standards we do many
things all the time and don't really pay
attention to our own deepest desires
we rarely find out our purpose and
passions in life and even if we do get
close we're all too often afraid to
admit to them and to follow them to find
your reason or purpose ask yourself
these four questions what do I love what
am I good at what does the world need
from me and what can I get paid for as
we all know your personal happiness
relies on much more than simply having a
career and getting a paycheck likewise
only doing things that you love or doing
things you're good at is not enough to
sustain you financially if you don't
know how to turn it into a paying job
hence you're a key guy lies at the
center of four interconnecting circles
each of these elements helps contribute
to your happiness
all for a crucial to your reason for
being finding and embracing your ikigai
is one of the first steps to a long
happy life without it you'll just wonder
through life holding on to material
things memories from the past or other
people you'll jump from one goal to
another from one daily task to the next
and you'll rarely know why you do all
that according to psychology today
individuals who believe their lives of
worth living live longer number two take
it slow Okinawa is known for its
slow-paced life slow living is a
lifestyle emphasizing slower approaches
to aspects of everyday life people here
are passionate about everything they do
however insignificant it might seem they
have an important purpose in life they
have an icky guy but they don't always
take it too seriously
their relaxed and enjoy all that they do
please celebrate all the time even the
little things music song and dance are
essential parts of daily life we live in
a world in which technology is
continually invented that saves us time
we use that time to do more and more
things and so somewhat
counter-intuitively our lives become
more hectic and fast-paced than ever
life moves at such breakneck speed that
it's
to pass us by before we can really stop
to enjoy it however it doesn't have to
be this way a slower paced life means
making time to enjoy your morning's
instead of rushing off to work in a
frenzy it means taking time to enjoy
whatever you're doing to appreciate the
outdoors to actually focus on whomever
you're talking to or spending time with
instead of always being connected to an
iPhone or laptop instead of always
thinking about work tasks and emails
slowing down is a conscious choice and
not always an easy one but it leads to a
greater appreciation for life and a
greater level of happiness number three
don't fill your stomach the mortality
rate from cardiovascular disease in
Okinawa is the lowest in Japan and diet
almost certainly has a lot to do with
this the Okinawa diet includes at least
five servings of fruits and vegetables
each day of at least seven types typical
items include tofu miso bitter melon
seaweed soy sprouts peppers and green
tea they rarely eat sugar and if they do
it's cane sugar the average daily intake
of an Okinawan is only about 1,900
calories significantly less than the
average number of calories consumed by a
typical American especially those who
are middle aged they also eat
practically half as much salt as the
rest of Japan seven grams per day
compared to an average of twelve they
practiced this Confucian teaching called
Hara Hachi Bou which instructs people to
eat only until they're 80% full there's
a significant calorie gap between when
an American says I'm full and an
Okinawan says I'm no longer hungry this
cultural practice of calorie restriction
and mindful eating is part of the reason
that Okinawa has a higher percentage of
centenarians than anywhere else in the
world we too can make changes to our
eating patterns or environment enjoy
food and learn to eat only until we're
80 percent full and put the secret of
Hara Hachi boo into practice for
improved health or for weight
ways to get started include eating
slowly eating faster results in eating
more if we slow down
we'll be mindful and be able to allow
our body to respond to cues which tell
us we're no longer hungry focusing on
food if you're going to eat just eat
this way you'll eat more slowly consume
less and savor the food more use small
vessels if you choose to eat on smaller
plates and use tall narrow glasses your
brain believes it's had more portions
and you're likely to eat significantly
less without even thinking about it
don't believe me look at the size of
your plate next time you're at an
all-you-can-eat buffet and you'll see
there are lot smaller than the ones in
your kitchen cabinet number four
surround yourself with good friends in
small neighborhoods across Okinawa
friends meet for a common purpose
sometimes daily and sometimes a couple
of days a week to gossip experience life
and to share advice and even financial
assistance when needed they call these
groups their moai the term originated
hundreds of years ago as a means for a
villages financial support system
originally now eyes were formed to pool
the resources of an entire village for
projects or Public Works today the idea
has expanded to become more of a social
support network a cultural tradition for
built-in companionship traditionally
groups of about five young children were
paired together and it's then that they
made a commitment to each other for life
as their second family they would meet
regularly with their mouths for both
work and play and to pool resources some
Mau Y's have lasted over 90 years
research shows that friends can affect
your health even more than family and
people with the most friends tend to
outlive those with the fewest by 22
percent keep in mind that this means
real friends not Facebook friends or
Twitter followers the key isn't to try
to have tons of friends because
superficial distant and less than
meaningful relationships will only lead
to feelings of insecurity and loneliness
which will increase your risk of illness
and death
just as much as obesity alcoholism and
smoking the key is to have three or four
really really good friends that care for
you the same way you care for them the
easiest way to develop close friendships
is by thinking about what you can do
that will help the people closest to you
be happier and then do it
number five smile the Okinawans are very
cheerful and there's always a smile on
their face they believe it's good to
recognize the things that aren't so
great but we should never forget what a
privilege it is to be in the here and
now in a world so full of possibilities
one of the secrets of their long life is
smiling and having a good time this
cheerful attitude is not only relaxing
it also helps them to make new friends
there are no bars and only a few
restaurants in ome but those who live
there enjoy a rich social life that
revolves around community centers the
truth is that it takes 46 muscles to
frown and only seventeen to smile when
we smile we're happy or we've heard
something funny it occurs when we see a
person that we love or win a competition
smiling does more than just tell other
people that you're happy besides the
fact that it comes naturally there are
numerous other benefits to smiling
smiling lowers the heart rate and
reduces blood pressure while relaxing
your body a study from London University
College stated that happy cheerful
people are 35% more likely to live
longer smiling can help you make more
money and move up the career ladder it
makes you appear more confident
professional and self-assured those who
smile at their colleagues and customers
are more likely to get promoted be
approached with business ideas or get a
raise
people who smiles seem more trustworthy
and are rated higher in generosity and
extraversion so don't forget to take
your smile with you everywhere you go
number 6 reconnect with nature in
Okinawa virtually everyone keeps a
vegetable garden and most of them also
have fields of tea mangoes chikuwa
and so on they say that anybody who
wants to grow
old healthily needs an icky guy or
reason for living
gardening gives you that something to
get up for every day getting together at
the local market bringing their produce
and sharing their latest creations from
the garden is a big social activity this
helps people feel connected and grounded
a sense of connection to other people is
important but so too is the individual
connection to nature one Harvard
University study showed the people who
were surrounded by lush greenery lived
longer with a lower chance of developing
cancer or respiratory illness over 100
studies have shown that being in nature
living near nature or even viewing
nature in paintings and videos can have
positive impacts on our brains bodies
feelings thought processes and social
interactions in particular viewing
nature seems to be inherently rewarding
producing a cascade of positive emotions
and calming our nervous systems this in
turn helps us to cultivate greater
openness creativity connection
generosity and resilience with more than
half of the world's population living in
cities we've lost touch with nature the
rat race sucks up our time and energy
leaving us feeling stressed anxious or
like we've lost meaning we have midlife
crises travel to find ourselves fight
depression with pills change jobs and
cars but somehow we cannot fill that
void our lives revolve around paying
bills buying things we don't actually
need drinking to feel something and
staring at a computer screen even though
today we don't need to hunt for food or
collect firewood every other day in the
winter there are easy ways to connect
with nature like growing a plant in your
house playing with your pet eating lunch
in the park watching the Sun Rise or set
or going on a trek sleeping under the
stars and so on even if you can't or
don't want to leave your comfortable
urban life get out there and be wild
every now and then if you do that
regularly you'll start to get drawn
towards nature
number seven give thanks the people of
Okinawa give thanks to the smallest of
things they give thanks to their
ancestors to nature for providing the
air and the food to their family and
friends to everything that brightens
their day and makes them feel lucky to
be alive they also have the special Naga
tug of war festival to give thanks for a
good harvest gratitude has produced such
miraculous results for people that
scientists have been seriously studying
the practice of gratefulness and its
physical and psychosocial benefits one
study conducted by the University of
Berkeley California divided participants
into three groups and asked them to
maintain a journal for ten weeks one
group was asked to write a list of ten
things they were grateful for over the
past week the second group was asked to
write a list of ten minor annoyances
over the past week and the third group
was asked to write about 10 things that
impacted their lives in the past week
but with no further direction at the end
of the ten weeks people from the first
group were reported feeling 25 percent
happier than the other groups apart from
increasing your happiness levels the
gratitude also improves our physical
health it lowers our stress levels while
stress causes heart attacks and other
chronic conditions gratitude leads to a
positive outlook and Spurs an optimistic
approach to life optimism in turn
increases immunity boosting cells you
can start being grateful by keeping a
gratitude journal every day pick three
to five things that you're thankful for
and write them down you could be
grateful for your friends family and
material goods your health and various
other blessings in your life when we're
truly thankful and we feel it deep
inside us we're grateful feeling
grateful forces our minds to adopt an
abundance mindset as opposed to a
scarcity based one where you feel you're
lacking something an abundant mindset is
key to our growth and well-being number
eight exercise in Okinawa people over 80
and 90 years old are still highly active
they don't stay at home looking out the
window or wastes time reading the
newspaper they walk a lot do karaoke
with their neighbors get up early in the
morning and as soon as they've had
breakfast or even before head outside to
weed their gardens they don't go to the
gym or exercise intensely but they
almost never stop moving in the course
of their daily routines with regular
access to sunshine and exercise they're
healthier with stronger bones higher
vitamin levels and generally in a
brighter mood the real reason we don't
exercise is our desire to avoid any
experience of discomfort the truth is in
order to stay healthy you don't need to
go to the gym for an hour every day or
run marathons as Japanese centenarians
show us all you need is to add movement
to your day practicing any of these
Eastern disciplines like yoga Qi Gong
and Tai Chi is a great way to seek
harmony between your body and mind so
that you can face the world with
strength joy and serenity these gentle
exercises offer extraordinary health
benefits and are particularly
appropriate for anyone who has a harder
time staying fit number 9
live in the moment Japanese
professionals are renowned for their
perseverance and absorption in their
tasks with a thorough attention to
detail we see this in all kinds of
contexts from the old people of Okinawa
working on their garden to the college
students working the weekend shift in
convenience stores they're always in
their flow flow is the state in which
people are so involved in an activity
that nothing else seems to matter the
experience itself is so enjoyable that
people will do it at great cost for the
sheer sake of doing it
imagine yourself climbing a great
mountain high above the ground you move
very deliberately aware of every
placement of your foot there is no room
for error one lapse in attention can
cost you your life
you focus intently nothing exists but
you and this mountain time seems to slow
down and your mind shifts into a new
space a sense of vibrancy of being alive
connectedness and peace infuse your
being you are in the zone this is the
moment there is no past no future just
now you are in your flow you don't need
a mountain each time to enter into flow
if you often find yourself losing focus
while working on something you consider
important there are several strategies
you can employ to increase your chances
of achieving flow like focusing all of
your attention in the present moment
avoiding multitasking or unplugging from
social media the most effective way of
achieving this flow is by choosing a
task that's difficult but not too
difficult every task sport or job has a
set of rules and we need a set of skills
to follow them if the rules for
completing a task or achieving a purpose
are two basic relative to our skill set
we will most likely get board activities
that are too easy leads to apathy if on
the other hand we assign ourselves a
task that's too difficult we won't have
the skills to complete it and will
almost certainly give up and feel
frustrated the ideal is to find a middle
path something aligned with our
abilities but just enough of a stretch
so we experience it as a challenge
we want to see challenges through to the
end because we enjoy the feeling of
accomplishment associated with pushing
ourselves if you're a graphic designer
learn a new software program for your
next project add a little something
extra something that takes you out of
your comfort zone this will create a
win-win situation for you and your work
we can also use this strategy in
achieving flow in doing some of the most
mundane tasks like laundry for example
washing dishes or paper work Bill Gates
washes the dishes every night he says he
enjoys it that it helps him relax and
clear his mind and that he tries to do
it a little better each day following an
order or set of rules he's made for
himself plates first Fork second and so
on it's one of his daily moments of
micro flow we too can get through these
mundane tasks by trying to do them
better than we did the last time flow is
mysterious it's like a muscle the more
you train it the more you'll flow and
the closer you will be to your icky guy
number 10
never retire it's interesting to note
that in the Okinawan language there
isn't a word for retirement older
Okinawans can readily articulate the
reason why they get up in the morning
they live intentional purposeful lives
they feel needed
they matter they contribute and as a
result they live longer than most their
retirement is not looked upon favorably
since it implies that once you retire
you'll cease to do anything at all
become a burden on society and stop
following your passions the idea is to
keep mind and body active in order to
fill yourself with purpose and a key guy
on a daily basis we think of retirement
as an ultimate destination of
well-earned rest from the battlefield of
a career we think of retirement as a
golden age of holidays golf coffee and
well mostly one form of recreation or
another retirement kills your icky game
we need to stop spending so much time
worrying about making more money and our
eventual retirement and instead we
should be focusing our efforts on making
a great life while we still have the
time so never retire keep learning keep
changing and keep growing we hope you
find your a gigai and live a very long
and happy life
we really hope you enjoyed this video
and if you did please do make sure to
check out our other videos on this
channel and for more videos to help you
find success and Happiness using ancient
philosophical wisdom don't forget to
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