Ikigai 生き甲斐 is a Japanese concept meaning “a reason for being”. Everyone, according to the Japanese,  has an ikigai. Finding it requires a deep and often lengthy search of  self. Such a search is regarded as being very important, since it is  believed that discovery of one’s ikigai brings satisfaction and meaning to life.[1]

In the culture of Okinawa, ikigai is thought of as “a reason to get up in the morning”; that is, a reason to enjoy life. In a TED Talk, Dan Buettner referenced ikigai as one of the reasons people in the area had such long lives.