Ikigai
So, i just read the book “Ikigai - The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life”. The book leaves an impact, and i’m glad that i read it. It seeks to inform about lifestyle, some philosophy as well as a few scientific “punches” from time to time. However, i’m left with a weird feeling… this is why:
There is a mix going on
The book itself covers a great and rather popular topic nowadays: Happiness and longevity. Most of us would like to live for a long time, and to be happy whilst doing so. This is much of the intentional selling-point of the title, and also most of its content. Now, don’t get me wrong: This is a good book. You will be left with a few good advices, some wisdom and techniques after you’ve read it. But holy-moly, is this thing put together in a weird way!
The authors get into food and exercise, activities, religion, money, and to find your purpose. Mixed in with these subjects, there are interviews, observations, articles, yoga instructions and a mention of some of Nintendo’s origin (nice)
The structure here is very - very odd. You can read it, it works: i’ve done it - but i don’t think i would read this book again. It comes off as a bit messy. It seems more like a bunch of articles thrown together.
Now - separately, each “article” is good. The authors mention a “80% rule” when it comes to how much food we should eat, and takes us through what kinds of foods we should eat more and less of - taking observations of people in the Japanese village of Ogimi. Call them subjects, participants, interviewees, candidates - people that sat down and spoke to the authors and helped with the research that went into this. One of the clues is to stay active, and never actually “retire” - keep yourself busy - be passionate about something, and move your body every day. Good stuff, best of stuff actually.
But again, at the end: this is a mix of science, observational “experiments”, diets, yoga instructions, interviews, history and even religion to some extent. In their own right; Great stand alone. Mixed; it leaves a weird taste, at least for my liking. It’s a taste - but weird.
My favorite
“Presented with new information, the brain creates new connections and is revitalized.
This is why it is so important to expose yourself to change, even if stepping outside your comfort zone means feeling a bit of anxiety”
Should you read it?
i would recommend reading it if this is within your field of interest. This is nothing like the previous book that i read, “The subtle art of not giving a f*ck” - but it’s still a good book. It makes many good points, and leaves us with more detailed information regarding potential “rulesets” we might should consider incorporating into our own lives. What really affects my final scoring here though, is the setup. The very structure of the book. There is too much going on here, we are touching on too many subjects. I get that the authors would like to give us the whole picture… but in one moment we’re talking about vegetable gardens and food, the next we’re talking about Buddha and shown yoga instructions. Good book, too many topics for my liking.