I recently read the book Ikigai & Kaizen by Anthony Raymond. In it, Raymond describes various Japanese words that refer to philosophies or principles to live more intentionally. As its title suggests, one is ikigai, or discovering your life calling or primary source of intrinsic motivation.

Raymond suggests thinking of various endeavors that pique interest, then assigning a numeric ranking to each of the following questions:

• Could this be my passion and how much do I love this skill?
• Could this be my vocation and howgood am I or could I be at this skill?
• Could this be my mission and how does this skill benefit the world?
• Could this be my profession and how likely am I to be paid well for this skill?

By scoring possibilities, your ikigai may come to light. “You must remain vigilant in pursuit of your ikigai, persistently scanning the horizon, ever ready to sample new curiosities, new hobbies and career prospects as they avail themselves to you,” Raymond writes. “When there is harmonious alignment with our innate passions and our chosen skill set, that’s where the magic happens.”

In reading this, I thought about Pursuits, a magazine series we launched last year featuring Hawai‘i people who are pursuing their passions, whether it’s through work, interests or other endeavors.

“You must remain vigilant in pursuit of your ikigai, persistently scanning the horizon, ever ready to sample new curiosities, new hobbies and career prospects as they avail themselves to you.”

Since its February 2024 debut, we’ve covered artists, athletes and others, including a former economist who now leads Buddhist talks and group meditation at a Pālolo temple; a musician performing as part of the new Cirque du Soleil ‘Auana show (this month’s feature); and a Stage 4 cancer patient who completed the Kona Ironman in hopes of inspiring others with terminal conditions to keep fighting.

I love these stories, and after thinking about it, I realize they’re about people pursuing their ikigai. But the concept extends to articles beyond the series.

For this month’s Top Doctors issue, we profile two doctors, Dr. Christina Marzo and Dr. Jerald Garcia, who in interviews relayed their passion for their specific areas of medicine. Marzo’s interest in family medicine was sparked in childhood, after seeing how her grandfather struggled to advocate for her grandmother, who had diabetes. She wants to be not only the medical advocate for her own family, but for her patients, especially those who are powerless. Meanwhile, Garcia reveals how as a 5-year-old he was fascinated with his doctor play set. He says being a doctor feels like his destiny, and he wound up in a specialty that satisfies two big interests—working with his hands and helping relieve people’s chronic pain, sometimes immediately.

Both of them tapped into their ikigai and ended up with successful careers that serve the community. In this early part of the year, as many of us embark on our resolutions, I’ve been thinking about the importance of having purpose. More than ever, in this crazy world we’re living in, we need meaning in our lives, and perhaps one way is to make contributions that are intrinsic to our nature.

I hope you’re aligned with your calling or are at least considering how you can be. For me, life is more consequential when I’m invested in whatever I’m doing. And to be honest, being able to share stories in this magazine may very well be my own ikigai.