Ukigai

What's your reason for getting up in the morning? Just trying to answer such a big question might make you want to crawl back into bed. If it does, the Japanese concept of ikigai could help.

Originating from a country with one of the world's oldest populations, the idea is becoming popular outside of Japan as a way to live longer and better.

Ikigai is thought to combine the Japanese words ikiru, meaning "to live", and kai, meaning "the realization of what one hopes for". Together these definitions create the concept of "a reason to live" or the idea of having a purpose in life.

Ikigai also has historic links: gai originates from the word kai, which means shell.

To find this reason or purpose, experts recommend starting with four questions:

• What do you love?
• What are you good at?
• What does the world need from you?
• What can you get paid for?

Finding the answers and a balance between these four areas could be a route to ikigai for Westerners looking for a quick interpretation of this philosophy. But in Japan, ikigai is a slower process and often has nothing to do with work or income.

Ikigai will likely lead to a better life "because you will have something to live for", but warns against viewing ikigai as a lifestyle choice: "Ikigai is not something grand or extraordinary. It's something pretty matter-of-fact."

Okinawa, a remote island to the south west of Japan, has an unusually large population of centenarians and is often referred to in examinations of ikigai - The areas of the world where people live longest, the concept of ikigai pervades the life of these islanders. Combined with a particular diet and support network of friends or "moai", ikigai is helping people live longer on Okinawa as it gives them purpose who provides a karate master, fisherman and great-great-great-grandmother, all of whom are more than 100 years old, as examples.

Just knowing what your ikigai is is not enough – all of these people put their purpose into action. Researchers stress that ikigai can change with age. For anyone whose work is their reason for living, this will come as a relief as they approach retirement and begin the search for a new ikigai.