El ikigai es el secreto de los japoneses para vivir felices y con buena salud. Se traduce como “alegría de vivir” y “razón de ser”. El ikigai es la combinación de lo que nos produce placer,de aquello por lo que tenemos talento y de lo que nos proporciona el sentimiento de que nuestra vida tiene sentido; es la razón por la que te levantas cada mañana. Con este libro encontrarás tu ikigai. Este es el comienzo del programa de 12 semanas, rico en secretos de fi losofía de vida, anécdotas y sobre todo de más de 70 ejercicios de desarrollo personal para aprender a conocerte y encontrar el verdadero motor de tu vida…
Some good ideas which you're supposed to put into action with what the author calls games for twelve weeks with a different theme each week. I read the book without doing the games but still got to know myself better just by thinking about the various actions. It was more like a magazine than a book, but I still enjoyed this fairly light read.
I really, really expected to love this book. The premise is so great, it aims to be a daily devotional for finding your life's purpose. But it just falls flat. So many, and I mean SO MANY, of the activities in this book are repetitive and just don't help the reader to accomplish anything. At least 4 times in this book, the author asks the reader to just live their daily routine differently, "wake up 30 minutes earlier or later, eat lunch at a different time, go for a walk in a new direction." I mean the first suggestion was interesting, but it got old fast. And over and over you are asked to make gigantic lists of things, people, places you like or don't like, and then to connect themes from these lists. And again, this gets old pretty quickly. It also has a lot of activities that are just unrealistic, like asking the reader to take a large trip to another country because that's what the author did when she was "finding" herself. It reads a lot like a generationally wealthy individual telling the poor masses to just have more fun. There are also all of these "meditations" that you are supposed to record yourself reading out loud and then you are supposed to listen to the recording of yourself reading the meditation so that you can actually do the meditation... I mean. Who is going to do that? Or even wants to do that?
I personally loved this book. Little snippets of mindfulness throughout. It brought me back to reconnecting with simple pleasures in life. Connection with nature, listening to our bodies…you can use the challenges that you feel you have a connection with or that have been long forgotten. In a fast-paced world, it is easy to forget to enjoy the simple pleasures or even act on them as we would have as children.
Loved the little intermissions within chapters that talked about different ideas in Japanese life philosophy. The art was also great and complemented the style and tone of the book well. Found some of the exercises boring/too time-consuming for my liking but overall a good read.
I’d never heard of the Japanese concept of Ikigai before I picked this book off of the New Reads shelf at my local library. I’ve often enjoyed reading books that describe lifestyle and self improvement ideas from other cultures and present new and often very appealing ways of being. I’ve been drawn to so many....feng shui, wabi sabi, hygge and lykke to name a few. Some have really resonated for me and helped me define my own values more clearly. The Book of Ikigai, though not as resonating for me at first, ended up having some really good inspiration for finding one’s purpose in life, clearly stating it and beginning to live it more fully. I’ll admit that the 12 week program author Caroline de Surany proposed felt a bit gimmicky, and also seemed to pre-suppose that most people haven’t given much thought to one of life’s biggest questions, namely “why am I here?”. But I do think this is usually something most people at some point in life, and at the very least through trial and error, have struggled with. So anyway I guess having a more organized approach could be helpful. Still, I’m also a firm believer in the “take what you like and leave the rest” approach to advice of any kind. And in that respect, there are actually some wonderful bits of wisdom here presented in ways that encourage taking action to incorporate what is being learned into a more effective and authentic way of living.
Simple honest step by step guide to understanding yourself more and finding those “aha” moments about your passions and what motivates you, to find that center of purpose, your Ikigai. I loved how Authort Caroline De Surany was open about her experience and shared her own knowledge in a simple week by week plan.
This book includes an abundance of different activities that are easy and simple for the reader to complete, and are accompanied by examples, stories and experiences of the author. Along with the beautiful illustrations scattered throughout, this is a very beautiful nicely written self-help book.
Mostly a book with exercises, I should still try them before rating. First impression: some things look really easy, some things really hard, and some things quite woo-woo, but I guess that if you stick to it, you'll see some improvements.