Japanese life philosophies for a fulfilling and rewarding life

"Action without vision is a nightmare.
Vision without action is a daydream."
-Japanese proverb

"A wise man learns from experience, a wiser man learns from the experience of others."
-Japanese proverb

"The Kaizen Philosophy assumes that our way of life - be it our working life, our social life, our home life - deserves to be constantly improved."
-Masaaki Imai

This time, we will be examining some of the most significant japanese life philosophies that are still dominant today as well as the attitudes and mindsets that come with them. We'll discover some of the beauty of the japanese culture and mentality through these life philosophies & perspectives and their relevance and applications in life.

The discussion will include the concepts of:

• Ikigai - One's life purpose and reason for being -- "That which makes life worth living."
• Kaizen - The philosophy of continuous improvement through small, consistent steps; the idea that becoming a little better every day leads to meaningful and lasting change
• Shoshin - "Beginner's mind" -- The attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconception
• Shu, Ha & Ri - The principle of learning, applying and "forgetting" -- letting go of the obtained knowledge
• Banpen Fugyō - The spirit of "a thousand changes, but no surprise" -- a worldview that prepares for alertness
• "Ichi go ichi e" - A japanese proverb that translates to "one time, one meeting" and encapsulates the philosophy of treasuring each encounter as a once-in-a-lifetime experience
• Wabi-Sabi - A traditional Japanese aesthetic and philosophical concept centered on finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness

We'll be confronted with questions as these:

• Can someone really retire if they are passionate about what they do?
• How important is staying active for wanting to live longer?
• Can we enjoy our lives and find it genuinely fulfilling even if our work doesn't leave us much time for private life?
• What impact does it have on our lives when we have a clear purpose for life? For how long and in what quality can we exist and deal with our everydays without it?
• How should we prioritize if we can't have it all: when we have to choose which one to give up on: doing what we love, what we're good at, what pays well, or what the world (or our environment) actually needs?
• What mentalities do we find most fulfilling or rewarding in our lives?
• Can experience stand in the way of clear judgement?
• Does accumulated experience usually make it harder or easier to obtain new knowledge?
• Do we ever find it useful to "drop" the things we learnt?
• Is it better to take every opportunity as a possibly once-in-a-lifetime chance, or is it better to keep our calm and trust that important opportunities and people will come back?