Which Ikigai chart do you like? It’s not even Japanese Written by J. Forest | Construction operations | November 2025

I’ve seen the diagram.

Four circles. What you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can pay for.

The sweet spot in the middle? This is supposedly your ikigai, your reason for living.

Here’s the problem.

This chart is not Japanese.

It was invented by a Spanish coach, renamed by a British blogger, and then sold to Western audiences as ancient Eastern wisdom.

Japanese people who use the word ikigai every day would be puzzled if you showed them a Venn diagram and asked them to explain it.

I’m not saying this to be a contrarian asshole. I say that because we were being sold a simplified Western version of something that was already simple and beautiful.

In the process, we’ve turned the concept of appreciating everyday life into another hustle culture checklist for finding your perfect career.

What does Ikigai actually mean

In Japanese, the word ikigai literally combines the words “iki” (life, living) and “gai” (value, worth). It means “A…