Stop Shrinking, Start Living with Christina Aaliyah podcast

September 02, 2026 Why Purpose Is So Hard For Gen Z

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i spent years chasing this concept called ikigai.

that concept where the four circles that overlap

- something that pays you

- something you're good at

- something the world needs

- something you love.

i was convinced that if i could just find where all four circles met, my life would be perfect.

so naturally as a type A, overahieving girlie i became a doctor.

i checked all the boxes. i had my ikigai.

but i very quickly realised, this was NOT my life's purpose because finding your purpose doesn't actually fix everything like everyone says it does.

just because you do what you love doesn't mean the rest of your life is going to be perfect.

you can be good at your job, get paid well, help people who need you, and still hate it.

because there's always going to be deadlines you don't like, colleagues that drain you, pressure that weighs you down, and sacrifice that costs more than you expected.

this video is about how we're thinking about purpose completely wrong.

we're told to find our ikigai and everything will fall into place.

i think what we actually need is meaning.

purpose is what so manny people chase but meaning is the small moments that give you a real sense of fulfillment.

a conversation with someone that actually mattered.

helping someone when they needed it.

connecting with a friend.

those tiny ingredients that make life feel worth living.

that's what gave me the idea for The Kitchen Theory

i didn't realize until i quit: life is always going to be stressful.

there's always going to be something to worry about.

you're always going to have ups and downs.

so instead of waiting for the stress to end, instead of waiting for the perfect job to fix everything, maybe the answer is learning how to find joy in the midst of the chaos.

i spent so many years counting down. counting down to sixth form, to university, to graduation, to becoming a doctor, to quitting my job.

always waiting for the next thing to finally make me feel relieved.

and it took me quitting to realize i was missing my actual life while i was waiting for it to start.but what do you think

do you have a purpose?or are you just finding ways to make life feel more meaningful?

0:00 Intro

2:08 Your Job =/= Ikigai

7:22 The Kitchen Theory

11:07 My Purpose

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