Ikigai

Assessment & Discovery Tools

Find where what you love, what you’re good at,
what the world needs, and what you can be paid for overlap.

Finding Your Reason for Being

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that roughly translates to “reason for being.” In coaching, it functions as a diagnostic framework - a way to identify whether your current work sits at the intersection of four factors that, together, produce sustained meaning and motivation.

The framework maps four questions: What do you love? What are you great at? What does the world need? What can you be paid for? Each pair of overlapping answers generates a distinct orientation: passion, mission, profession, or vocation. At the center, where all four converge, is purpose.

Most people are strong in two or three areas and notably absent in one. The gap is diagnostic - it tells you what’s missing, what’s creating the sense that something is off, and where to focus. A technically successful role can feel hollow when it covers profession but not mission. Work that pays less can sustain engagement longer when it sits closer to the center.

This isn’t a tool for arriving at a single final answer. It’s a mapping exercise.

The Four Intersection Zones

Passion - What you love + What you’re great at. Deeply engaging but may not be sustainable without external need or income.

Mission - What you love + What the world needs. Meaningful but may lack the financial structure to sustain it.

Profession - What you’re great at + What you can be paid for. Financially grounded but may feel empty without personal meaning.

Vocation - What the world needs + What you can be paid for. Purposeful and viable but may drain if disconnected from what you genuinely love.

How to Use This Worksheet

  1. Review the four circles on the diagram on the following page. Each circle represents one factor.
  2. Write your answers to each of the four questions in the reflection section. Be specific - the more concrete your answers, the more useful the overlap analysis.
  3. Examine the intersection zones. Where does your current work sit? Which zones are populated and which are empty?
  4. Consider the center. Where, if anywhere, do all four overlap in your current work or life?
  5. Use the Notes section to identify which zone feels most underdeveloped and what that gap is costing you.
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The Ikigai Framework

What do you love? What are you great at? What does the world need? What can you be paid for? Passion Mission Profession Vocation Purpose
What do you love?
What are you great at?
What does the world need?
What can you be paid for?
Where Are You Now?

Look at the four intersection zones. Where does your current work sit?

Notes - Which zone is weakest for you right now - and what would it look like to strengthen it?
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