If you don't find the answers to these 10 questions, you'll never live a truly meaningful life

Does your life lack meaning?

A man with a beard and short hair is leaning against a wall on a city street. He is wearing a light pink T-shirt and looking thoughtfully into the distance. The background is blurred, with cars and buildings in soft focus.

Does something deep inside whisper to you that you’re not leading the kind of life you really want to lead? Do you feel compelled to make changes and find your “calling”?

You’re not alone. Many people will experience this at some point in their lives. But how do you go about it? And what even is a calling?

In simplest terms, it’s the pursuit that a person chooses that will bring the most meaning to their life, and will make the entire life experience fulfilling and worthwhile. The Japanese have a word for it: “Ikigai”. Ikigai is comprised of two words: “iki” which means “to live” and “gai” which means “reason.” Together, it’s “reason to live.” In other words, one’s life calling.

Ikigai is the point at which four essential things overlap: what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and ideally, what you can get paid for.

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

Many people go through life feeling rather lost. They feel that they “should” be doing something, but aren’t sure what it is. Ikigai is the antidote to these feelings.

To find it, you need to be able to answer these 10 questions. Until you can do that, you won’t find the meaning you are truly looking for.

1. What do you love to do above all else?

A woman wearing a tan cap and a casual scarf smiles while leaning on a wooden fence outdoors. She is dressed in a white long-sleeve shirt and appears to be enjoying a serene day in the nature with green foliage and a pathway in the background.

What are some of the pursuits, hobbies, and interests that make you happiest? How do you feel when you take part in them?

If you don’t have any passions right now, can you think back to a time you did? Can you remember why you felt so passionate about that subject back then? When did you stop feeling passion for it? Did you actually lose your passion? Or were you continually facing resistance or even mockery from the people around you? Would you still pursue this passion if you actually had the support – both financial and emotional – that you need?

If you’re not sure what you love, the next two questions will help you to dig a little deeper to find out.

2. What would you be doing if you knew your time was limited?

A man in a plaid shirt gently pets a brown horse over a fence on a sunny day, smiling at the animal in an outdoor setting.

Some people have epiphanies or directional changes after experiencing something that shakes up their lives in a major way. Near-death experiences, health scares, and intense traumas are really good for doing this.

When we experience these things, we often ask ourselves what we would want to do with the time left to us if we knew, with complete certainty, that we only had a year or two left to live.

It might make you nervous to think about the fact that none of us ever know how much longer we’ll be around, but our inevitable mortality can be a great motivator for change in your life.

A lot of people talk about all the things they’d do if they knew their end was approaching.

They might devote themselves to animal rescue and rehabilitation, or go on a pilgrimage through India. Or any other number of things that they have put on the back burner for the sake of a regular job, or fitting in with their social circle.

So… if you are fully aware that your time is limited, what do you want to do with it?

Follow a path that’s calling you on a molecular level? Or keep maintaining the status quo?

3. What are your dreams telling you?

An elderly woman with gray hair sleeps peacefully on her side in bed, with a man sleeping beside her. They are covered with a white blanket. Her phone is on the nightstand next to her. The bedroom has a warm, cozy ambiance.

Quite often, we’ll be subconsciously aware of our life’s calling because there are many signs and omens that reveal themselves. These can often be found in our dreams.

If you haven’t been keeping a dream journal up until now, start doing so. Upon waking, don’t even think about looking at your phone. This is the time to grab your journal and write down as many details about the dreams you had that night as possible.

Over time, reflect back upon these journal entries to see if there are any repeated symbols or patterns.

Which images or situations keep coming up? How do you feel about them? Do they resonate with something you’ve felt passionately about in the past? If so, it could be your calling finding it’s way into your subconscious.

4. What are you really good at?

An adult wearing a hard hat assists a young child in repairing a bicycle wheel. The child, holding a red screwdriver, watches attentively while the adult adjusts the wheel components. Both are focused on the task and sit on a carpeted floor indoors.

Now that you’ve hopefully figured out your passions, it’s onto your skillset. Are you aware of your greatest strengths and skills? What are you best at?

What do people often ask you to help them out with? Do people turn to you for advice in these subjects? Do you consider yourself skilled in these subjects?

5. What does the world need that you can offer?

A person in a red plaid shirt and apron guides two others in a pottery class. They are focused on crafting clay pieces on a table, with tools and rolling pins nearby, in a white-walled studio.

Which aspects of the world as it is now make you feel the most frustrated. Do you feel that you could help these issues or situations?

Do you have the skills that the world needs to improve, even if your efforts are small and local rather than grandiose and world-shattering?

6. Could this thing pay the bills?

A woman in overalls and green gloves tends to plants in pots on an outdoor table. She is gardening, surrounded by various colorful flowers with blurred greenery in the background.

Are there products or services that you could be paid for that would correspond with the answers above? Is there a job that already fits in with these categories? Or would you need to create something completely new?

7. Can you put it all together?

A man in a black hoodie and gray shorts is leaning on a metal railing outdoors, holding a basketball under his arm. He is gazing into the distance with a thoughtful expression. The background shows a modern building with reflective windows and an urban setting.

The key to this exercise is to look across all of your answers and find the commonalities. Or, if those are not immediately obvious, do some even deeper thinking to assess where there is a gap and whether it could be filled.

Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Say that you love basketball, both watching and playing. Let’s also imagine that your current job involves training, managing, and motivating people. Perhaps you are frustrated by gangs or youth crime in your local area. Bring this all together and is there a way for you to earn a living by creating a place where young people can come to learn and play basketball?

Or perhaps you feel a great unease at the mounting problem of waste in the world. You happen to be quite creative and good with your hands too. And you love the beauty to be found in old things and antiques. Where might this all lead? Perhaps to a business upcycling old pieces of furniture that would have otherwise ended up in landfill and selling them in a store or online.

10. But what if you can’t make a living from your calling?

A man in a white shirt sits at a desk, focused intently on a laptop screen. His hands are clasped in front of his face, conveying deep thought. The desk has a mug, glasses, a pen, and notepad. The room is well-lit with natural light.

Listen, we understand that not every calling is going to pay the bills. That’s the one slight difference between your Ikigai and your calling – your calling may not always be something you can earn a living from.

The basketball-loving coach from our earlier example might not be able to have that as a job or make that a business, but if they feel so strongly about the need to get kids off the street and they enjoy bringing out the best in these youngsters, it can be considered a calling in life.

They might have to work another job to cover life’s costs, but they may offer up nearly all their free time to their love of coaching basketball. If they feel utterly compelled to do it, like they simply cannot not do it, it’s a calling.

Finally…

A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair smiles and looks to the side while standing outdoors. She is wearing a blue shirt over a white top. The background shows a blurred street scene with greenery and buildings.

Understand that your calling can change.

You may experience a life-changing event that turns your entire perception of existence around, or you may notice gradually that what you once held dear is no longer important to you.

Check in with yourself regularly to make sure that your calling is still ringing true to you. If it isn’t, make some subtle – or even major – adjustments until you’re back on track.

The great thing about forward momentum is that once you’re in motion, you can always change direction.

So, now that you have a solid idea about your life’s calling, what will you do about it?

Hopefully you’re brave enough to dive in and make these dreams a reality.