书籍阅读笔记 Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life Might Just Help You Live a More Fulfilling Life
本文有大量英文，如果你有需要，我也很乐意翻译成中文，我们一起讨论。
写于 May 4, 2020 @上海
Why Ikigai
大约两年前学长分享了这个图给我（不知道出处，如哪天有看到必定会补上）。
笔记下两年前（2018年）收到图后的日记：
可能是很少感到被需要吧。也可能是自己以为的需要都太壮烈了。那篇文章末尾也说“不要急、多尝试、要热爱生活中的大小事物”，我以为我的好奇心足以支撑这些热爱，然而事实可能是否定的，或许我需要的是勇气，是JL今年二月时，语重心长说的勇气。
因为自己的怯步阻挡了很多事情，很多想像。当然有时也必须承认自己没有想像中的好（有用），然而很多时候，我是不勇敢的，尤其在那些重大的决定上－反覆询问他人，似乎是想逃避掉做决定的责任，其实至目前为止也没什么好后悔的，所以何必不勇敢呢？
那时其实不知道有相关书籍可以看，只觉得活着真的好难，达到这个中间目标更是遥远。后来去年底跟翔散步的时候提到了“不知道要做什么”，意外聊到了 Ikigai ，让我再次想起这个图，然后几周前看到 Instaread App 又分享了这本书，真是个“该看这本书了”的大信号，马上开始找书。
这次看的是外国人版本 （Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life），从外部观察日本人达到 Ikigai（或者说 Longevity 长寿）的原因。总共约两百多页，很容易阅读，早上搭搭地铁边看意外很快就翻完了。有机会还是想看看另一个日本人版本 （IKIGAI‧生之意义：每天早上醒来的理由，那些微不足道的事物，就是IKIGAI），应该会更棒。
阅读当中一直有两个困惑：一、其实后来跟这个图没有什么强烈关系的感觉；二、为什么要一直强调长寿这件事、以及这件事的重要性到底是什么（不过刚刚复制贴上书名的时候发现了确实有写 Long 这个关键字哈哈哈哈哈，my bad）。从三四年前开始，每年的目标订得基本上都只有最基本的一条：开心快乐就好——如果用 OKR 或 SMART 原则来看，真是一个不具体又难衡量的目标，不过这就是我不断的追求：希望达到一个“满足舒适、随心所欲”的状态。近期的阅读、生活、工作中，重新理解到，这个状态并不一定是外在能带来的，也可以是内在的意识与一天一天有目的的行动。有一个说法是，并不是有了强烈动机才开始动作，而是靠着动作来不断产生动机与意义（好像有点类似不做我怎么知道喜不喜欢、感不感兴趣这样子）。
补 July 8, 2020：最近跟工作还有和爸爸聊天时，再次体会到时间（与健康）就是最珍贵的资源，这也许是我们要追求长寿的原因之一吧？自己可能还有更多时间，为这个世界带来一些什么。不过我目前还是觉得，顺其自然...活到 70 也已经很久了。
带着以上背景，下面比较像对书籍的整理与笔记（还有一些摘录），方便未来回顾与复习。
Find my ikigai
Our ikigai is the reason we get up in the morning.
- Logotherapy（意义治疗法）
Frankl 是意义治疗的开创人，他总是直接这样问：“为什么你不自杀呢？”（直接翻译是这样，但我认为应该可以翻成：是什么使你不自杀呢？），通常大家都会对这个问题有一两个回答，然后，间接找到一个活着的理由。
Frankl explains that one of the first questions he would ask his patients was “Why do you not commit suicide?” Usually the patient found good reasons not to, and was able to carry on. What, then, does logotherapy do? The answer is pretty clear: It helps you find reasons to live.”
- Morita therapy
尝试不要控制你的情绪，而是接受他，当你的行为改变时，你的情绪也会改变，不断如此循环创造新的情绪。
“...accept their emotions without trying to control them, since their feelings will change as a result of their actions. In addition to accepting the patient’s emotions, Morita therapy seeks to “create” new emotions on the basis of actions.”
以上两个方法是帮助自己探索 Ikigai 的前置准备。接下来可以使用 Flow 寻找自己的 Ikigai。例如，最常让你到达 Flow 状态的事情是什么？列出十个，慢慢就会找到自己的 ikigai。Flow 心流就不在此赘述了，大家可以上网搜搜～
Achieving “Flow” 抵达心流状态
“...described it as the pleasure, delight, creativity, and process when we are completely immersed in life.”
“There is no magic recipe for finding happiness, for living according to your ikigai, but one key ingredient is the ability to reach this state of flow and, through this state, to have an “optimal experience.” In order to achieve this optimal experience, we have to focus on increasing the time we spend on activities that bring us to this state of flow, rather than allowing ourselves to get caught up in activities that offer immediate pleasure”
Strategy 1: Choose a difficult task (but not too difficult!) 策略一：选择一个困难的事（但不要太过困难！）
里面提到了 easy < challenging < beyond our abilities，太简单的事只会让人无聊，例如我在社区团队的后期陷入的瓶颈，具有一定挑战性的事情可以更加容易进入 Flow 状态，超过能力的事则会让人陷入焦虑。反思了刚毕业前两年的工作，不服输的想要一个人运作全部的事情，加上完美主义作祟，其实是肩负了一个过于超乎自己能力的任务（自己又不愿意承认），导致最后真的是焦虑症爆炸。
Strategy 2: Have a clear, concrete objective 策略二：一个清晰、具体的目标
为什么打游戏、运动的时候比较容易进入 Flow 的状态？因为这些活动通常有比较明确的目标，我们其实也可以在大小事情上提前规划好要达到的目标。此外，什么样的目标是更好的？Vague Objective < Clearly Defined Objective and a Focus on Process < Obsessive Desire to Achieve a Goal While Ignoring Process，书里给了一个我觉得把 Objective 跟 Process 的关系梳理的比较合理清晰的解释。目标太 Vague 会浪费生命造成混乱，太想要达到目标的时候，则会让你一直沉浸在目标中而没有 “get down to the business”，因此比较好的状况是，订好了一个目标后，制定步骤、一步一步执行，避免目标太远大导致做不下去，或干脆放水流，或觉得反正还久慢慢来最后一事无成，这些常见的情况。
Strategy 3: Concentrate on a single task 策略三：一次专注于一件任务
“To be in a distraction-free environment. To have control over what we are doing at every moment”
很有趣的是，书里不相信有 Multitasking（一心多用）这件事，看完这段以后我认真回顾了一下自己以为的 Multitasking，后来还是蛮 buy in 这个说法的。这里是说，Multitasking 让人不可能进入 Flow 的状态，且事实上更没效率，因为你只是不停的在好几件事情里面切换，很打乱节奏，以及会 1) 更容易犯错 2) 更容易遗忘，变成“事件”在控制我们，而非我们拥有主动权，创造力也会降低。具体会导致例如频繁看手机通知、不断刷脸书这样对刺激的成瘾。相反地，我们应该给“真正的周遭”更多注意力，并且真正掌握着自己的每一片刻。
接下来，书中提到了一些方法帮助我们抵达心流状态 reach the state of flow，我觉得很有趣，记在下面，有几条我也开始真正执行了（虽然执行地还很失败）：
- Don’t look at any kind of screen for the first hour you’re awake and the last hour before you go to sleep.
- Turn off your phone before you achieve flow. There is nothing more important than the task you have chosen to do during this time. If this seems too extreme, enable the “do not disturb” function so only the people closest to you can contact you in case of emergency.
- Designate one day of the week, perhaps a Saturday or Sunday, a day of technological “fasting,” making exceptions only for e-readers (without Wi-Fi) or MP3 players.
- Go to a café that doesn’t have Wi-Fi.
- Read and respond to e-mail only once or twice per day. Define those times clearly and stick to them.
- Try the Pomodoro Technique: Get yourself a kitchen timer (some are made to look like a pomodoro, or tomato) and commit to working on a single task as long as it’s running. The Pomodoro Technique recommends 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest for each cycle, but you can also do 50 minutes of work and 10 minutes of rest. Find the pace that’s best for you; the most important thing is to be disciplined in completing each cycle.
- Start your work session with a ritual you enjoy and end it with a reward.
- Train your mind to return to the present when you find yourself getting distracted. Practice mindfulness or another form of meditation, go for a walk or a swim—whatever will help you get centered again.
- Work in a space where you will not be distracted. If you can’t do this at home, go to a library, a café, or, if your task involves playing the saxophone, a music studio. If you find that your surroundings continue to distract you, keep looking until you find the right place.
- Divide each activity into groups of related tasks, and assign each group its own place and time. For example, if you’re writing a magazine article, you could do research and take notes at home in the morning, write in the library in the afternoon, and edit on the couch at
- Bundle routine tasks—such as sending out invoices, making phone calls, and so on—and do them all at once.
Microflow: Enjoying mundane tasks 微心流：享受无聊繁复的事
看到这点的时候会心一笑。工作时，我非常喜欢大多数人都讨厌到爆的一项工作：报销。未深入了解前，觉得可能是平常工作太困苦了，做些不用动脑的事情可以趁机放松。幸好书中提供了非常有力的观点：有时候简单的事情让我们更容易进入 Flow “得心应手”的状态，我们能做得好。这时候疑惑：咦上面不是说简单的事情会让我们感到无聊吗？书中也给了这样的回答：Our ability to turn routine tasks into moments of microflow, into something we enjoy, is key to our being happy, since we all have to do such tasks. 这些简单事情带来的 Microflow 是日常生活中快速感受到 Flow 的方式之一，反而是人类的特殊能力呢。（比如有人很喜欢折衣服）
其他还有诸如设定自己的 Ritual（需要特定流程来达到最好的结果）等方法，先不赘述了。
“Focus on enjoying your daily rituals, using them as tools to enter a state of flow. Don’t worry about the outcome—it will come naturally. Happiness is in the doing, not in the result. As a rule of thumb, remind yourself: “Rituals over goals.” The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time than others in a state of flow.”
维持 Ikigai 以及 Longevity 的方法
整本书不断告诉我们，饮食、运动、维持良好的社交关系的关键。节录几个印象深刻的段落。
“For many, helping others might be an ikigai strong enough to keep them alive. According to scientists who have studied the five Blue Zones, the keys to longevity are/diet, exercise, finding a purpose in life (an ikigai), and forming strong social ties—that is, having a broad circle of friends and good family relations. Members of these communities manage their time well in order to reduce stress, consume little meat or processed foods, and drink alcohol in moderation. They don’t do strenuous exercise, but they do move every day, taking walks and working in their vegetable gardens. People in the Blue Zones would rather walk than drive. Gardening, which involves daily low-intensity movement, is a practice almost all of them have in common.
- 与社群（或者说同伴、群体、其他人）有连结：可能是为这个社区贡献自己的一份心力，或简单的帮助他人。跟一群好友时常联系。
- 移动：真正身体的移动。不一定需要多激烈的运动，但是每天尽可能保持多的移动，尽量走路。书中提到几乎所有日本长寿村的人每天都会进行种花、园艺这样的 Low intensity movement。
- 不“退休”，保持活跃：Ikigai 并不是某些到了退休年纪我们就不再做的事情，而是能够持续到生命结束的事情。事实上，我们的心中可能根本不该存有“退休”这个概念。
“...people who maintained a low level of stress, who faced challenges and put their heart and soul into their work in order to succeed, lived longer than those who chose a more relaxed lifestyle and retired earlier.”
- 文中也提到了例如 Mindfulness、 Meditation、保持足够睡眠、时常感谢、与大自然连结、慢慢来、常微笑等常见方法，最重要的也有活在当下、Follow 自己的 Ikigai。印象深刻的还有一连串的饮食关键，以及食物只要吃 80% 饱的原则。
“...always seemed to be busy with important tasks but who, upon closer inspection, did everything with a sense of calm. They were always pursuing their ikigai, but they were never in a rush. Not only did they seem to be happily busy, but we also noticed that they followed the other principles for happiness that Washington Burnap stated two hundred years ago: “The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”
Beyond Resilience: Antifragility 反脆弱
文中难得提及了跟钱有关、很实际的方法（是否最终快乐还是得与资本挂钩），也提到了一些面对的态度（这里先不写了），随意 comment 几句：
- Step 1: Create redundancies：增加收入的来源，让自己不要只有一个薪水，主职业、副职业，分散风险的概念。没想到平常如此致力于 reduce redundancies 的我，可以对 redundancy 有一层新的理解。
- Step 2: Bet conservatively in certain areas and take many small risks in others：比较像是，投十家新创各十万，好过投一家报纸上说有前景的公司一百万的概念。
- Step 3: Get rid of the things that make you fragile：这个我在高敏感是种天赋提到过，尽量远离让自己焦虑的事情（没错，就是一样的概念）。另外作者也说，每年许愿的时候，比起宏大的愿景，可以加入一些“终于摆脱了！”的项目，例如“一周只吃一次甜食”，提高完成的可能性。
“We need randomness, mess, adventures, uncertainty, self-discovery, hear traumatic episodes, all these things that make life worth living.” We encourage those interested in the concept of antifragility to read Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Antifragile.”
后记
竟然整理完笔记了。目前还是不知道 Ikigai 之于我代表着什么，可能要再多 Flow 一下，不过如何活得更快乐我想最近还是挺有收获的。有一点想纪录的是，最近看的好几本书中都提到了斯多葛哲学，我想起了大四最后修习这门课的时光，当时为了考试全部囫囵吞枣，但也能理解斯多葛精神，现在回去翻阅突然感到无法内化与沉浸了。可能是更社会化、更现实了一些吧，难以想像自己这些年的转变，也难以想像自己要成为一个“大人”面对这全部的事情。不是哲学专业，这里我就不多说内容了，不过是觉得，这些渺小的点竟然在无意间都连在一起了——或许是一些指引，关于自己以及未来。