Ikigai: A mysterious word

THIS BOOK FIRST came into being on a rainy night in Tokyo, when its authors sat

down together for the first time in one of the city’s tiny bars.

We had read each other’s work but had never met, thanks to the thousands of

miles that separate Barcelona from the capital of Japan. Then a mutual

acquaintance put us in touch, launching a friendship that led to this project and

seems destined to last a lifetime.

The next time we got together, a year later, we strolled through a park in

downtown Tokyo and ended up talking about trends in Western psychology,

specifically logotherapy, which helps people find their purpose in life.

We remarked that Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy had gone out of fashion among

practicing therapists, who favored other schools of psychology, though people

still search for meaning in what they do and how they live. We ask ourselves

things like:

What is the meaning of my life?

Is the point just to live longer, or should I seek a higher purpose?

Why do some people know what they want and have a passion for life, while

others languish in confusion?

At some point in our conversation, the mysterious word ikigai came up.

This Japanese concept, which translates roughly as “the happiness of always

being busy,” is like logotherapy, but it goes a step beyond. It also seems to be one

way of explaining the extraordinary longevity of the Japanese, especially on the

island of Okinawa, where there are 24.55 people over the age of 100 for every

100,000 inhabitants—far more than the global average.

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 healthful diet, a simple life in the outdoors, green tea, and the

subtropical climate (its average temperature is like that of Hawaii)—is the ikigai

that shapes their lives.

While researching this concept, we discovered that not a single book in the

fields of psychology or personal development is dedicated to bringing this

philosophy to the West.

Is ikigai the reason there are more centenarians in Okinawa than anywhere

else? How does it inspire people to stay active until the very end? What is the

secret to a long and happy life?

As we explored the matter further, we discovered that one place in particular,

Ogimi, a rural town on the north end of the island with a population of three

thousand, boasts the highest life expectancy in the world—a fact that has earned

it the nickname the Village of Longevity.

Okinawa is where most of Japan’s shikuwasa—a limelike fruit that packs an

extraordinary antioxidant punch—comes from. Could that be Ogimi’s secret to

long life? Or is it the purity of the water used to brew its Moringa tea?

We decided to go study the secrets of the Japanese centenarians in person.

After a year of preliminary research we arrived in the village—where residents

speak an ancient dialect and practice an animist religion that features long-haired

forest sprites called bunagaya—with our cameras and recording devices in hand.

As soon as we arrived we could sense the incredible friendliness of its residents,

who laughed and joked incessantly amid lush green hills fed by crystalline waters.

As we conducted our interviews with the eldest residents of the town, we

realized that something far more powerful than just these natural resources was at

work: an uncommon joy flows from its inhabitants and guides them through the

long and pleasurable journey of their lives.

Again, the mysterious ikigai.

But what is it, exactly? How do you get it?

It never ceased to surprise us that this haven of nearly eternal life was located

precisely in Okinawa, where two hundred thousand innocent lives were lost at the

end of World War II. Rather than harbor animosity toward outsiders, however,

Okinawans live by the principle of ichariba chode, a local expression that means

“treat everyone like a brother, even if you’ve never met them before.”

It turns out that one of the secrets to happiness of Ogimi’s residents is feeling

like part of a community. From an early age they practice yuimaaru, or

teamwork, and so are used to helping one another.

What is your reason for being?

According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—what a French philosopher

might call a raison d’être. Some people have found their ikigai, while others are

still looking, though they carry it within them.

Our ikigai is hidden deep inside each of us, and finding it requires a patient

search. According to those born on Okinawa, the island with the most

centenarians in the world, our ikigai is the reason we get up in the morning.

Whatever you do, don’t retire!

Having a clearly defined ikigai brings satisfaction, happiness, and meaning to our

lives. The purpose of this book is to help you find yours, and to share insights

from Japanese philosophy on the lasting health of body, mind, and spirit.

One surprising thing you notice, living in Japan, is how active people remain

after they retire. In fact, many Japanese people never really retire—they keep

doing what they love for as long as their health allows.

There is, in fact, no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense of “leaving

the workforce for good” as in English. According to Dan Buettner, a National

Geographic reporter who knows the country well, having a purpose in life is so

important in Japanese culture that our idea of retirement simply doesn’t exist

there.

The island of (almost) eternal youth

Certain longevity studies suggest that a strong sense of community and a clearly

defined ikigai are just as important as the famously healthful Japanese diet—

perhaps even more so. Recent medical studies of centenarians from Okinawa and

other so-called Blue Zones—the geographic regions where people live longest—

provide a number of interesting facts about these extraordinary human beings:

Not only do they live much longer than the rest of the world’s population,

they also suffer from fewer chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart

disease; inflammatory disorders are also less common.

Many of these centenarians enjoy enviable levels of vitality and health that

would be unthinkable for people of advanced age elsewhere.

Their blood tests reveal fewer free radicals (which are responsible for

cellular aging), as a result of drinking tea and eating until their stomachs are

only 80 percent full.

Women experience more moderate symptoms during menopause, and both

men and women maintain higher levels of sexual hormones until much later

in life.

The rate of dementia is well below the global average.The Characters Behind Ikigai

In Japanese, ikigai is written as 生き甲斐, combining 生き, which means

“life,” with 甲斐, which means “to be worthwhile.” 甲斐 can be broken

down into the characters 甲, which means “armor,” “number one,” and “to

be the first” (to head into battle, taking initiative as a leader), and 斐,

which means “beautiful” or “elegant.”

Though we will consider each of these findings over the course of the book,

research clearly indicates that the Okinawans’ focus on ikigai gives a sense of

purpose to each and every day and plays an important role in their health and

longevity.

The five Blue Zones

Okinawa holds first place among the world’s Blue Zones. In Okinawa, women in

particular live longer and have fewer diseases than anywhere else in the world.

The five regions identified and analyzed by Dan Buettner in his book The Blue

Zones are:

1. Okinawa, Japan (especially the northern part of the island). The locals eat a

diet rich in vegetables and tofu typically served on small plates. In addition to

their philosophy of ikigai, the moai, or close-knit group of friends (see page

15), plays an important role in their longevity.

2. Sardinia, Italy (specifically the provinces of Nuoro and Ogliastra). Locals on

this island consume plenty of vegetables and one or two glasses of wine per

day. As in Okinawa, the cohesive nature of this community is another factor

directly related to longevity.

3. Loma Linda, California. Researchers studied a group of Seventh-day

Adventists who are among the longest-living people in the United States.

4. The Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Locals remain remarkably active after

ninety; many of the region’s older residents have no problem getting up at

five thirty in the morning to work in the fields.

5. Ikaria, Greece. One of every three inhabitants of this island near the coast of

Turkey is over ninety years old (compared to less than 1 percent of the

population of the United States), a fact that has earned it the nickname the

Island of Long Life. The local secret seems to be a lifestyle that dates back to

500 BC.

In the following chapters, we will examine several factors that seem to be the

keys to longevity and are found across the Blue Zones, paying special attention to

Okinawa and its so-called Village of Longevity. First, however, it is worth

pointing out that three of these regions are islands, where resources can be scarce

and communities have to help one another.

For many, helping others might be an ikigai strong enough to keep them alive.

According to scientists who have studied the five Blue Zones, 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.

Members of these communities manage their time well in order to reduce

stress, consume little meat or processed foods, and drink alcohol in moderation.

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They don’t do strenuous exercise, but they do move every day, taking walks

and working in their vegetable gardens. People in the Blue Zones would rather

walk than drive. Gardening, which involves daily low-intensity movement, is a

practice almost all of them have in common.

The 80 percent secret

One of the most common sayings in Japan is “Hara hachi bu,” which is repeated

before or after eating and means something like “Fill your belly to 80 percent.”

Ancient wisdom advises against eating until we are full. This is why Okinawans

stop eating when they feel their stomachs reach 80 percent of their capacity,

rather than overeating and wearing down their bodies with long digestive

processes that accelerate cellular oxidation.

Of course, there is no way to know objectively if your stomach is at 80

percent capacity. The lesson to learn from this saying is that we should stop eating

when we are starting to feel full. The extra side dish, the snack we eat when we

know in our hearts we don’t really need it, the apple pie after lunch—all these willgive us pleasure in the short term, but not having them will make us happier in

the long term.

The way food is served is also important. By presenting their meals on many

small plates, the Japanese tend to eat less. A typical meal in a restaurant in Japan

is served in five plates on a tray, four of them very small and the main dish

slightly bigger. Having five plates in front of you makes it seem like you are

going to eat a lot, but what happens most of the time is that you end up feeling

slightly hungry. This is one of the reasons why Westerners in Japan typically lose

weight and stay trim.

Recent studies by nutritionists reveal that Okinawans consume a daily average

of 1,800 to 1,900 calories, compared to 2,200 to 3,300 in the United States, and

have a body mass index between 18 and 22, compared to 26 or 27 in the United

States.

The Okinawan diet is rich in tofu, sweet potatoes, fish (three times per week),

and vegetables (roughly 11 ounces per day). In the chapter dedicated to nutrition

we will see which healthy, antioxidant-rich foods are included in this 80 percent.

Moai: Connected for life

It is customary in Okinawa to form close bonds within local communities. A moai

is an informal group of people with common interests who look out for one

another. For many, serving the community becomes part of their ikigai.

The moai has its origins in hard times, when farmers would get together to

share best practices and help one another cope with meager harvests.

Members of a moai make a set monthly contribution to the group. This

payment allows them to participate in meetings, dinners, games of go and shogi

(Japanese chess), or whatever hobby they have in common.

The funds collected by the group are used for activities, but if there is money

left over, one member (decided on a rotating basis) receives a set amount from

the surplus. In this way, being part of a moai helps maintain emotional and

financial stability. If a member of a moai is in financial trouble, he or she can get

an advance from the group’s savings. While the details of each moai’s accounting

practices vary according to the group and its economic means, the feeling of

belonging and support gives the individual a sense of security and helps increase

life expectancy.

Aging’s escape velocity

For more than a century, we’ve managed to add an average of 0.3 years to our life

expectancy every year. But what would happen if we had the technology to add a

year of life expectancy every year? In theory, we would achieve biological

immortality, having reached aging’s “escape velocity.”

Aging’s Escape Velocity and the Rabbit

Imagine a sign far off in the future with a number on it that

represents the age of your death. Every year that you live,

you advance closer to the sign. When you reach the sign, you die.

Now imagine a rabbit holding the sign and walking to the future. Every

year that you live, the rabbit is half a year as far away. After a while, you

will reach the rabbit and die.

But what if the rabbit could walk at a pace of one year for every year

of your life? You would never be able to catch the rabbit, and therefore

you would never die.

The speed at which the rabbit walks to the future is our technology.

The more we advance technology and knowledge of our bodies, the faster

we can make the rabbit walk.

Aging’s escape velocity is the moment at which the rabbit walks at a

pace of one year per year or faster, and we become immortal.

Researchers with an eye to the future, such as Ray Kurzweil and Aubrey de

Grey, claim that we’ll reach this escape velocity in a matter of decades. Other

scientists are less optimistic, predicting that we’ll reach a limit, a maximum age

we won’t be able to surpass, no matter how much technology we have. For

example, some biologists assert that our cells stop regenerating after about 120

years.

Active mind, youthful body

There is much wisdom in the classic saying “mens sana in corpore sano” (“aThere is much wisdom in the classic saying “mens sana in corpore sano” (“a

sound mind in a sound body”): It reminds us that both mind and body are

important, and that the health of one is connected to that of the other. It has been

shown that maintaining an active, adaptable mind is one of the key factors in

staying young.

Having a youthful mind also drives you toward a healthy lifestyle that will

slow the aging process.

Just as a lack of physical exercise has negative effects on our bodies and

mood, a lack of mental exercise is bad for us because it causes our neurons and

neural connections to deteriorate—and, as a result, reduces our ability to react to

our surroundings.

This is why it’s so important to give your brain a workout.

One pioneer in advocating for mental exercise is the Israeli neuroscientist

Shlomo Breznitz, who argues that the brain needs a lot of stimulation in order to

stay in shape. As he stated in an interview with Eduard Punset for the Spanish

television program Redes:

There is a tension between what is good for someone and what they want to do. This is because people,

especially older people, like to do things as they’ve always done them. The problem is that when the

brain develops ingrained habits, it doesn’t need to think anymore. Things get done quickly and

efficiently on automatic pilot, often in a very advantageous way. This creates a tendency to stick to

routines, and the only way of breaking these is to confront the brain with new information.

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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.

The effects of mental training have been scientifically demonstrated.

According to Collins Hemingway and Shlomo Breznitz in their book Maximum

Brainpower: Challenging the Brain for Health and Wisdom, mental training is

beneficial on many levels: “You begin exercising your brain by doing a certain

task for the first time,” he writes. “And at first it seems very difficult, but as you

learn how to do it, the training is already working. The second time, you realize

that it’s easier, not harder, to do, because you’re getting better at it. This has a

fantastic effect on a person’s mood. In and of itself, it is a transformation that

affects not only the results obtained, but also his or her self-image.”

This description of a “mental workout” might sound a bit formal, but simply

interacting with others—playing a game, for example—offers new stimuli and

helps prevent the depression that can come with solitude.

Our neurons start to age while we are still in our twenties. This process isslowed, however, by intellectual activity, curiosity, and a desire to learn. Dealing

with new situations, learning something new every day, playing games, and

interacting with other people seem to be essential antiaging strategies for the

mind. Furthermore, a more positive outlook in this regard will yield greater

mental benefits.

Stress: Accused of killing longevity

Many people seem older than they are. Research into the causes of premature

aging has shown that stress has a lot to do with it, because the body wears down

much faster during periods of crisis. The American Institute of Stress

investigated this degenerative process and concluded that most health problems

are caused by stress.

Researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital conducted a study in which

they subjected a young doctor to a job interview, which they made even more

stressful by forcing him to solve complex math problems for thirty minutes.

Afterward, they took a blood sample. What they discovered was that his

antibodies had reacted to stress the same way they react to pathogens, activating

the proteins that trigger an immune response. The problem is that this response

not only neutralizes harmful agents, it also damages healthy cells, leading them to

age prematurely.

The University of California conducted a similar study, taking data and

samples from thirty-nine women who had high levels of stress due to the illness

of one of their children and comparing them to samples from women with

healthy children and low levels of stress. They found that stress promotes cellular

aging by weakening cell structures known as telomeres, which affect cellular

regeneration and how our cells age. As the study revealed, the greater the stress,

the greater the degenerative effect on cells.

How does stress work?

These days, people live at a frantic pace and in a nearly constant state of

competition. At this fever pitch, stress is a natural response to the information

being received by the body as potentially dangerous or problematic.

Theoretically, this is a useful reaction, as it helps us survive in hostile

surroundings. Over the course of our evolution, we have used this response tosurroundings. Over the course of our evolution, we have used this response to

deal with difficult situations and to flee from predators.

The alarm that goes off in our head makes our neurons activate the pituitary

gland, which produces hormones that release corticotropin, which in turn

circulates through the body via the sympathetic nervous system. The adrenal

gland is then triggered to release adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline raises our

respiratory rate and pulse and prepares our muscles for action, getting the body

ready to react to perceived danger, while cortisol increases the release of

dopamine and blood glucose, which is what gets us “charged up” and allows us to

face challenges.

Cave Dwellers Modern Humans

Were relaxed most of the time. Work most of the time and are alert to any and all threats.

Felt stress only in very specific

situations.

Are online or waiting for notifications from their cell phones twenty-four hours a

day.

The threats were real: A predator could

end their lives at any moment.

The brain associates the ping of a cell phone or an e-mail notification with the

threat of a predator.

High doses of cortisol and adrenaline at

moments of danger kept the body

healthy.

Low doses of cortisol flow constantly through the body, with implications for a

range of health problems, including adrenal fatigue and chronic fatigue

syndrome.

These processes are, in moderation, beneficial—they help us overcome

challenges in our daily lives. Nonetheless, the stress to which human beings are

subjected today is clearly harmful.

Stress has a degenerative effect over time. A sustained state of emergency

affects the neurons associated with memory, as well as inhibiting the release of

certain hormones, the absence of which can cause depression. Its secondary

effects include irritability, insomnia, anxiety, and high blood pressure.

As such, though challenges are good for keeping mind and body active, we

should adjust our high-stress lifestyles in order to avoid the premature aging of

our bodies.

Be mindful about reducing stress

Whether or not the threats we perceive are real, stress is an easily identifiable

condition that not only causes anxiety but is also highly psychosomatic, affecting

everything from our digestive system to our skin.This is why prevention is so important in avoiding the toll that stress takes on

us—and why many experts recommend practicing mindfulness.

The central premise of this stress-reduction method is focusing on the self:

noticing our responses, even if they are conditioned by habit, in order to be fully

conscious of them. In this way, we connect with the here and now and limit

thoughts that tend to spiral out of control.

“We have to learn to turn off the autopilot that’s steering us in an endless loop.

We all know people who snack while talking on the phone or watching the news.

You ask them if the omelet they just ate had onion in it, and they can’t tell you,”

says Roberto Alcibar, who abandoned his fast-paced life to become a certified

instructor of mindfulness after an illness threw him into a period of acute stress.

One way to reach a state of mindfulness is through meditation, which helps

filter the information that reaches us from the outside world. It can also be

achieved through breathing exercises, yoga, and body scans.

Achieving mindfulness involves a gradual process of training, but with a bit of

practice we can learn to focus our mind completely, which reduces stress and

helps us live longer.

A little stress is good for you

While sustained, intense stress is a known enemy of longevity and both mental

and physical health, low levels of stress have been shown to be beneficial.

After observing a group of test subjects for more than twenty years, Dr.

Howard S. Friedman, a psychology professor at the University of California,

Riverside, discovered that people who maintained a low level of stress, who faced

challenges and put their heart and soul into their work in order to succeed, lived

longer than those who chose a more relaxed lifestyle and retired earlier. From

this, he concluded that a small dose of stress is a positive thing, as those who live

with low levels of stress tend to develop healthier habits, smoke less, and drink

less alcohol.

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Given this, it is not surprising that many of the supercentenarians—people

who live to be 110 or more—whom we’ll meet in this book talk about having

lived intense lives and working well into old age.

A lot of sitting will age youIn the Western world in particular, the rise in sedentary behavior has led to

numerous diseases such as hypertension and obesity, which in turn affect

longevity.

Spending too much time seated at work or at home not only reduces muscular

and respiratory fitness but also increases appetite and curbs the desire to

participate in activities. Being sedentary can lead to hypertension, imbalanced

eating, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and even certain kinds of cancer.

Recent studies have shown a connection between a lack of physical activity and

the progressive distortion of telomeres in the immune system, which ages those

cells and, in turn, the organism as a whole.

This is a problem at all life stages, not only among adults. Sedentary children

suffer from high rates of obesity and all its associated health issues and risks,

which is why it’s so important to develop a healthy and active lifestyle at an early

age.

It’s easy to be less sedentary; it just takes a bit of effort and a few changes to

your routine. We can access a more active lifestyle that makes us feel better

inside and out—we just have to add a few ingredients to our everyday habits:

Walk to work, or just go on a walk for at least twenty minutes each day.

Use your feet instead of an elevator or escalator. This is good for your

posture, your muscles, and your respiratory system, among other things.

Participate in social or leisure activities so that you don’t spend too much time

in front of the television.

Replace your junk food with fruit and you’ll have less of an urge to snack,

and more nutrients in your system.

Get the right amount of sleep. Seven to nine hours is good, but any more than

that makes us lethargic.

Play with children or pets, or join a sports team. This not only strengthens the

body but also stimulates the mind and boosts self-esteem.

Be conscious of your daily routine in order to detect harmful habits and

replace them with more positive ones.

By making these small changes, we can begin to renew our bodies and minds

and increase our life expectancy.

A model’s best-kept secret Though we age both externally and internally, both physically and mentally, one

of the things that tell us the most about people’s age is their skin, which takes on

different textures and colors according to processes going on beneath the surface.

Most of those who make their living as models claim to sleep between nine and

ten hours the night before a fashion show. This gives their skin a taut, wrinkle-

free appearance and a healthy, radiant glow.

Science has shown that sleep is a key antiaging tool, because when we sleep

we generate melatonin, a hormone that occurs naturally in our bodies. The pineal

gland produces it from the neurotransmitter serotonin according to our diurnal

and nocturnal rhythms, and it plays a role in our sleep and waking cycles.

A powerful antioxidant, melatonin helps us live longer, and also offers the

following benefits:

It strengthens the immune system.

It contains an element that protects against cancer.

It promotes the natural production of insulin.

It slows the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

It helps prevent osteoporosis and fight heart disease.

For all these reasons, melatonin is a great ally in preserving youth. It should be

noted, however, that melatonin production decreases after age thirty. We can

compensate for this by:

Eating a balanced diet and getting more calcium.

Soaking up a moderate amount of sun each day.

Getting enough sleep.

Avoiding stress, alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, all of which make it harder

to get a good night’s rest, depriving us of the melatonin we need.

Experts are trying to determine whether artificially stimulating production of

melatonin might help slow the aging process . . . which would confirm the theory

that we already carry the secret to longevity within us.

Antiaging attitudes

The mind has tremendous power over the body and how quickly it ages. Most

doctors agree that the secret to keeping the body young is keeping the mind active

—a key element of ikigai—and in not caving in when we face difficulties

throughout our lives.

One study, conducted at Yeshiva University, found that the people who live

the longest have two dispositional traits in common: a positive attitude and a high

degree of emotional awareness. In other words, those who face challenges with a

positive outlook and are able to manage their emotions are already well on their

way toward longevity.

A stoic attitude—serenity in the face of a setback—can also help keep you

young, as it lowers anxiety and stress levels and stabilizes behavior. This can be

seen in the greater life expectancies of certain cultures with unhurried, deliberate

lifestyles.

Many centenarians and supercentenarians have similar profiles: They have had

full lives that were difficult at times, but they knew how to approach these

challenges with a positive attitude and not be overwhelmed by the obstacles they

faced.

Alexander Imich, who in 2014 became the world’s oldest living man at age

111, knew he had good genes but understood that other factors contributed, too:

“The life you live is equally or more important for longevity,” he said in an

interview with Reuters after being added to Guinness World Records in 2014.

An ode to longevity

During our stay in Ogimi, the village that holds the Guinness record for longevity,

a woman who was about to turn 100 years old sang the following song for us in a

mixture of Japanese and the local dialect:

To keep healthy and have a long life,

eat just a little of everything with relish,

go to bed early, get up early, and then go out for a walk.

We live each day with serenity and we enjoy the journey.

To keep healthy and have a long life,

we get on well with all of our friends.

Spring, summer, fall, winter,

we happily enjoy all the seasons.

The secret is to not get distracted by how old the fingers are;

from the fingers to the head and back once again.

If you keep moving with your fingers working, 100 years

will come to you.*

We can now use our fingers to turn the page to the next chapter, where we will

look at the close relationship between longevity and discovering our life’s

mission.