Aligning the Power of Certifications with Your Ikigai

By Donna Knapp and Gabrielle Davidsen

In today’s dynamic world where things seemingly change overnight, there’s always something to learn. Whether you’re starting a new career, transitioning to a new job, beginning a new hobby, or simply striving to be your best, you’ll need to acquire new knowledge and skills.

Being committed to lifelong learning has many benefits. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits is that it helps you to discover on a personal level what you’re passionate about… your why! The Japanese call this ikigai. Your purpose. Your reason for living. It’s as much about understanding what brings you joy as it is about understanding how what you do benefits others.

We all have days where we’re just trying to get stuff done or where we are reacting to whatever is the crisis of the day. We all have those days where we must do those parts of our jobs that we don’t enjoy. After all, does anyone enjoy paperwork?

It’s the way of the world and on those types of days we need to just focus on clearing the deck so we can get on with those things that we want to do and that we feel passionate about. We want to get on with those tasks that enable us to experience flow. Flow is that state where you are so absorbed in a task that you lose track of time. Where you are so engaged in what you are doing or learning that it has your complete attention.

Those moments are fleeting, aren’t they? But we know them when we see them, don’t we? And we want to experience more of them, don’t we? We know the satisfaction that they bring and the gratitude and sense of accomplishment that they allow us to feel.

Recently Gabrielle Davidsen provided the recipe for unleashing your ikigai in our webinar Breaking Barriers: Aligning the Power of Certifications with your Ikigai. That recipe is:

2 cups of intention (Your ‘Why’)
1 cup of intention and passion (Your ‘Power’)
½ cup of humility (Your ‘EQ’ and ‘IQ’)

The tips and tricks provided in this webinar are about knowing your worth and building your brand story in a way that is aligned with your purpose. It’s also about recognizing how continuous learning and certifications can be used to show that you are committed to mastering the knowledge and skills needed to excel in your field, or in the field you want to pursue.

Every experience we have and every class that we take adds to our personal ‘body of knowledge’, expands our career opportunities, and enhances our presence. By failing to take advantage of our knowledge and experience we not only do a disservice to ourselves, but we also do a disservice to others. Ikigai is a great example of how you can amplify your life’s purpose by taking what you’ve learned from class and becoming an agent of positive change for others. The process is simple.

Knowing “Who you are” and aligning your passions and skills with your “Why” enhances your personal power to crush personal and professional barriers. A ripple effect ensues, and a shift from your current state of lack evolves into a state of fulfillment, passion, and expectation.

You have reached ikigai when the four elements below converge:

Passion: Doing what you love and enjoy
Mission: Engaging in activities that align with your values and beliefs
Vocation: Pursuing a profession that brings a sense of fulfillment and purpose
Profession: Engaging in activities that you are skilled at and compensated for

Your ikigai is your own and is something that will evolve over time. It is something that you may need to search for, and it may not always seem easy. It’s a journey, rather than a destination, and so is a perfect quest for lifelong learners. So, to find your ikigai, reflect on, and learn about, and do more of what brings you joy. Then, turn your ‘why’ into your superpower, build your brand, and embark on a journey in which you are utilized and valued for what you do.

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