IKIGAI (Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles)

 Ikigai is Japanese concept, which translates as "the happiness of always being busy".

In quest to know the secret to a long & happy life, authors decided to visit the Okinawa island in Japan, where around 25 for every 1 Lakh residents are aged more than 100 years. And this statistics about longevity is far more than global average. In order to study the real reason behind this longevity, authors visited Ogimi, a village on the north end of island with a population of 3000 having highest life expectancy in the world. While interviewing these centenarians, authors started getting a deeper insight into their lifestyle. 

During conversations with centenarians, authors noticed that; among many other things like simple life in the outdoors, light & healthy diet, medicinal green tea, anti-oxidant limelike fruit shikuwasa, regular moderate exercise, forming strong social ties with neighbors & friends etc., there is one uncommon thing at the core of happiness of these centenarians. Every one has found their own IKIGAI - a reason to jump out of bed each morning & their daily routine is very well woven around it.

As per the inputs received through words of wisdom by the centenarians, authors have elaborated the importance of below facts; which plays an important role in longevity.

1. Simple outdoor life on island without rail network & isolated from hustle of urban leaving makes people lend hand to each other in the scarcity of resources.
2. Find  flow in the tasks you have chosen to do, so that you literally loose the track of time while doing that task. And in the process you just forget all the worries you may have by getting immersed in task at hand giving you lot of pleasure, delight & satisfaction.
3. Be busy & occupied with tasks that allow you to relax too. Be passionate about everything you do, however insignificant it might seem.
4. Eat in a balanced & mindful way, such that you end up with only 80% full stomach by stopping exactly when you feel like eating some more.
5. Include as many colorful contents in meal which brings much necessary nutrition to the body. 
6. Do low intensity exercise regularly through morning walks, cycling for normal activities in the vicinity & work in kitchen garden every morning fulfilling family need of vegetables.
7. Nurture friendships & neighborhood every day to feel cared as though by family.
8. Celebrate all the time, even little things. Music, song & dance are essential parts of daily life.
9. Be proud of your traditions & culture.
10. Have purpose in life - IKIGAI, but don't take it too seriously, just relax & enjoy what you do.

Authors have also included details about logo therapy & various exercises, which I found too much psychological & technical and hence can be skipped.

Getting to know the lifestyle of centenarians of Ogimi village through this book takes us back to the slow & happy lifestyle of our grandparents in villages or small towns.

In practical sense, IKIGAI is the combination of :

What you love - what the world needs - what you can be paid for - what you are good at