(as a Project Manager Who Wants More Than Meetings and Milestones)
Let’s face it — most of us didn’t get into project management for the standups, the timelines or the endless “Hey, just looping back on this…” emails.
Somewhere along the way, we started craving more.
More purpose.
More clarity.
More why the hell am I doing this again?
If that sounds familiar, you’re not burned out — you’re misaligned.
And Ikigai might just be the north star you didn’t know you needed.
🌱 1. How to Find My Ikigai
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means “reason for being.”
It’s the intersection of four key things:
- What you love
- What you’re good at
- What you can be paid for
- What the world needs
Your Ikigai sits where all four of these circles overlap — a place of alignment, energy, and sustainable purpose.
Not some instagrammable dream job.
Not a productivity cult mantra.
But a grounded, evolving sense of why you show up.
🌻 Quick exercise:
Ask yourself, “When was the last time I felt proud, useful, and energized — all at once — in my work?”
That’s a breadcrumb.
If you’ve never paused to find your Ikigai, now’s the time. And if you have found it before, you probably need to check in again — because purpose isn’t static. It evolves. Just like you.
🌸 2. Ikigai Examples (Yes, Even for PMs)
Ikigai gets thrown around a lot in articles about quitting your job and moving to a fishing village.
But it’s not about escape — it’s about integration.
Let me give you some grounded examples — especially for PMs.
👩💻 What You Love → Your PM Superpowers
The parts of the work that light you up, even on hard days.
- Running retros that spark real conversations
- Coaching junior devs to find their voice
- Turning “this is chaos” into “we’ve got this”
Your love lives in moments, not job titles.
🧠 What You’re Good At → Your Craft in Action
Your strengths — not the ones on your CV, the ones people rely on you for.
- Translating tech to biz speak
- Sensing blockers before they escalate
- Calming down tense meetings like an emotional air traffic controller
These are your natural superpowers. You don’t try to do them — you just do.
💰 What You Can Be Paid For → The Value You Deliver
Spoiler: It’s not updating Jira tickets.
- Creating alignment
- Delivering actual outcomes
- Driving business progress with clarity and calm
If you’re underpaid or overlooked, it’s likely because your real value hasn’t been framed in business outcomes yet.
🌍 What the World Needs → Purpose-Driven Leadership
Leadership that isn’t loud, but solid.
- Clarity in the fog
- Safety in the storm
- Momentum when everything feels stuck
In a chaotic world, the way you make work feel for your team? That’s impact.
🌼 3. The Ikigai Venn Diagram (But Make It Practical)
You’ve probably seen the Ikigai Venn diagram before — four overlapping circles that converge into that magical center. It looks simple.
But here’s how it lands in PM life:
- If you’re doing what you’re good at and paid for, but don’t love it? Hello, burnout.
- If you love it and you’re good at it, but you’re not paid or needed? That’s a hobby, not a job.
- If it’s needed and you’re paid, but you hate it? That’s a soul suck.
The sweet spot is where all four feed each other.
🌻 PM Tip:
Map out your last 3–5 projects in terms of these four areas. Where did you feel in flow? Where did you feel flatlined?
That’s your Ikigai audit.
And remember: you don’t need perfect overlap. You just need direction. Even 70% Ikigai feels radically better than coasting in autopilot.
📚 4. Ikigai Mangas: Unexpected Wisdom from Comics
You wouldn’t expect life purpose to show up in a manga comic book, but Ikigai is woven deep into Japanese storytelling.
Try these:
- Barakamon — A burned-out calligrapher moves to a remote island and rediscovers purpose through imperfection, community, and getting his hands dirty. Total PM metaphor.
- Silver Spoon — A city kid joins an agricultural high school and learns that meaning isn’t inherited — it’s cultivated.
- March Comes in Like a Lion — A shogi prodigy faces depression and loneliness, and slowly learns to find connection, belonging, and a new sense of self.
These aren’t stories about success. They’re stories about becoming — about finding purpose not in a title, but in showing up again and again for what matters.
Exactly like the best PMs.
🌾 Final Reflection
You don’t need to quit your job, meditate in a forest or become a monk with a Kanban board.
But you do need to pause and ask:
- Am I energized by any part of this work?
- Am I using my natural strengths?
- Do I see the impact of what I do?
And if not?
That’s not failure.
That’s the nudge.
The invitation to realign.
Because your projects?
They don’t just need timelines and tools.
They need you — grounded, energized, and leading with purpose.
🔥If you liked this article, check out the previous one, where we go through imposter syndrome in project management careers.
Written by
Simina F.
| howtobecomeapm.com – Author
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