[Book Review] IKIGAI: The Japanese Secret to Live Long and Happy Life
IKIGAI: The Japanese Secret to live long and happy life is a mind-blowing book by “Hector Garcia” and “Francesc Miralles” based on a japanese term “ikigai” which simply means or refer to “practice of living a purposeful life with respect” to a person’s sense to the self.
I recently bought/borrowed this book from one of my friend and really loved a lot thru it’s context and message delivering strategy. This book is a real time made based on the discussions and interview given by the people in “Okinawa” a town in Japan. On a visit, Authors interviewed the villagers and extracted some good “methods of living” from them and presented in this book.
Authors: Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles
Published By: Penguin Books
Language: English
The Fascinating thing regarding the Okinawa province is the healthy living of the villagers and also longevity, which is the focused point here. The Authors interviewed the local in orders to understand the true meaning of the word “ikigai”.
This book is a overall blend of cultures which are very practical in nature and it has fully justified the requirements of a self help book.
“IKGAI: The Japanese Secret to a long and happy life”, as a whole provides a daily dosage for an individual of how to gain a healthier and happiest way of life; through discovering our individual ikigai with practices, experiences and helpful tips for a sophisticated lifestyle. Few or many aspects of our lives are well addressed in this book such as importance of flow and friendship, the reason for living and finding a source of inspiration cum motivation.
While Reading Out This Book, I’ve noted down few points which I think can be found helpful for self-development..
- Take it Slow, Never Hurry
- Always Stay Active and Don’t Retire
- Don’t Fill Your Entire Stomach
- Surround Yourself with Good Friends
- Get In Shape
- Smile and Positivity
- Give Thanks
- Live in the Moment
- Reconnect with Nature
- Follow your ikigai
Authors described that they’ve observed the villagers of Okinawa abide by those points due to which the centenarians have low rate of heart disease and dementia among the villagers.
The First Chapter of this Book, the authors have mentioned the two key factors of life which are the main barriers to live a long and happy life and those are as follows: 1. Stress 2. Lack of Exercise.
This Book Extremely Lays Down a Significance of Mental Health which is often neglected. The Book Provides Tips as how to or how one can activate the brain, often restricted solely into routines and patterns of busy life now-a-days. It suggests activity like social interaction and mind games which can be beneficial as a workout for the brain. It also states that avoiding stress is essential for a healthy lifestyle.
The Second Chapter of this Book, enlightens us about a technique known as “Morita Therapy”. It was primarily introduced to get relief from anxiety and obsessive behavior's. Authors have nicely described about the Morita Therapy. The Therapy requires the individual to cultivate new emotions by accepting these feelings and mannerism. The Book in the segment provides a detailed explanation of how this therapy works and functions.
The Third Chapter of this book focuses on the “flow concept”. The Flow Concept Revolves around enjoying the smaller joy of life, in a manner that sustains concentration so that the person won’t get bored in how the flow can be acquired through new thrilling activities which drive us to discover new traits and aspects of us. This Book Encourages small gestures to establish and preserve friendships, such as greeting a stranger with a smile that can directly impact an individuals longevity.
The Fourth Chapter of this Book teaches the words of wisdom from longest living people in the world. The Key Wisdom’s like Not to Worry, Cultivate Good Habits, Nurturing Friendships, Live an unhurried life and to be optimistic. This Book is all in one collection of self development a teenage or any other human being can use to read and develop his/her lifestyle.
The Fifth Chapter of this Book helps the reader about the IKIGAI Diet and what the longest living people eat and drink.
The Authors when interviewed the villagers, found that they use to eat wide variety of food especially vegetables on a regular basis. Also they use to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. Grains was the foundation of their diet and Japanese People eat white rice everyday.
The Sixth Chapter basically revolves around promoting physical and mental health and longevity. Authors have described some famous yoga practices in the book for the readers.
The Seventh Chapter revolves around the challenges in life and how one should face them. The Term “Resilience” is described to deal with setbacks in life. Also Authors have described few methods to develop resilience in an individual.
Towards the End of the Book, Authors have talked about Okinawan Diet as I've mentioned in one of the chapter above. Also Pursuing Activities that Enhance and Increase the Vibration of an Individual could increase their life span and quality of life.
Conclusion: A Handy Guide to Develop Happiness & Mental Well-Being. Overall, this Book is truly uplifting. The Reader is intrigued by the simplicity it offers and captures the attention of the reader till end.
Through this book the author encourages healthy and purposeful living among people.
Kudos!
