Conversations of the soul on ikigai

I say the most difficult part of a relationship isn't getting to know each-other, its growing together. The person I was ten years ago is not the person I am today because as time goes by, we grow, and we change. So the journeys we have with others are limited, as are the journeys we have with ourselves.

As I get older, I realize that actioning professional plans for the future leads to an active conversation with one's self. A conversation that is ever shifting, like a continuous negotiation. Over time we adapt to new experiences and people, we integrate them into our being. So the future we had previously envisioned for ourselves for ends up changing like we are, but none-the-less we want it to align with our being as it is now, and not our self of the past.

I hear the conversation during the day and night. My mind repeatedly asking, "What am I really good at?" While the soul often shouts back "What do I actually want?". We are urged to provide a service that the world needs yet provides us with enough fulfillment to satisfy both of these voices. It turns out the goal is ultimately the same, but over time the goalpost constantly moves as the conversation continues. We question our true intentions but we learn they are not static things.

The concept of ikigai is to find meaning through doing and being, and I believe it starts with how we interact with ourselves. A conversation needs to happen, and it needs to continue happening. Through this insight I've learned that ikigai has internal and external components; what we love and what our strengths are, those are internal. What the community is willing to do to support us in achieving our mission, that is the external. These components are inseparable. 

So I ask two questions of you;
- What do your inner conversations sound like?
- What kind of work balances your strengths and passions?