Notable ideas

(What ideas do I want to remember in a few years‘ time?)

1. This moment exists only now and won’t come again
   • The concept of ichi-go ichi-e us is most often used in social settings and means that each moment is unique and will never be repeated. Therefore, you should not worry about the past or the future and enjoy every moment that life brings you.
2. Fill your stomach to 80 per cent
   • Long digestive processes accelerate cellular oxidation, which wears down your body. The best way to stay healthier for longer is to eat not until you are full, but until you are no longer hungry.
3. Happiness is in the doing, not in the result
   • Focus on daily rituals and use them to get into a state of flow. Choose rituals over goals. The happiest people are not those who achieve the most, but those who spend more time in a state of flow.

Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.

Ikigai Preface – Japanese proverb

What do Japanese artisans, engineers, Zen philosophy, and cuisine have in common? Simplicity and attention to detail. It is not a lazy simplicity but a sophisticated one that searches out new frontiers, always taking the object, the body and mind, or the cuisine to the next level, according to one’s ikigai.

Ikigai – Find Flow in Everything You Do (p. 75)

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.

Ikigai – Find Flow in Everything You Do (p. 85)

1. The Japanese culture
   • The Japanese concept of Ikigai
     • Roughly translated as „the happiness of always being busy“, it is the reason we wake up in the morning.
     • There is no word in Japanese for „leaving the workforce for good“ as there is in most languages (e.g. retire in English).
     • Having a purpose is so important in Japanese culture that the traditional concept of retirement does not exist.
   • The Japanese concept of moai
     • A moai in Okinawa is a group of people with common interests who look out for each other, with origins in hard times when farmers came together to share best practice.
   • The Japanese perseverence
     • „Ganbaru“ means „to persevere“ or „to stay firm by doing one’s best“, reflecting the Japanese culture of perseverance when there is a problem to be solved.
   • The Japanese union between nature and technology
     • When a Japanese artist, engineer or chef sets out to create something, his or her responsibility is to use nature to give it „life“, respecting it at every moment.The creator becomes one with the object and flows with it.There is no man versus nature, but rather a union of the two.
   • The Japanese Ogimi lifestyle
     • On the island of Okinawa, there are 24.55 people over the age of 100 for every 100.000 inhabitants.
     • Food in Okinawa
       • Okinawans eat at least 7 types of fruit and vegetables every day.
       • They regularly eat 206 different foods, including spices.
       • Over 30% of their calories come from vegetables.
       • Rice is the staple food in Okinawa.
       • They rarely eat sugar, and if they do, it’s cane sugar.
       • On average, Okinawans eat fish three times a week.
       • The most common meat eaten is pork, but only once or twice a week.
     • Greeen tea in Okinawa
       • Okinawans drink an average of three cups of Sanpin-cha green tea a day.
     • Occupations in Okinawa
       • One hundred percent of the older people interviewed in Ogimi had a main job and a second job.
       • Most had a vegetable garden as a second job and sold their produce at the local market.
   • The Japanese concepts of Wabi-sabi and ichi-go ichi-e
     • Wabi-sabi is a Japanese concept that shows us the beauty of the fleeting, changing and imperfect nature of the world around us.
       • Instead of looking for beauty in perfection, we should look for it in things that are flawed and incomplete.
       • It shows us the beauty of the fleeting, changing and imperfect nature of the world around us.
       • This is why cracked teapots are so prized in Japan.
     • Ichi-go ichi-e is a Japanese concept that can be translated as ‚This moment exists only now and won’t come again‘.
       • It is most commonly used in social settings.
       • It means that each moment is unique and will never be repeated.
       • It teaches you to focus on the present and enjoy every moment that lif
2. Anti-aging strategies
   • Active mind, youthful body (“mens sana in corpore sano”)
     • Neurons start to age in the twenties.
       • However, this process can be slowed down by intellectual activity, curiosity and a desire to learn.
       • Therefore, dealing with new situations every day is a good anti-aging strategy for the mind.
       • Lack of mental exercise causes your neurons and neural connections to deteriorate, reducing your ability to respond to your environment.
       • The brain is revitalised when it’s exposed to new information, so exposure to change is important, even if stepping out of your comfort zone is a little scary.
     • Lack of exercise is bad for your body and mind.
       • Being sedentary can lead to high blood pressure, poor diet, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and even certain cancers.
       • Metabolism slows down by 90 per cent after 30 minutes of sitting.
       • After two hours, good cholesterol drops by 20 per cent.
       • Standing up for just five minutes can boost your metabolism.
   • Sleep
     • Sleep is a key anti-ageing tool because when you sleep, you produce melatonin, a hormone that boosts your immune system.
   • Positive outlook and emotiononal regulation
     • According to a study conducted at Yeshiva University, people who face challenges with a positive outlook and are able to regulate their emotions live the longest.
       • Existential frustration occurs when our lives have no meaning, or when that meaning is distorted.
       • Frustration can be a positive thing: a catalyst for change.
   • Enjoy daily rituals (happiness is in the doing, not the result)
     • Rituals provide clear rules and goals that help you get into a state of flow.
     • If you only have one big goal in mind, you may feel lost or overwhelmed.
       • Rituals help by giving you the process, the sub-steps, on the way to achieving a goal.
       • If you are faced with a big goal, try breaking it down into parts and then tackling each part one at a time.
   • Internal spa
     • Meditation produces alpha and theta brain waves that are activated just before we fall asleep, when we lie in the sun or after a hot bath.We all carry a spa with us wherever we go.
3. How to be more antifragile?
   • Create redundancies
     • Instead of a single salary, try to find a way to earn money from your hobbies, other jobs or by starting your own business.
   • Be conservative in some areas and take small risks in others
     • Take small risks that could lead to big rewards, without exposing yourself to dangers that could sink you.
   • Get rid of the things that make you vulnerable.
     • Certain people, things and habits cause us loss and make you vulnerable.Identify them and get rid of them.