If you’re a spiritually minded woman, you’ve maybe wondered, “What is my life purpose?” You might be caring for family, volunteering or working in business. Maybe, even having a life gap moment after redundancy or children leave home. The question can ache in your chest and keep rattling around your head, “Am I really living my purpose or have I somehow missed it?” . The Japanese concept of ikigai offers a gentler, research-backed way of answering that question.
What Is My Life Purpose? How Ikigai Answers Differently
In Japanese, ikigai, combines “iki” (to live) and “gai” (worth / value). It’s often translated as your “reason for being” – the things that make life feel worth living. When Japanese researchers ask people about ikigai, they often describe:
- having something to look forward to
- feeling needed or useful
- enjoying small, everyday pleasures
- sensing that life still has meaning, even when it’s hard
Ikigai can be:
- people (family, friends, community)
- roles (caring, working, volunteering)
- activities (hobbies, learning, spiritual practice)
You can have several ikigai at once. They can be modest, local and quiet. They can change with the seasons of your life. So instead of asking, “What is the one big purpose I must find?”, ikigai invites you to ask: “What makes my life feel worth living right now?”
The Famous Ikigai Venn Diagram – Where It Really Came From
You may have heard of ikigai through a picture that looks like this:
Imagine or draw four overlapping circles. The circles are labelled:
- What you love
- What you are good at
- What the world needs
- What you can be paid for
In the centre, where all four overlap, is “IKIGAI”.
This Venn diagram is everywhere – in books, on social media and in business workshops. But, it’s not how ikigai began in Japan. The original diagram was a Western “purpose” model by a Spanish astrologer, Andrés Zuzunaga, with “purpose” in the middle. Years later, a blogger swapped “purpose” for “ikigai”, linked it to Japan, and the image went viral. It was then reused in popular books.
Japanese ikigai researchers and writers have since said that this diagram did not originate in Japan, and that it can create an unrealistic ideal. It implies that your life purpose only “counts” if it’s a perfect, paid, world-changing passion. The diagram itself can be a useful tool for thinking about a meaningful career or business, especially if you’re designing a Reiki or spiritual practice.
Japanese Ikigai is More Compassionate
Japanese ikigai is far kinder for those who believe not everything in life is about money,
- It includes unpaid caring, volunteering and community work.
- It honours spiritual practice and small everyday joys
- It doesn’t require you to be perfect, famous or constantly productive.
For many spiritual souls, this is a relief.
What the Research Says: Why Ikigai Helps Your Health and Mood
Ikigai isn’t just poetic; it has been studied in large Japanese and international research projects.
- Ikigai and living longer. One famous Japanese study followed over 40,000 adults for about 7 years. Participants were asked a simple question: “Do you have ikigai in your life?” Those who said “no” had a significantly higher risk of dying, especially from heart disease. In plain language: people who felt their life had no real “reason to get up in the morning” tended to do worse over time.
- Ikigai, depression and daily wellbeing. A more recent large study of older adults in Japan found that people who reported having ikigai were more likely to have fewer depressive symptoms, feel happier and more satisfied with their lives, and stay more engaged with hobbies, friendships and daily activities. Ikigai here is not a job title; it’s that felt sense that “my life still matters to someone or something.”
- Purpose and brain health. Studies that look at “life purpose” (very close to ikigai) show that people with a strong sense of purpose have a lower risk of developing dementia or serious memory problems in later life. They also tend to have healthier habits, better sleep, and more motivation to look after themselves. So, when you nurture your own sense of ikigai, you’re not being indulgent, you are supporting your mental, emotional and physical health for the long term.
Why This Matters for Over-Giving, Sensitive Women
Many spiritual women who I have met over the years, tend to over-give and over-care. They often feel guilty resting, always wonder if they’re doing enough, or struggle with perfectionism and self-doubt.
The Venn diagram version of ikigai can feed painful thoughts such as “My spiritual business isn’t big enough”, “I’m failing my purpose”, “I’m just looking after family, or “I’m only volunteering.” Even, “If I’m not changing the world in a visible way, I don’t really have a life purpose.”
The Japanese Ikigai offers something gentler.
It validates what you already do. Ikigai says your “reasons for being” may already include the people you care for, the clients, teams or communities you support. The quiet spiritual work you do (Reiki, prayer, meditation, angel work), and the causes you stand by (schools, justice, the environment, local groups). These all count, even if they are local, unpaid or unseen.
It softens the idea of “perfect purpose” Instead of demanding “Find the one perfect, monetised, world-changing purpose or you’ve failed”, ikigai asks: “Where does my life already feel meaningful?” and “What do I quietly care about enough to keep turning up for?”. For self-doubters and perfectionists, this “good-enough meaning” approach is far more healing than constant pressure.
It honours seasons and limits. Research on ikigai and purpose suggests that having meaningful roles and connections that fit each stage of life is what supports health and wellbeing. There can be seasons when your main ikigai is family or caring, healing and recovery, building a small practice or business, leadership or public service, voluntary work or activism, or inner growth and study. Your capacity and boundaries are part of your wisdom, not a sign of failure.
Ikigai and Self-Healing: Using Reiki for You
This is where ikigai meets Reiki and self-care beautifully. Many spiritual women happily give Reiki to others, send healing, hold circles, pull cards, and pray for clients and family. But they may not offer that same depth of care to themselves. Ikigai invites you to see your own wellbeing as part of your life purpose. You being reasonably resourced, grounded and alive is itself a reason you’re here.
A simple “Ikigai & Self-Reiki” ritual:
- Name three current ikigai – Take a moment to list three things that make life feel worth living right now.
- Ask: what state do I need to be in to keep showing up for these?
- Offer yourself Reiki as protection for your ikigai.
- Affirm quietly: “Caring for my energy keeps my ikigai alive. I am allowed to receive as well as give.”
This reframes self-care and self-Reiki as part of your life purpose, not a distraction from it.
A Gentle Ikigai Check-In
You can use this as a short journaling practice or meditation:
- Where does my life already feel meaningful?
- If I stopped doing everything “impressive”, what would I still quietly turn up for?
- What is one small, compassionate change I can make this month to honour both my ikigai and my nervous system?
Keep it small and kind. Ikigai grows through consistent, gentle actions, not dramatic life overhauls.
You Already Have a Life Purpose
When you ask, “What is my life purpose?”, it may feel like you’re searching for something outside you. A single, shining answer. Ikigai suggests a different truth: your life purpose is already woven through your everyday life. It is the people you love, the work and service you offer, the causes you care about, the spiritual connection you nurture. It doesn’t need to be perfect, public or paid to be real. It can change with the seasons.
When you add self-healing and self-care Reiki into that picture, you’re not stepping away from your purpose, you’re giving it roots, so it can sustain you for the long term.
