\u201cWe can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them.”
-from The Mill on the Floss <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I absolutely agree with her, which isn’t unusual: a sense of longing for what is beautiful and true and often intangible is a key component of being a human being, and lies at the heart of most art and creativity. But that shouldn\u2019t mean we should internalise that experience and end up longing for a version of ourselves which is ineffably \u2018better\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What do I mean? This week at our staff inset day we talked about a Japanese concept called Ikigai which basically translates to the Meaning of Life, or the motivation we need to get out of bed every morning with a sense of purpose each day, and here\u2019s a simplified version of what Ikigai looks like: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Illustration: Jun Han Chin<\/p>\n\n\n\n I guess what this is telling us is that if you can twist together in your life the threads of doing something you love, something which you\u2019re good at and therefore gives you affirmation, something which helps others and leaves the world in a better place than when you started, and allows you financial independence and a reasonable way of living, then you will have found the golden balance, you\u2019ll have found your why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But I don\u2019t think you can get there without knowing first of all why you love doing what you love doing, or why you\u2019re good at the things you\u2019re good at, or why it\u2019s important to use your passions and talents to make the world a better place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So this January, don\u2019t worry so much about WHAT you\u2019re going to change or do or be; think about your WHY. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t decide to work harder because it\u2019ll make your teachers or parents happy \u2013 figure out what it is about doing your best work which satisfies and motivates YOU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t read more books because you\u2019ve been told it\u2019s good for you, or because you want stuff to put on your UCAS form \u2013 find books which spark your interest and imagination and so discover for yourself why reading can be so amazing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t audition for choir or the play or the netball team because you envy people who seem always to be the star of the show \u2013 find out what it is about collaborating with others creatively and in a team that is so magical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t hang out with people because you think they\u2019re popular or cool and you\u2019re a bit wowed by that \u2013 find your tribe, the people who make you laugh and have your back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And most of all, don\u2019t change the what of who you are. You\u2019re already unique and more wonderful than you know. But when you\u2019re making choices about this one, wild and precious life you have, choices of how to spend your time and energy, do ask yourself why<\/em> you\u2019re making those choices. And if you don\u2019t like the answer, change the why. It works, I promise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But, failing all of that, if you can\u2019t find your why just yet and need to spend some time tentatively feeling your way toward a zen-like state of Ikigai: in the meantime, eat some green veg, get some fresh air, be good to other people, and read some George Eliot, why? Well, because I said you should. And for now, at least, I’m still in charge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Happy New Year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Over the blissful calm of the Christmas break, I had some time to think, and one of the things I was thinking about was New Year\u2019s resolutions. Because I\u2019m not actually a big believer in New Year\u2019s resolutions, or endless … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[8,34,38],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":551,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions\/551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Well, why might you occasionally find me at the gym? Is it because I\u2019m desperate to be a thinner, sleeker me, an athlete who is a lean, mean running machine? No \u2013 that might have been why twenty years ago; but now it\u2019s because I like the feeling of being strong and a bit healthy; I like the message I am sending to myself that I care about myself when I take the time and make the effort to exercise; and I like that it\u2019s something I do on my own, as ordinarily I am surrounded by people almost all of the time. And because I’m doing it for reasons I find meaningful and properly motivational \u2013 not because of superficial, unrealistic reasons – I keep doing it. Which leads me to believe that the why<\/em> of our lives is what really matters \u2013 from the smallest things like why we eat what we eat, or why we listen to what we listen to, or sign up for the clubs that we sign up to \u2013 all the way to why we choose the A Level subjects and degree courses we do, or careers we pursue, or people we have close relationships with, or why we are the way we are \u2013 it’s the why that counts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/whs-blogs.co.uk\/heads-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ikigai-with-credit.png\")
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