‘Imi Ola means to seek life, encouraging us to search for the best we can do in our life’s journey.
‘Imi literally means – search, seek, look, even hunt
Ola means – life, health, wellbeing, living
‘Imi ola means that we search for the best life we can create.
Using our skills, knowledge, and talents, we create the lifestyle we desire and serve others. Service to others, after all, is the greatest act we can perform in this life.
Those who live ‘imi ola are constantly seeking improvement, as they want to be their best selves.
Truly, ‘imi ola is a principle of living the aloha lifestyle, because when we work towards our best selves, we bless our lives and those around us.
Pay attention to moments that change the world & our lives
Most people realize the importance of ‘imi ola when they experience a life-changing event, such as the birth of a child or marriage.
Sometimes life-changing events are negative, like a national or global calamity, abuse, etc.
Some, unfortunately, never have moving experiences. They don’t allow themselves to recognize these life-changing moments and ask questions to discover who they are and who they can become.
My life changed on September 11, 2001, when I was 9 years old. We had just moved to an air force base in Japan and were living in, what they called, “the towers.” Ironic, but the first night we arrived in the towers, I heard my mom call out in shock from the other room.
“The airplanes hit the buildings!” I rushed in to see, on the TV screen, an airplane go straight for the tower.
I had a sick feeling in my stomach, and when I went to bed that night, I could hardly sleep because it was all I could think about.
The next morning, my siblings and I sat in the living room watching TV, witnessing the horror of what had just happened.
I cried with each new story I heard and saw: of calls people made to say their last goodbyes, of firefighters blanketed in dust and debris, of people jumping out windows to end their lives, of the sounds of bodies falling on the roofs, of the towers finally collapsing…
It was terrifying. Heartbreaking. Life-changing.
After a while, I couldn’t handle it anymore and went into the room to cry. I was devastated. How could God let all these people die—people who were just living normal lives and who hadn’t done anything wrong?
How could this happen?
As I searched the scriptures, prayed, and pondered this question in the following weeks and years, the answer came to me: We live in a fallen world. Things like this happen. This is the lot of mortality.
It’s not that God is angry at us, or that he wants us to suffer, but he allows these things to happen so we can learn and continue to grow.
From then on, I began to strengthen the value of ‘imi ola in my life. I wanted to become my best self in order to best serve others and society as a whole.
I wanted to inspire, educate, and help people live their own best lives… so that when bad things happen—which they will—we all can be better prepared and at peace, knowing we’d all done our best in this life.
What was a moment that changed your life? Or changed the world?
I’m writing this article during the outbreak of coronavirus, a pandemic that has literally changed everything. Perhaps this is the moment that has changed your world and perspective.
What can we learn from these life-changing moments? How can you live your best life? How can you best contribute?
Here are some other ways to live ‘imi ola.
Create your purpose
I think we spend too much of our time trying to “discover” or “figure out” our purpose in life. Probably the most important thing we can do to follow our life purpose is to just start.
Start by creating… write something, draw something, try a new skill. When you go for it, you discover what you like, and, also important, what you don’t like.
Ask people what skills you have, support a cause you’re passionate about, and create who YOU want to be.
As you create purpose and do meaningful work (ho’ohana), you will successfully discover your life purpose and path.
Also check out this article for more info: Helpful Questions to Create & Discover You
Read books and keep learning
If you want to become your best self, you should never stop learning. Listen to experiences of others, seek understanding, read good books, and study God’s word. As the old saying goes, “Knowledge is power.” The more you know, the greater your ability to seek life in it’s highest form and be your best self.
I think we sometimes put too much pressure on ourselves to read “adult” books, like self help books, finance books, educational books, etc. but we can learn so much from fiction and YA books too!
Give yourself the permission to expand your imagination and creativity through reading fiction books too. My fiction favorites are Eragon, the Chronicles of Narnia, and books written by authors like Shannon Hale and Gale Carson Levine. 😉
Here are some of my favorite self improvement books that have expanded my perspective. The following links are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that when you click through and purchase, I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you!
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Trust in God
It’s difficult to trust people, but know that you can always trust God. He will direct you to know and understand your contribution.
Sometimes he will leave you in the dark, but know that it’s OK—that shows he trusts YOU enough to make your decisions.
We don’t know WHY things happen the way they do in life, especially when tragedies occur, but when we CHOOSE our story, we bring more purpose and joy into our lives.
Having been abused by my dad, I knew that I didn’t want that to be my story… And that is ‘imi ola: you climb from the bottom, literally starting where you are, to create the life you want and fulfill the mission that God has put you on the earth for.
Live ‘imi ola by trusting in his plan and his ways. Our challenges are part of the story, but not the WHOLE story.
Find and get help from a Mentor
If we want to learn and be better people, we need to reach up to those who are where we want to be. A trusted leader once told me that if you want to get to the top, you need to look up, not across.
It’s important to have supportive friends and family, but we need people who can guide us along the way.
A mentor helps you create a vision of where you can be. They know the path, because they’ve walked it themselves. Mentors can act as guides to helping you reach your destination.
I’m SO grateful for the mentors in my life–spiritual mentors, business mentors, author mentors, etc. These articles will go into depth about WHY you need a mentor and HOW to find a great one!
Final Thoughts
I hope that you can seek your best life by living ‘imi ola. I encourage you to take time to ponder those life changing moments and what you’ll do because of them. It’s never too late to start becoming your best you.
With joy and aloha,
Leialoha
Let’s hear from you!
How will you implement the value of ‘imi ola in your life? Let us know in the comments!
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I discovered your writings last week.
I feel as if I have a blessings poured out on me when I read your beautiful pieces. I will continue to read through your past writings. Mahalo from deep with-in me. I grew up in Hawaii (Pearl City) I left to attend college at the University of Maryland and have lived on the mainland since then. My heart will always belong to Hawaii. Mahalo for letting read, what is buried within me-
The Aloha Spirit🌺
Aloha Melissa! Thank you for taking the time to leave this comment, it means so much to me! 🙂 I am so happy you are rekindling the beautiful aloha spirit within you. I used to live in Wahiawa so we’d go to the Pearl City mall sometimes and it was fun! I also live on the mainland now but writing about Hawaii and all the things I learned there has helped me keep that aloha spirit. Thank you for joining me on this journey! 🙂
-Lei