Lagom is the Swedish lifestyle philosophy, translating as ‘not too much and not too
little, It means to have just the right amount of everything, the moderate choice between
two extremes. The romanticized version of the roots of Lagom comes from a story of the
Vikings passing around a horn of mead. Laget om, or ‘around the team’, meant that the
mead had to make it to everyone’s lips, requiring that each Viking only take an adequate
sip so that there would be some for everyone. The real roots are a little more basic than
that. In Swedish, lag means ‘law’ and in Old Swedish, ‘laguhm’ translates roughly
as ‘according to the law’ which makes lagom a social construct that relates to creating
a just society, encouraging members of society to not just abide by the written law, but
also to practise common sense. Lagom is a thread that ties many parts of
Swedish society and culture together, the cornerstone of personal behaviour, design
ethos and community. The guiding principle of Swedish politics and culture is the consideration
for the wellbeing of the group as opposed to just the individual. The idea that everyone
should have access to the same rights and benefits is the core of lagom. For an individual,
lagom means taking part in communal society by not taking too much or too little, thus
you live in moderation and moderation is good for everyone. When everyone is treated as
an equal, society thrives, Hence in Sweden, lagom is applied to almost every element of
society. Lagom food, lagom drink, lagom work hours; the idea that a balanced amount of
everything leads to a just and equal society and, overall, a good life
On the other hand, If there’s one word that defines our modern lives, it’s excess. We’re
encouraged to function with a ‘go big or go home’ mentality. We strive to be the
very best version of ourselves, the version that looks good to the outside world. That
one that makes for fast-paced, exciting, instagrammable lives. We’re overworked and overbooked.
We go from one task to another, juggling to-do lists and pushing through exhaustion. We show
one side of ourselves publicly: the glossy, put-together, happy-no-matter-what side, but
keep the other locked away in private. Despite how it looks online, more and more of us are
stressed, strained and burnt out. Our expectations of what we can do, and what
we should do, are far beyond anything we’re able to realistically achieve. This all comes
at a social cost, not to mention an environmental one. We live larger and larger – our houses,
our cars, our appetites and our overall impact on the Earth is ever increasing. As we start
to meet our own personal limits, and society and the environment are meeting theirs, many
of us are asking ourselves what changes we can make. How can we live better? There is
no easy pill for a healthy, sustainable, balanced lifestyle, one that will change your life
overnight, but a lagom approach may be part of the answer.
Applying a sense of lagom to our everyday lives – be it in what we eat, what we wear,
how we live, how we work – might just be the antidote to our modern, consumption-led
world as it embraces a more balanced, sustainable lifestyle that embraces the pleasures of existence
rather than those of consumption. Lagom celebrates the idea of “just enough” which is the
perfect space between minimalism and living in excess and this particular brand of socialism
is partly the reason why Sweden consistently ranks top ten in the happiest countries in
the world. The good news is that we don’t have to be Swedish to understand, or even
embrace, the concept of lagom and which is why we have this video broken up into four
main categories: work, home, health and environment. In all of them we look at ways to live more
lagom, to be more intentional and to be mindful, and to live better with less.
1. Lagom at work.
Sweden is a country of many work benefits, from paid parental leave to sabbaticals to
extensive paid holiday, all policies that create a social structure focused on the wellbeing
of all its citizens. Parents, for example, who have to stay home from work when a child
is not well, have access to a government Smartphone app that they can use to file for their benefits,
which allows them to be paid for their child’s sick day. Also, the minimum amount of paid
holiday days in Sweden is 25 and many workers enjoy more.
According to OECD research, the average Swedish worker works 1,600 hours per year. To put
that number in perspective, the average in the UK is 1,700 and 1,800 in the United States.
Only about one percent of Swedish workers work long hours, one of the lowest rates amongst
the OECD countries, where the average is 13 per cent. This limits the negative effects
often associated with long work hours, such as personal health and stress. Swedes believe
that putting in overtime means that you aren’t working efficiently enough during your regular
hours. Meanwhile, we in the majority of the rest
of the world, follow the mentality that honors long work hours. If you tell someone that
you just did the right amount of work to get the job done, they might raise his or her
eyebrows, wondering why you didn’t ‘go the extra mile’ or ‘give it 110%’ and
simply delivered what was asked for. This is because we see working long hours as proof
of commitment and dedication to both our bosses and our personal career goals. We think that
if we’re not working too much, we’re not working enough; which is why the majority
of us do not even take what meager minimal vacation days we receive. We believe that
we can have it all, we believe we can be perfect. But if we are honest with ourselves we know
that in reality this is completely unachievable. Instead of perfection, a lagom lifestyle is
about finding balance in being ‘good enough’, where we can allow ourselves to enjoy satisfaction
in a job well done that is performed within appropriate boundaries. Following this approach
you may not rise to the status of CEO or get a six-figure salary, but if these are things
that you want – or atleast the things that you think you want – then you have to ask
ourselves if you can live with the compromises you will have to make in the form of health
and relationships. To have it all is a myth. But to have what we want in a moderate amount
can be achievable if we let go of our expectations and self-judgments. You need to realise that
being happy is not about being the best, it is about identifying what your strengths and
desires are and then allowing yourself to be satisfied with the outcome, even if the
outcome doesn’t look like the life that you see your friends having on Instagram.
Integrating lagom into your work life could take in a variety of forms: If you know you
spend too much time working, remember that in a lagom mindset, that means you are inefficient
at your job. So ask yourself – Instead of working long, how can I work better?. If we
retrain ourselves to think more about the quality of the work and less about the quantity
of the work, we can find that balance. That also means focusing on being efficient: identifying
what’s a priority and what isn’t. It means reducing multi-tasking, taking more action
and less thinking. Manage the expectations of your employer: you will give your best
effort while you are in the office, but after eight hours, you are heading out to enjoy
the rest of the day. Make plans like a class, dinner with friends, a date with your dog
for quality park-time, anything like this that can help you achieve that lagom work-life
balance. But most importantly take all the vacation you’re owed, because it will help
you to live fully in both your real life and your work life.
2. Lagom at home There is this Swedish proverb that says that
“Away is good, but home is best” As humans, we desire to create a home, to
‘nest’, so to say. Since the beginning of time we have been building spaces for us
to take shelter in. We want that home space to be safe, to protect us from the outside
world. Today, a home provides us with a physical and an emotional shelter. Creating a space
that you love means creating a home, and not just a house. This allows for a sense of balance
within your home space, one that encourages you to be content in the now. When we live
in a space that we love, one that is in balance with our personality and needs, we are also
less likely to constantly be searching for more ‘things’ to make it better; we are
content with what we have. With the ‘not too much, not too little, just right’ definition
of lagom, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that a lagom-designed home is a minimal home.
Swedes believe that good design can improve lives. There the houses are light-and-bright
with a wood and natural-materials-heavy aesthetic that is appealing and inexpensive. But according
to the experts, lagom is much more than the way a home looks. Things should either have
a “functional value or a deeply sentimental value and anything that falls outside those
categories is considered as excess. For example, a shelf full of books is just a burden if
you never read them. The same goes for anything that is cluttering up your space without a
purpose. So it’s less about the style of your decorating than the overall feel of your
home. If Swedish design isn’t your cup of tea,
you can still have a lagom living room. The lagom way of decorating is choosing quality
over quantity. Today we all live in a throw away culture. It’s easy to find a new table
and a sofa for not much more than the price of a good meal out, and because they are cheap,
there is not much stopping us from switching them when we get tired of them, but this all
comes at a cost. With cheap materials and cheap goods comes cheap labour and cutting
corners on environmental standards, which makes our society and the environment suffer.
So changing our attitudes isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity. Cultivating an
awareness, and appreciation, for good, quality craftsmanship is not just about the look of
products but also about the impact of those products. Upfront, these products may have
a more expensive price tag, but they are long-term investments, lasting over decades, and perhaps
even generations, both in what they are made of and how they look. According to Nordic
“lagom’ createe safe style, since by definition they take longer to appear outdated and therefore
don’t have to be switched. As Lagom means the balance of the two extremes,
the other practice of having a lagom living is by not going in excess. Say, if you are
buying a new house, then don’t fill a new room with expensive stuff all bought right
away, but add slowly over time—or maybe leaving some places open and empty. It means
not buying things that you might get rid of in future and if this video inspires you to
practice Lagom at home, then declutter your house. Get rid of all the things that do not
serve purpose. Shift your mindset from “I need to get rid of this stuff” to “I’m
looking forward to having more space to stretch and dance in my living room.”
3. Lagom for health
Lagom is both a mental and physical state of being. It is all about moderation meaning
less about focusing on the things that we don’t have and instead appreciating what
we do have. It’s a celebration of a balanced way of living - a balance between the body
and mind. In the modern world, both adults and teenagers
suffer from mental-health issues related to stress, and it has far-reaching consequences,
including reduced productivity and less happiness than our incomes suggest we should have, and
that affects our physical health too. As a result, we then want a quick fix to wellness.
We believe in fighting through stress by being productive and as many of us are overwhelmed
with work and stress and go on until we are frazzled and on the brink of a breakdown,
the Swedes believe in prioritizing fighting stress first so they can be more productive
long term. They do this by taking regular breaks to recharge,
and taking care of themselves with regular exercise. This doesn’t have to be excessive
as that’s not Lagom either. Fighting stress before it starts means that you don’t wait
until you are sick to take a day off by taking regular breaks to have a work-life balance.
Why not take a half-day off not for a doctor’s appointment once you’re ill, but instead,
to wake up late and get brunch and massage when you’re feeling absolutely fine? So
do something that brings you joy like going to see a film, or going to a concert, for
example. Taking time for yourself to really relax, recharge, rejuvenate, it will allow
you to be more consistently productive and efficient in your work.
If we construct our lives in a more intentional way, being aware of ourselves, our surroundings
and our expectations, and start removing all of the non-essential items both physically
and emotionally, we can begin to find a constant happiness with who we are, not who we hope
to become. Our modern world is a constant reminder of everything that we have to be
grateful for. Health, a home, a job, peace; these are considered luxuries by many in the
world. It would be a shame to take those things for granted, and a shame to not be able to
take advantage of the world around us because we are suffering physically and emotionally.
4. Lagom and nature The Swedish environment is one of extremes:
sparse, dark and cold in the winter, flourishing and full of light in the summer. The hardships
of the landscape shaped the population. There was no choice but to adapt to the world around
them; nature dictated behaviour. Today, when modern conveniences like heating and lighting
make it easier to get through the harsh winters, there is still a deep respect for nature.
Sometimes we are too engaged in the fast-tempo urban life, that we forget to simmer down,
take a deep breath and start seeing the beautiful things in life, like our nature. Swedish citizens
have realized that problem, so they decided to get closer to nature. Every week, some
Swedish families will head to the forest, with no wifi, TV, electronic devices or urban
noises or distractions, but the sheer eye-beneficial green, the awestruck sky and the simplest
life in a primal cabin. Sweden has made a lot of contributions to our planet and Swedish
ways of acting environmentally friendly can be presented in various ways. Almost every
car in Stockholm are eco-friendly cars. The trains and the railroad cars run on renewable
energy and very soon the shipping companies are about to adjust the types of their fuels.
There are currently 7 billion of us humans on this planet, and that’s projected to
rise to 9.5 billion by 2050. Our impact on our world is significant and growing daily.
Consumption of food, water and energy is increasing at an exponential rate, pushing our planet
to the very limits of what it can sustain. Many of our daily habits and products have
impacts far beyond what we see. Our wardrobes have a footprint. For example, it takes about
8,000 litres of water to produce just one pair of jeans, not to mention the amount of
pesticides that go into growing the cotton used to make them.
Our consumption focused societies are wasteful and come at a social and environmental cost.
Over the last few decades, we have taken every resource and space we can get. If we continue
with our excessive consumptive lifestyles we will strip the resources of today, leaving
nothing for tomorrow. Hence sustainability is a global issue that
requires a multitude of approaches, and the solutions start at home. Here is an ideal
place for a more lagom attitude. There are many things that we can’t give up on every
day, like getting to work, for example, but a more lagom approach can help us to adapt
our daily routines, such as taking the bus or cycling instead of driving to the office.
If you love nature, support it. If we all lived more lagom and more balanced
– with regards to work, consumption, our homes, what we eat – we would greatly reduce
our overall impact on the planet. Living lagom means that the next generation
can live lagom too. Applying elements of lagom to our everyday
lives can not only make us feel better, but also help us to pursue a more sustainable
path, because when we are satisfied with just the right amount of all things, we live in
better balance with ourselves, our community and our environment.
If you enjoyed this video, please do make sure to check out our “Philosophies for
Life” playlist and for more videos to help you find success and happiness using ancient
philosophical wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks so much for watching.