3 Discovering Your Ikigai: Finding Purpose in College and Career
Joel Gladd
Have you ever wondered, “What is my purpose?” With so many choices for education, career paths, and jobs, it can feel overwhelming to decide what you want to do with your life. Society often asks us to make important decisions about our future at a young age—when many of us don’t really have a clear idea of what life is like as an adult. Plenty of adults still struggle with this question.
The Japanese philosophy of Ikigai, which means “reason for being,” offers a helpful way to think about finding purpose. It can guide you toward a fulfilling career or life path, one that you’re excited to get up for each morning. Ikigai focuses on finding a balance between four elements: what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.
What is Ikigai?
Ikigai is a way to help you understand how to align different aspects of your life to find purpose and fulfillment. Imagine four overlapping circles, each representing one of the four essential dimensions of Ikigai:
- Doing what you are good at
- Doing what you love
- Doing what the world needs
- Doing what you can be paid for
When these four elements align, you have your Ikigai—a sense of purpose that drives you to wake up each day with motivation and enthusiasm.
Let’s break down each of these four elements and how they can help you think about your college experience and career.
1. Doing What You Are Good At
Everyone has strengths and skills—some are learned, and some come naturally. It’s important to recognize what you are good at and focus on those abilities. To identify your strengths, consider using self-assessment tools like personality tests or skills inventories, asking for feedback from friends, family, or instructors, and reflecting on past experiences where you felt successful or accomplished. These methods can help you understand what you excel at and guide you toward a fulfilling career path.
Consider Maria, a student at CWI. Maria is great at solving problems and communicating ideas. After taking a skills inventory assessment and reflecting on her previous successes, Maria realized that her strengths lie in breaking down complex topics and explaining them to others. Instead of spending all her time trying to improve on her weaknesses, Maria focuses on getting even better at her strengths, such as her ability to explain complex concepts in simple ways. She also asked her instructors for feedback, which helped her identify areas where she could further develop her communication skills. By using self-assessment tools and feedback, Maria is positioning herself for success in a career that matches her skills.
2. Doing What You Love
This element is about finding what truly excites you. What kinds of activities do you enjoy so much that time seems to fly by? Maybe you love creating things—like art, videos, or new ideas—or maybe you enjoy helping others solve their problems. While it’s important to be practical, listening to what you love can lead you to a career that you find deeply satisfying.
For example, if you love animals, you might consider pursuing a career in veterinary care or wildlife management. If you love technology, there are many tech companies in Boise where you could work on software development or cybersecurity. Even within careers that seem less exciting, there are ways to incorporate the things you love.
When you combine what you’re good at with what you love, you find your passion. For instance, Maria loves explaining complex ideas, and she’s also really good at it. This overlap gives her a sense of passion for teaching and helping others understand challenging subjects. Passion is that feeling of enthusiasm and excitement that arises when you do something you love and are skilled at. This passion can be a key ingredient in helping you stay motivated and engaged as you pursue your career goals—BUT it doesn’t far enough. Focusing on your passion at the expense of other considerations can lead to feelings of uselessness and isolation.
3. Doing What the World Needs
The third dimension of Ikigai involves understanding how you can contribute to society. Contributing to society means finding a way to make a positive impact on the world around you. This is different from simply exploring a passion because it involves considering how your skills and interests can help solve real-world problems and meet community needs.
For example, while you might be passionate about art, contributing to society could mean using your artistic skills to create educational murals, promote local culture, or support mental health initiatives through creative workshops. It’s about aligning your passion with a purpose that benefits others, creating a broader sense of fulfillment. There are many different ways to do this! The Treasure Valley needs people who can fill all kinds of roles—teachers, healthcare workers, business leaders, social workers, skilled tradespeople, and more. Consider what problems you see in your community and how you might help solve them.
When you combine what you love with what the world needs, you create a mission. A mission is about aligning your passions with the needs of others, allowing you to make a meaningful impact on the world. For example, Maria loves teaching and helping others, and she recognizes that the community has a need for accessible education. By focusing on this overlap, Maria has found a mission in making education more inclusive and supportive for everyone. However, your mission alone often isn’t enough. There are many pursuits that feel meaningful and even noble but don’t provide enough income for living a flourishing life.
4. Doing What You Can Be Paid For
It’s essential that what you choose to do can provide you with financial stability. You need to be able to pay the bills. This doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice passion for money, but it’s important to find a balance. Idaho’s economy (and the U.S. economy more generally) offers a range of careers that are both fulfilling and financially sustainable. Take your time exploring the options that make financial sense.
If you are passionate about agriculture and food production, you could look into careers that blend innovation with sustainability—roles like agricultural technology or farm management. The Treasure Valley is also home to a growing tech sector, with companies that need software developers, IT professionals, and engineers—all careers that tend to be well-compensated.
When you combine what you can be paid for with what the world needs, you create a vocation. A vocation is a career or occupation that meets a genuine demand in society while also providing financial stability. For example, Maria identified that her skills in teaching and communication are in demand, and she realized she could be paid for these skills by pursuing a career in education. Unlike a passion or mission, a vocation centers on practical contributions that also meet economic needs.
When you combine what you’re good at with what you can be paid for, you create a profession. A profession is a career that allows you to utilize your skills while also providing financial stability. For instance, Maria knows she is good at explaining complex ideas and teaching others. By pursuing a career as an educator, she is not only putting her skills to use but also ensuring that she can make a living. A profession may or may not align with your passions or a deeper mission, but it ensures that your skills are valued in the marketplace and that you are compensated for your expertise.
Having a vocation and profession ensures your career path is sustainable over the long term; however, without being grounded in the other Ikigai categories—your passion and mission—you may find yourself feeling empty or uncertain.
Finding Your Ikigai
Ikigai is about figuring out what career trajectory best combines your passion, mission, profession, and vocation. The key to finding your Ikigai is understanding how these elements overlap and influence each other. Finding your passion means combining what you are good at with what you love, while your mission involves aligning what you love with what the world needs. Your vocation is about fulfilling a need in society while being paid for it, and your profession focuses on utilizing your skills in a way that provides financial stability. By optimizing the overlap between these areas, you can find a career that is not only financially rewarding but also deeply fulfilling and impactful.
As a student at the College of Western Idaho, you’ll have many opportunities to explore these four elements of Ikigai during your college journey. Take time to think about your strengths, what excites you, the needs of your community, and how you can find financial stability. Also consider internships, part-time jobs, and volunteering as ways to try out different roles and learn more about what fits you best
Finding your Ikigai is not something that happens overnight. It’s a journey of self-discovery, and it will likely change over time as you grow and gain new experiences. Keep in mind that it’s not unusual for someone to feel passionate about a certain profession but then take an internship and realize it’s not at all what they enjoy. Finding your Ikigai is an embodied effort—you have to put yourself out there and do things in order to figure out the right alignment. Merely thinking about this stuff isn’t enough.
Use your time at CWI to explore these different dimensions.
