My Take - Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

I avoid reading self-help books because their moral authority and preachiness verge on presumptuousness, since most of their advices are generic aphoristic wisdom that more or less is known to everyone, like drinking plenty of water or eating green vegetables. Ikigai by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia is one of the most hyped books in the self-help genre, which, as is implied by its subtitle “The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life,” promises its intended (Western) audiences a formula for long and fulfilled life that is gleaned from the exotic ‘Oriental’ sources.

            Having said that, I think its strong allure and concomitant popularity lie in the fact that the book is life-affirming. More than being a blueprint for a long and fulfilled life, the book assures its readers that all will turn out fine at the end and thus endows them with an optimistic, never-say-never attitude. I won’t deny that I did enjoy most sections of the book but sometimes it bored me to death, especially the exercise manual section also known as ‘Gentle Movements, Longer Life.’

As I said, the book relies heavily on life-affirming aphoristic wisdom, which encourages its readers to live life with renewed zest, though sometimes the teachings become too generic, like we should enjoy each and every moment because life is ephemeral, etc. Nevertheless, I would suggest you to pick this book up if you are free, because the time spent on reading it is definitely more fruitful than the hours of mindless scrolling on phone. Moreover, the book does offer some interesting insights, which make it all the more worthwhile to invest time in reading it.

My rating: 3.5⭐ (rounded up)



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