How a TEFL career can be your ‘Ikigai’
Say what!?
Let’s backtrack a bit… if you’ve never heard the term before, this could be a life-changing moment for you.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your ‘reason for being.’ ‘Iki’ in Japanese means ‘life,’ and ‘gai’ describes value or worth. Therefore, your ikigai is your life purpose, your bliss, your reason for being (raison d’être, as the French would say). It’s what brings you joy and inspires you to get out of bed every day.
While traditional Japanese philosophy focuses on finding your bliss, Western interpretation has used ikigai as a method of finding your dream career. Ever heard the saying, ‘Do something you love for a living, and you never work a day in your life?’
The Westernised version of ikigai says you’ve found your dream career when your career includes these four qualities:
- What you love
- What you’re good at
- What you can be paid for
- What the world needs
With these four points in mind, becoming a TEFL teacher might just tick all the boxes of the Ikigai concept for you.
Let’s take a look:
- What you love – well, only you will know that. However, most of our Destination TEFL trainees have told us that they have felt so elated after their first teacher practicums, so there’s a good chance you will too.
- What you’re good at – after a course at Destination TEFL, you’ll be armed with all the tools to be the best TEFL teacher you can be. We aim to train teachers who know how to conduct a solid lesson.
- What you can be paid for – The TEFL industry is growing in leaps and bounds, and opportunities to teach abroad in the classroom or become an online TEFL teacher are plentiful!
- What the world needs – The world needs passionate teachers, and communication is key to creating a better world.
So, if your life is lacking purpose and are looking to do something meaningful, consider taking a TEFL course with Destination TEFL at one of our TEFL training centres in Siem Reap, Cambodia; Bangkok, Thailand; or Bali, Indonesia.
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