Author: Frank Brueck
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781716605307
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
Based on the wisdom of the old Japanese philosophy of IKIGAI (the reason/purpose of life), Frank Brueck, developed a unique model to review your own (working) life in these trying times. He simply asks: Have you managed to fully integrate the following four key dimension into your personal and organisational life: What you are really good at? What do you love to do? What the world needs? What you need for the market? Only when you manage to truly live all these four dimensions individually as a leader and collectively in an organisation, you may reach your IKIGAI - a state in which purpose and meaning fulfil your daily life and in which you generate a positive impact for society and the environment. The book describes how you can assess yourself and how you can find out which one of the eight IKIGAI Leader Types you are and how you can improve yourself towards the state of IKIGAI. When IKIGAI is reached you do not only feel deeply satisfied and passionate about the things you do, but may even experience a state of flow carrying you through your professional life. In this state work will not drain your energies, but will provide new energy and balance. The model with 8 different IKIGAI Business Types works also for organisations. Companies can operate very successfully in a dynamic and yet balanced way without falling into the trap of exploitation of people and the environment. This is a collective state of leadership and a collective state of IKIGAI for an entire organisation. It is reflected in the corporate culture, crystallises in behaviours and serves as a source of power and inspiration for all members of an organisation. This book is a very practical guide with assessments, lots of real life cases and examples. A must-read for leaders and managers, but also for consultants and coaches who will enjoy a new unique way to assist their clients in a direct and meaningful way.
IKIGAI for Leaders and Organisations
Author: Frank Brueck
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781716605307
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
Based on the wisdom of the old Japanese philosophy of IKIGAI (the reason/purpose of life), Frank Brueck, developed a unique model to review your own (working) life in these trying times. He simply asks: Have you managed to fully integrate the following four key dimension into your personal and organisational life: What you are really good at? What do you love to do? What the world needs? What you need for the market? Only when you manage to truly live all these four dimensions individually as a leader and collectively in an organisation, you may reach your IKIGAI - a state in which purpose and meaning fulfil your daily life and in which you generate a positive impact for society and the environment. The book describes how you can assess yourself and how you can find out which one of the eight IKIGAI Leader Types you are and how you can improve yourself towards the state of IKIGAI. When IKIGAI is reached you do not only feel deeply satisfied and passionate about the things you do, but may even experience a state of flow carrying you through your professional life. In this state work will not drain your energies, but will provide new energy and balance. The model with 8 different IKIGAI Business Types works also for organisations. Companies can operate very successfully in a dynamic and yet balanced way without falling into the trap of exploitation of people and the environment. This is a collective state of leadership and a collective state of IKIGAI for an entire organisation. It is reflected in the corporate culture, crystallises in behaviours and serves as a source of power and inspiration for all members of an organisation. This book is a very practical guide with assessments, lots of real life cases and examples. A must-read for leaders and managers, but also for consultants and coaches who will enjoy a new unique way to assist their clients in a direct and meaningful way.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781716605307
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
Based on the wisdom of the old Japanese philosophy of IKIGAI (the reason/purpose of life), Frank Brueck, developed a unique model to review your own (working) life in these trying times. He simply asks: Have you managed to fully integrate the following four key dimension into your personal and organisational life: What you are really good at? What do you love to do? What the world needs? What you need for the market? Only when you manage to truly live all these four dimensions individually as a leader and collectively in an organisation, you may reach your IKIGAI - a state in which purpose and meaning fulfil your daily life and in which you generate a positive impact for society and the environment. The book describes how you can assess yourself and how you can find out which one of the eight IKIGAI Leader Types you are and how you can improve yourself towards the state of IKIGAI. When IKIGAI is reached you do not only feel deeply satisfied and passionate about the things you do, but may even experience a state of flow carrying you through your professional life. In this state work will not drain your energies, but will provide new energy and balance. The model with 8 different IKIGAI Business Types works also for organisations. Companies can operate very successfully in a dynamic and yet balanced way without falling into the trap of exploitation of people and the environment. This is a collective state of leadership and a collective state of IKIGAI for an entire organisation. It is reflected in the corporate culture, crystallises in behaviours and serves as a source of power and inspiration for all members of an organisation. This book is a very practical guide with assessments, lots of real life cases and examples. A must-read for leaders and managers, but also for consultants and coaches who will enjoy a new unique way to assist their clients in a direct and meaningful way.
Creating Organizational Value through Dialogical Leadership
Author: Rens van Loon
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319588893
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
This book demonstrates Dialogical Leadership which is the workplace application of the Dialogical Self Theory, first developed by Dutch psychologist Hubert Hermans in the 1990s. It encourages scientists and science-practitioners interested in leadership issues to discuss the power of dialogue in solving workplace culture problems. Van Loon’s work extends the concept of Dialogical Self Theory to the leadership of organizations, drawing on social constructionism by the American psychologist Ken Gergen and the leadership framework of British academic Keith Grint. This book explicitly links the health of organizations to the psychological and emotional health of those who lead them, concluding with the factors of teamwork and motivation. Dialogical Leadership jettisons the idea that organizations are run by ‘superheroes’, presenting a more realistic picture of the workplace. This is the first book to isolate ‘generative dialogue’ as the key mechanism for successful change and transformation programs in organizations. It rejects the idea that successful organizations are ‘rational systems’ conforming to scripts laid down by leaders, and it places dialogue and co-creation – ‘reciprocal exchange’ – at the heart of successful change programs. It starts from the kinds of questions leaders ask themselves – their ‘interior dialogue’ – and the quality of their interactions with others – their external dialogues – which can as shown in this book, be the difference between success and failure.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319588893
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
This book demonstrates Dialogical Leadership which is the workplace application of the Dialogical Self Theory, first developed by Dutch psychologist Hubert Hermans in the 1990s. It encourages scientists and science-practitioners interested in leadership issues to discuss the power of dialogue in solving workplace culture problems. Van Loon’s work extends the concept of Dialogical Self Theory to the leadership of organizations, drawing on social constructionism by the American psychologist Ken Gergen and the leadership framework of British academic Keith Grint. This book explicitly links the health of organizations to the psychological and emotional health of those who lead them, concluding with the factors of teamwork and motivation. Dialogical Leadership jettisons the idea that organizations are run by ‘superheroes’, presenting a more realistic picture of the workplace. This is the first book to isolate ‘generative dialogue’ as the key mechanism for successful change and transformation programs in organizations. It rejects the idea that successful organizations are ‘rational systems’ conforming to scripts laid down by leaders, and it places dialogue and co-creation – ‘reciprocal exchange’ – at the heart of successful change programs. It starts from the kinds of questions leaders ask themselves – their ‘interior dialogue’ – and the quality of their interactions with others – their external dialogues – which can as shown in this book, be the difference between success and failure.
Organizational Design in a Complex and Unstable World
Author: Jens O. Meissner
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3658450223
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3658450223
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Organizational Behaviour
Author: Daniel King
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192893475
Category : Organizational behavior
Languages : en
Pages : 830
Book Description
Have you ever wondered:DT what motivates some people to work for free?DT what the future of work will look like in a post-pandemic world?DT why organizational values and culture are so critical to success?The authors explore the answers to these questions and more in this bestselling introduction to organizational behaviour. Featuring the flagship Junction Hotel running case study, this text is the most practical, critical, and complete guide to the subject.The authors have extensively revised this fourth edition to make it more relevant than ever before. A new chapter on equality, diversity, and inclusion, plus cutting-edge material on wellbeing in the workplace, the climate crisis, ethics in leadership and much more, reflect the importance of theseissues to people and organizations today.Hear first-hand from twelve key professionals as they explain in bespoke video interviews woven throughout the enhanced e-book why leadership, teamwork, and responsible business practice are crucial in the workplace. For the fourth edition, a greater global range of examples is provided through thereal life cases including new examples from Brewdog, Muji, and COP26, all of which help you make the connection between theory and practice.This book is accompanied by the following online resources:For students:DT Practitioner interviewsDT Author videosDT Self-test MCQs with answer feedbackDT Study skills guidesDT Guided readings of key researchDT Extension materialDT Links to additional resourcesDT Flashcard glossaryFor lecturers:DT Seminar activities (including tutor notes and student worksheets)DT PowerPoint presentationsDT Test bankDT Additional case studiesDT Junction Hotel Culture ReportDT Figures from the text
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192893475
Category : Organizational behavior
Languages : en
Pages : 830
Book Description
Have you ever wondered:DT what motivates some people to work for free?DT what the future of work will look like in a post-pandemic world?DT why organizational values and culture are so critical to success?The authors explore the answers to these questions and more in this bestselling introduction to organizational behaviour. Featuring the flagship Junction Hotel running case study, this text is the most practical, critical, and complete guide to the subject.The authors have extensively revised this fourth edition to make it more relevant than ever before. A new chapter on equality, diversity, and inclusion, plus cutting-edge material on wellbeing in the workplace, the climate crisis, ethics in leadership and much more, reflect the importance of theseissues to people and organizations today.Hear first-hand from twelve key professionals as they explain in bespoke video interviews woven throughout the enhanced e-book why leadership, teamwork, and responsible business practice are crucial in the workplace. For the fourth edition, a greater global range of examples is provided through thereal life cases including new examples from Brewdog, Muji, and COP26, all of which help you make the connection between theory and practice.This book is accompanied by the following online resources:For students:DT Practitioner interviewsDT Author videosDT Self-test MCQs with answer feedbackDT Study skills guidesDT Guided readings of key researchDT Extension materialDT Links to additional resourcesDT Flashcard glossaryFor lecturers:DT Seminar activities (including tutor notes and student worksheets)DT PowerPoint presentationsDT Test bankDT Additional case studiesDT Junction Hotel Culture ReportDT Figures from the text
The Leader's Playbook
Author: Gaurav Jain
Publisher: Gaurav Jain
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
Are You Ready to Lead with Confidence and Clarity? Forget the guesswork. It's time to transform the way you lead and manage your teams. All you need is the right frameworks, strategies, and a commitment to becoming the best leader you can be—and this book. For the first time, The Leader's Playbook brings together 75 of the most powerful leadership frameworks across 23 essential categories, giving you a step-by-step blueprint to tackle any challenge that comes your way. These are the exact strategies that successful leaders worldwide rely on to drive results, build high-performing teams, and turn vision into reality. Now, they're all in one place, ready for you to put into action. In this book, you will learn how to: - Articulate and align your team with frameworks like The Golden Circle and BHAG. - Navigate complex business landscapes using tools like Porter's Five Forces and The Balanced Scorecard. - Make informed decisions with frameworks like the OODA Loop and Cynefin. - Optimize your team's performance with methods like the Eisenhower Matrix and Lean Startup. - Lead your team through change and challenges with models like ADKAR and Kotter's 8-Step Change Model. - And much more... These aren't just theories. They're actionable frameworks that you can start using today to lead with more clarity, more confidence, and more impact.
Publisher: Gaurav Jain
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 216
Book Description
Are You Ready to Lead with Confidence and Clarity? Forget the guesswork. It's time to transform the way you lead and manage your teams. All you need is the right frameworks, strategies, and a commitment to becoming the best leader you can be—and this book. For the first time, The Leader's Playbook brings together 75 of the most powerful leadership frameworks across 23 essential categories, giving you a step-by-step blueprint to tackle any challenge that comes your way. These are the exact strategies that successful leaders worldwide rely on to drive results, build high-performing teams, and turn vision into reality. Now, they're all in one place, ready for you to put into action. In this book, you will learn how to: - Articulate and align your team with frameworks like The Golden Circle and BHAG. - Navigate complex business landscapes using tools like Porter's Five Forces and The Balanced Scorecard. - Make informed decisions with frameworks like the OODA Loop and Cynefin. - Optimize your team's performance with methods like the Eisenhower Matrix and Lean Startup. - Lead your team through change and challenges with models like ADKAR and Kotter's 8-Step Change Model. - And much more... These aren't just theories. They're actionable frameworks that you can start using today to lead with more clarity, more confidence, and more impact.
Ikigai
Author: Héctor García
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143130722
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Book Description
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • 2 MILLION+ COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE “Workers looking for more fulfilling positions should start by identifying their ikigai.” ―Business Insider “One of the unintended—yet positive—consequences of the [pandemic] is that it is forcing people to reevaluate their jobs, careers, and lives. Use this time wisely, find your personal ikigai, and live your best life.” ―Forbes Find your ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) to live longer and bring more meaning and joy to all your days. “Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense of ikigai—where what you love, what you’re good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs all overlap—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy. In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds—one of the world’s Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they move, how they work, how they foster collaboration and community, and—their best-kept secret—how they find the ikigai that brings satisfaction to their lives. And it provides practical tools to help you discover your own ikigai. Because who doesn’t want to find happiness in every day? What’s your ikigai?
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143130722
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Book Description
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • 2 MILLION+ COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE “Workers looking for more fulfilling positions should start by identifying their ikigai.” ―Business Insider “One of the unintended—yet positive—consequences of the [pandemic] is that it is forcing people to reevaluate their jobs, careers, and lives. Use this time wisely, find your personal ikigai, and live your best life.” ―Forbes Find your ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) to live longer and bring more meaning and joy to all your days. “Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense of ikigai—where what you love, what you’re good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs all overlap—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy. In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds—one of the world’s Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they move, how they work, how they foster collaboration and community, and—their best-kept secret—how they find the ikigai that brings satisfaction to their lives. And it provides practical tools to help you discover your own ikigai. Because who doesn’t want to find happiness in every day? What’s your ikigai?
The Blue Zones of Happiness
Author: Dan Buettner
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426218494
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
New York Times best-selling author Dan Buettner reveals the surprising secrets of what makes the world's happiest places—and shows you how to apply these lessons to your own life. In this inspiring guide, you’ll find game-changing tools drawn from global research and expert insights for achieving maximum fulfillment. Along the way, you'll: • Discover the three strands of happiness—pleasure, purpose, and pride—that feature prominently in the world's happiest places. • Take the specially designed Blue Zones Happiness Test to pinpoint areas in your life where you could cultivate greater joy, deeper meaning, and increased satisfaction. • Meet the world's Happiness All-Stars: inspiring individuals from Denmark to the United States who reveal dynamic, practical ways to improve day-to-day living. • Discover specific, science-based strategies for setting up a “life radius” of community, work, home, and self to create healthier, happiness-boosting habits for the long-term.
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426218494
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
New York Times best-selling author Dan Buettner reveals the surprising secrets of what makes the world's happiest places—and shows you how to apply these lessons to your own life. In this inspiring guide, you’ll find game-changing tools drawn from global research and expert insights for achieving maximum fulfillment. Along the way, you'll: • Discover the three strands of happiness—pleasure, purpose, and pride—that feature prominently in the world's happiest places. • Take the specially designed Blue Zones Happiness Test to pinpoint areas in your life where you could cultivate greater joy, deeper meaning, and increased satisfaction. • Meet the world's Happiness All-Stars: inspiring individuals from Denmark to the United States who reveal dynamic, practical ways to improve day-to-day living. • Discover specific, science-based strategies for setting up a “life radius” of community, work, home, and self to create healthier, happiness-boosting habits for the long-term.
Leading Beyond Change
Author: Michael Sahota
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ISBN: 1523093471
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 417
Book Description
This guide shows readers how to transform a traditional organization into an evolutionary one with a framework and mindset that offer a new way of leading and approaching change. Now more than ever, society is demanding change, and organizations are being asked to shift into more conscious and agile business practices. Yet, most of what people believe about leadership, effective workplaces, and how to create lasting change is either incomplete or outright incorrect. And even if the desire to change is there, understanding of how to achieve it is elusive. This book holds the key. It introduces the Shift Evolutionary Leadership Framework (SELF), which helps leaders create the understanding and application needed to evolve high performance. At the core of the book are dozens of business patterns that cut across seven dimensions of organizational functioning. The traps of traditional organizations are contrasted with the high-performance practices of evolutionary organizations. Authors Michael Sahota and Audree Tata Sahota explain the steps of leading beyond change—evolving beyond servant leadership to make the inner shift needed to unlock the practical skills and techniques. Whether readers call this shift business agility, Teal Agility, evolutionary, or the future of work, it is possible to create high-performing organizations filled with energized people who are able to surf the waves of change.
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ISBN: 1523093471
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 417
Book Description
This guide shows readers how to transform a traditional organization into an evolutionary one with a framework and mindset that offer a new way of leading and approaching change. Now more than ever, society is demanding change, and organizations are being asked to shift into more conscious and agile business practices. Yet, most of what people believe about leadership, effective workplaces, and how to create lasting change is either incomplete or outright incorrect. And even if the desire to change is there, understanding of how to achieve it is elusive. This book holds the key. It introduces the Shift Evolutionary Leadership Framework (SELF), which helps leaders create the understanding and application needed to evolve high performance. At the core of the book are dozens of business patterns that cut across seven dimensions of organizational functioning. The traps of traditional organizations are contrasted with the high-performance practices of evolutionary organizations. Authors Michael Sahota and Audree Tata Sahota explain the steps of leading beyond change—evolving beyond servant leadership to make the inner shift needed to unlock the practical skills and techniques. Whether readers call this shift business agility, Teal Agility, evolutionary, or the future of work, it is possible to create high-performing organizations filled with energized people who are able to surf the waves of change.
How to Ikigai
Author: Tim Tamashiro
Publisher: Mango Media Inc.
ISBN: 1633539016
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Book Description
Live Your Best Life Ancient, time-tested wisdom: Okinawa, Japan is a tiny, tiny island south of the Japanese mainland where people live their life’s purpose every day. How is it possible for so many to live each day in such meaningful ways? The Okinawan concept of Ikigai. How to Ikigai describes the lifestyle choices that have led to an island full of fulfilled, long-living people. Magical reality come to life: Examples of ikigai in action are often magical. Take David Michiels. David stuttered severely well into his adulthood. In clinical terms, his stutter was difficult to treat. But David started to work in a liquor store. Before long, his focus turned to one specific section of the sales floor: the scotch section. As he spent more of his days learning about scotch, he began to share his knowledge with customers. Eventually, David noticed that his stutter vanished when he talked to anyone about scotch. Over time, David’s passion led to a new life. Today, he is a renowned whiskey expert, traveling the world tasting and purchasing whiskey on behalf of his employer. He feels his life is meaningful because of ikigai. A humble look at happiness: Bringing together an exploration of joy not unlike that of The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a look inward reminiscent of The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, and deep truths like those explored by Singer in The Surrender Experiment, How to Ikigai describes the concept of Ikigai with clarity and meaning. How to Ikigai explains a simple but abstract map for living a meaningful life. After reading this book, you will understand how to implement Ikigai’s four directions in your own life: • Do what you love • Do what you’re good at • Do what the world needs • Do what you can be rewarded for
Publisher: Mango Media Inc.
ISBN: 1633539016
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Book Description
Live Your Best Life Ancient, time-tested wisdom: Okinawa, Japan is a tiny, tiny island south of the Japanese mainland where people live their life’s purpose every day. How is it possible for so many to live each day in such meaningful ways? The Okinawan concept of Ikigai. How to Ikigai describes the lifestyle choices that have led to an island full of fulfilled, long-living people. Magical reality come to life: Examples of ikigai in action are often magical. Take David Michiels. David stuttered severely well into his adulthood. In clinical terms, his stutter was difficult to treat. But David started to work in a liquor store. Before long, his focus turned to one specific section of the sales floor: the scotch section. As he spent more of his days learning about scotch, he began to share his knowledge with customers. Eventually, David noticed that his stutter vanished when he talked to anyone about scotch. Over time, David’s passion led to a new life. Today, he is a renowned whiskey expert, traveling the world tasting and purchasing whiskey on behalf of his employer. He feels his life is meaningful because of ikigai. A humble look at happiness: Bringing together an exploration of joy not unlike that of The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a look inward reminiscent of The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, and deep truths like those explored by Singer in The Surrender Experiment, How to Ikigai describes the concept of Ikigai with clarity and meaning. How to Ikigai explains a simple but abstract map for living a meaningful life. After reading this book, you will understand how to implement Ikigai’s four directions in your own life: • Do what you love • Do what you’re good at • Do what the world needs • Do what you can be rewarded for
Making Meaningful Lives
Author: Iza Kavedžija
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812251369
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
What makes for a meaningful life? In the Japanese context, the concept of ikigai provides a clue. Translated as "that which makes one's life worth living," ikigai has also come to mean that which gives a person happiness. In Japan, where the demographic cohort of elderly citizens is growing, and new modes of living and relationships are revising traditional multigenerational family structures, the elderly experience of ikigai is considered a public health concern. Without a relevant model for meaningful and joyful older age, the increasing older population of Japan must create new cultural forms that center the ikigai that comes from old age. In Making Meaningful Lives, Iza Kavedžija provides a rich anthropological account of the lives and concerns of older Japanese women and men. Grounded in years of ethnographic fieldwork at two community centers in Osaka, Kavedžija offers an intimate narrative analysis of the existential concerns of her active, independent subjects. Alone and in groups, the elderly residents of these communities make sense of their lives and shifting ikigai with humor, conversation, and storytelling. They are as much providers as recipients of care, challenging common images of the elderly as frail and dependent, while illustrating a more complex argument: maintaining independence nevertheless requires cultivating multiple dependences on others. Making Meaningful Lives argues that an anthropology of the elderly is uniquely suited to examine the competing values of dependence and independence, sociality and isolation, intimacy and freedom, that people must balance throughout all of life's stages.
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812251369
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
What makes for a meaningful life? In the Japanese context, the concept of ikigai provides a clue. Translated as "that which makes one's life worth living," ikigai has also come to mean that which gives a person happiness. In Japan, where the demographic cohort of elderly citizens is growing, and new modes of living and relationships are revising traditional multigenerational family structures, the elderly experience of ikigai is considered a public health concern. Without a relevant model for meaningful and joyful older age, the increasing older population of Japan must create new cultural forms that center the ikigai that comes from old age. In Making Meaningful Lives, Iza Kavedžija provides a rich anthropological account of the lives and concerns of older Japanese women and men. Grounded in years of ethnographic fieldwork at two community centers in Osaka, Kavedžija offers an intimate narrative analysis of the existential concerns of her active, independent subjects. Alone and in groups, the elderly residents of these communities make sense of their lives and shifting ikigai with humor, conversation, and storytelling. They are as much providers as recipients of care, challenging common images of the elderly as frail and dependent, while illustrating a more complex argument: maintaining independence nevertheless requires cultivating multiple dependences on others. Making Meaningful Lives argues that an anthropology of the elderly is uniquely suited to examine the competing values of dependence and independence, sociality and isolation, intimacy and freedom, that people must balance throughout all of life's stages.