I have a met a lot of successful people running businesses with ADHD and in almost every case they have a clear vision that they can easily articulate in 30 seconds of how they combine passion and purpose in their work.
There is a sweet spot of focus for ADHD at the intersection of where passion meets purpose. The problem is that our factory-style educational system rarely asks important questions that help you clarify your true passions and purpose in life.
What would be your answer if I asked you, “what were you born to do?”
This is one of the most important questions in life and by contemplating this question you can start to clarify the sweet spot of focus that will help you get consistently into states of hyperfocus and flow while doing work you enjoy.
How Ikigai Helps ADHD People Find Their Creative Path
What was I born to do?
Everyone should ask themselves this question because it launches you on a creative path where you can develop your natural gifts and truly live an extraordinary life.
Unfortunately, life doesn’t usually give us a clear and definite answer that falls into our lap. This is where having a framework for approaching this question can be powerful and help you gain clarity in your thoughts.
According to Wikipedia, Ikigai (生き甲斐)) is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being”. The word refers to having a meaningful direction or purpose in life, constituting the sense of one’s life being made worthwhile, with actions (spontaneous and willing) taken towards achieving one’s Ikigai resulting in satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life.
Ikigai is the reason you get up in the morning. It helps you clarify that sweet spot of focus where passion meets purpose so you can consistently feel and perform your best in flow.
I refer to this sweet spot as your “zone of genius” and for entrepreneurial people with ADHD clarifying your Ikigai can be a catalyst for harnessing the incredible creative genius that is inside you.
By understanding your Ikigai, you can start to rely on a form of motivation that’s much more powerful for the ADHD brain than the usual extrinsic motivation from top-down systems of rewards and punishment.
This alternative form of internal motivation is called intrinsic motivation and it’s the motivation that flows from bottom-up self-awareness that comes from developing a strong sense of passion, autonomy, mastery, purpose and belonging.
The 4 Step Ikigai Framework
This Ikigai framework helps you unpack and clarify that sweet spot where passion meets purpose by breaking it down into 4 key components.
By looking at each of these components individually, you can start to piece together what you should focus your time, energy and attention on to maximize the happiness, fulfilment and impact in your life.
The 4 components of finding your Ikigai are:
1. Passion: What do you love to do?
2. Talent: What are you really good at?
3. Purpose: What does the world need?
4. Profit: What can you get paid for?
I recommend setting aside an hour and spending at least 15 minutes writing out answers to each question in stream-of-consciousness flow style.
Here’s the process I follow with my coaching clients:
1. Pour yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea.
2. Meditate for 5 minutes to clear and focus your mind.
3. Set a timer for 15 minutes for each question.
4. Put on some relaxing music you enjoy listening to.
5. Complete the exercise with zero distractions.
You can return to the questions after the activity is complete to highlight and bold key areas of passion, talent, purpose and profit that you would like to focus on. You don’t have to write out long answers, often point form is enough.
The important thing is to just set aside an hour in your calendar and do the activity to overcome the inevitable emotional resistance or what the philosopher Alan Watts called the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are.
I am not overstating the value of this Ikigai framework activity when I say it may be the most important hour you’ll spend this year.
Do it now and find that sweet spot of focus where the magic happens.
Trust me, it’s life-changing.
