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Defining a "reason for being" with the IKIGAÏ
Objectives
- Defining the group's reason for being, building on their members motives, talents and values
- Bringing people together.
Scenario
Duration: 4 hours (including breaks)
Introduction (10’)
“IKIGAÏ” is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being”. The word refers to having a direction or purpose in life, to what makes one's life worthwhile and towards which an individual takes spontaneous and willing actions giving them satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life.
It is that place where a person's passion, mission, vocation and profession intersect.
This is well illustrated by the overlapping circles of a Venn diagram.
The four circles represent:
- What the person loves
- What the person is good at
- What the world needs
- What the person is/could be paid for
The place where the four circles meet is where the person find their “ikigaï”.
The same scheme can be used to define the reason for being of a group, by associating it's members interests, talents and values.
Part 1 : Defining what we love, what we are good at, what we can be paid for and what the worl needs
Divide the participants in 4 groups and the working space in 4 areas.
Dedicate each area to one of the following questions :
- What I love
- What I'm good at
- What the world needs
- What I am/could be paid for.
Invite each group to take place in one area and start the first round.
Precise that all participants will get the chance to answer each question, one after the other (the order in which they will answer doesn't matter).
First, give the participants 3 minutes of personal reflection to answer the question. Precise they can't have more than 2 propositions per item (i.e. 2 things they love, 2 things they are good at, etc.).
When time is over, invite them to share their answer out loud with the others. Take notes of what is said on a A4 sheet (using your best writing and precising the number of the group and the question they answered to).
Invite groups to switch and start again the process. Take notes of what is said on a new A4 (1 A4 per group and per question).
Repeat until all participants answered all questions.
To close this first stage, invite the participants to weight the others' answers by adding a “+” in front of the answers that fit them the most, knowing that they can only weight 2 propositions per question.
Give them a break (15').
Part 2: Defining our passion, mission, vocation and profession
During the break, copy each A4 twice in order to create 4 new working areas :
- PASSION by joining “What I love” & “What I'm good at”
- MISSION by joining “What I love” & “What the world needs”
- VOCATION by joining “What the world needs” & “What I am/could be paid for”
- PROFESSION by joining “What I am/could be paid for” + “What I'm good at”.
When the participants return from the break, invite them to mix and to join one working area, knowing that this time they will only work on one of them.
Each group will have the mission to define the group's passion, mission, vocation or profession building on what was expressed by all during the previous stage. Invite them to be assertive : their proposition has to be clear and short (1 sentence). Ask each group to write down their conclusion on a flipchart blank paper.
Part 3: Defining our IKIGAÏ
Time has come to define the IKIGAÏ by finding the
Material required
- Flipchart papers
- Blank paper (A4)
- Markers and pens for all
- a printer
