Ikigai

Deep Thoughts

Every once in a while I get lost in my own thoughts. When this happens I tend to fall into the black hole that is the internet and read a ton of philosophical articles. In recent times, mainly within the last year or so, the question I've had to ask myself is 'what is my purpose'? Now, there are those who don't believe that such a thing exists, but I would disagree. I've done art all my life-changing at least as far back as I can remember, so I had a feeling that if I did have a purpose, art would be a part of expressing it. Sounds simple enough, but this is a concept I've struggled with for a very long time, exacerbated by my personal experiences and pitfalls.

Anyway, over the past year, I've started thinking more intensely on this subject of purpose and how I could discover it. When these thoughts began appearing late December 2017, I also started thinking about my "Frame of Mind" series. I don't think that's a coincidence. You see, I have long wanted to make art I was more excited about but as I expressed in a previous blog, I felt I had gone astray. Once the idea behind "Frame of Mind" came to me everything clicked.

Ikigai

Ikigai is an interesting concept. I came across the word and a chart describing it fairly recently- September 3rd to be exact (thanks cellphone picture metadata!). When I saw the chart, it immediately resonated with me. It was like the Japanese concept of purpose, only a bit more descriptive and relevant to modern life. It basically means "A reason for being". I've had a lot of feelings about my art and my sense of fulfillment, purpose, etc., but I wasn't able to put it into words. I don't know if you've ever had a feeling you couldn't describe in words, but it's not a great feeling to have. When it came to "frame of mind" I felt confused, unsure of myself, and uncomfortable, but it wasn't all bad. I had equal feelings of excitement, curiosity, and relief as well.

Those are a lot of feelings for a concept that I had just thought of. Now, through the magic of the written word, you didn't have to experience my 9 month journey into struggling about these feelings I was trying to understand. I remember finding that chart and showing it to my friends in a fit of excitement, which probably came off as really weird at the time, but I felt like I was a gold miner who has been digging for years with nothing to show, only to strike diamonds. It was that important to me.

Tomato or tomahto

So I found a new word, big whoop. What makes that word more special than an English word like purpose? That's a good question. To be honest the word doesn't matter as much as the contents of it. Ikigai, is great because it grounds the idea of purpose into our modern society in a simple and intuitive way. In other words, I believe it makes achieving your purpose actionable, which is a huge deal for me. I'm all about deconstructing processes and learning from it- rebuilding, upgrading, and disposing of things that aren't necessary. Being able to do that for something as deeply personal as one's sense of existence is really groundbreaking. There have been plenty of times I felt I discovered my reason for being, only to come up short, or aimlessly wander around without a clue. Ikigai allows me a level of focus and clarity that keeps me excited about the work that I do and my future.

We ain't gotta dream no more

So I'm excited about this, but there's one lingering question. How does "Frame of Mind" work with all of this? The answer is fairly simple. "Frame of Mind" is my ikigai, or at least the foundation of it. Sounds like a tall order, but I'll elaborate.

What I love

Frame of Mind takes all the things I love, animation, reliving great stories in my life, starting a dialogue and every once in a while saying something controversial and wraps it up in a fun and engaging package.

What I'm good at

This one is also easy. I've studied animation for many years and I have a great ability to communicate my ideas to people. In events where there's something a bit more controversial on my mind, I would usually say it when others are afraid to. In other words

What I can be paid for

This is another instance when I can. refer back to my animation and storytelling skills. In fact I've been getting paid for animating since I graduated college. The twist here is that I've realized that I can also be paid as kind of a consultant/therapist/ motivational speaker. As stated previously, I have a unique way with words that others find inspiring or helpful, and I think that's a skill I can finally use to help others as well as myself.

What the world needs

This is the segment that really made my eyes glow when I stumbled upon the ikigai concept. I talk a lot about the problems I face everyday with my friends and family, but it never really occured to me that those experiences are shared across other people, but maybe they don't have the ability to express it. This is reason why I believe so strongly in "Frame of Mind", because I think the world needs my life and my stories. Stories have the power to change people, and I've experienced a lot of change in my life so I believe with my skills as an animator, orator, storyteller, combined with my life experiences, struggles, and sense of meaning I can reach people and give them a voice.

Wrap up

I know this sounds like a crazy person rambling, but I haven't felt this motivated about anything since I was a teenager. I really do believe "Frame of Mind" is the foundation for me to achieve my own ikigai. I think I finally will have the ability to tell stories that I love while also inspiring and motivating people. I've always felt that there was something that separates great content from amazing content. That, all things being equal, there's a reason why one peace of art can stand the test of time while another is good for its time, and I believe the great differentiator is that amazing content is driven by the creator's belief that the world would be a better place with their work instead of without it.