Ikigai and the Modern Fundraiser

Cute, but not a way to live.

I love my work. Really, I do. 

Like me, most of my friends who have made fundraising a career like their work overall. But I see far too many of us scampering on the big hamster wheel, trying to keep up with the continual demands of the charitable sector. There's always another budget number to hit, another event to manage, another proposal to write, and "other duties as assigned."

Beth Kanter and Aliza Sherman's book, The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout, highlights some incredible stories of how badly things can go when nonprofit professionals ignore self-care. Yet we continue, as a sector, to emphasize that our passion and drive to change the world is enough.

While there are a lot of discussions about finding "your why" and focusing your passion, in reality, it's not just about that. To make a sustainable difference in the world, we need to take care of ourselves.

In Japanese culture, there is a concept called ikigai, loosely translated to "your life's purpose." If you Google this word, you'll find many articles about applying this concept to your life, including this one on Medium. 

Illustration from Toronto Star

The basic idea of ikigai is that to feel fulfilled with your life's purpose, you need four spheres in balance:

• What you love to do
• What you are good at
• What the world needs
• What you can be paid for

If you are able to do what you love, and you're good at it, you are pursuing your passion.
If you are able to do something you're good at, and you can get paid for it, you've discovered your profession.
If you can be paid for something that the world needs, you have a vocation.
If you are doing what the world needs, and you love it, you have your mission.

I've been presenting on this topic for the last year and struggling with it personally for much more than that. When you're thinking about your life's purpose, what's missing for you? What sphere is out of balance?

I've been using several tools over the past few years to work on my personal sense of ikigai. I'm writing a series of blog posts in the coming weeks to highlight each tool and provide tips on how to work on your own ikigai. To be notified when the next post is available, subscribe to this blog on the right, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.