It isn’t complicated. We somehow open our eyes each day to go on with our lives. We go through the motions and ride the wave of out habits – but have you ever stopped to ask yourself if you have a reason to wake up in the morning?

Ikigai is mistakenly thought of only as a framework for our career. In its simplest and purest form, Ikigai simply is your reason to wake up in the morning. In Okinawa, where Ikigai research was done, some people woke up because they felt the need to garden. Others wanted to meet their friends while some were concerned about their crops. It isn’t complicated.

Modern society is hung up on having purpose when they skip a crucial step – value. What do you value enough in life that’s so important that you can’t miss a day without it? It doesn’t need a purpose. You just need it. I’m a dad and each day I really want to be with my only daughter. A few years ago, I woke up each day to go to basketball practice.

Was there any deeper meaning to it? Was I going to save my fellow man by teaching someone where to go on a basketball court? No way! I just wanted to do it. But at the very least, I knew I had to wake up that day because there was something I needed to do and somewhere I had to be.

It isn’t complicated. If you have a reason to wake up in the morning, that’s enough. If you haven’t found it yet, take some time to reflect. It makes each day just a little bit better.