Hugge, Lag, and Ikigai: 8 really useful tips on living around
Over the past few years the word "Hugge" finally got rid of the edge: if at first the flow of advice on how to make life more comfortable, we perceived with interest, the farther, the less desire we have to deal with fashionable approaches. The Danish Khyugge was replaced by the Swedish lag and the Japanese Ikigai, and then the newly Danish hatchway, the unpronounceable Scottish kosagokh (which actually has little to do with comfort) and even Greek meraki (this concept is more common in hotel names, but still). Of course, happiness is not the most universal thing: each of us imagines a happy life in his own way and there is no guarantee that you will get more pleasure if, according to Hugge principles, you have more pillows and candles in the house. Nevertheless, it is also possible to draw useful tips from the world of fashionable concepts - we have collected a few of them.
alexander savina
Do not forget about passive rest
Mike Viking, founder and director of the Institute for the Study of Happiness in Copenhagen and concurrently the author of the Little book hygge, recalls that there are useful concepts in the Danish language fredagshygge (freudashyugge) and søndagshygge (syundashyugge) —that is, hugge every Friday and on Sundays. Freudashyugge comes at the end of a long working week - for example, when you are going to watch a movie under a blanket with friends and family at home. Syundashyugge - everything is the same, but on Sunday: a day of quiet rest, in which the walk can be the biggest activity. Of course, it’s not necessary to use these words, but in any case you should not underestimate the importance of a quiet rest - it helps us to cope with the flow of information, and even better to memorize and learn new things. By the way, for comfortable home pants or sweatpants, in which you can arrange yourself a lazy day or evening, there is also a Danish word - hyggebukser ("hyggebuksr").
Work on good memories
The concept of Hugge implies that special attention should be paid to friendly contacts - and this is useful no matter how close Danish ideas are to you. According to the same Mike Viking, Hugge involves communication in small companies - although, of course, no one will forbid you to act differently and hang out with a whole crowd of people at once. But there is one Hugge-Council that will definitely fit any situation: work on joint memories, for example, establish common traditions or regular plans. No matter how many close people you have, making relationships more fulfilling is always great.
Listen to emotions
The Swedish concept of "lag" is difficult to explain in one word - roughly speaking, it means not too much and not too little, in moderation, just right. Lagom does not mean that you need to achieve some kind of ideal (and this ideal is unlikely to exist) - it’s rather about the need to strive for harmony and balance. In part, this concept is connected with the emotional state: without inner peace, it is difficult to talk about a comfortable life in general. We have already repeatedly talked about emotions and how important each of them is, even the most unpleasant - for example, anger that many people dream of and not experience at all. Listen to yourself, allow yourself to experience any kind of feelings, learn to express your emotions in an environmentally friendly manner, without violating other people's borders - ideas that will definitely be useful to everyone.
Consciously approach the food
According to Lola Ekerstrom’s book “Lagom: The Secret of Swedish Well-Being”, this concept also means being attentive to what we eat. It is not necessary to get involved in the Scandinavian cuisine - it is much more important to eat balanced and conscious. Eckerström, for example, advises not to eat at his desk, not to eat sauces and condiments, but instead try to feel the natural taste of food, and not to demonize individual products and dishes and instead allow yourself everything you want - just as lag in moderation. These simple rules fit well, for example, in the concept of intuitive power: be attentive to your own needs and the body will be useful to everyone without exception.
Take breaks
In Swedish, there is the concept of "fika" (fika) - the tradition of taking breaks during the working day in order to communicate with colleagues, friends or relatives, most often over a cup of coffee and pastries. It’s not necessary to love coffee and pastries, but breaks are useful for everyone without exception: contrary to the idea that we do more in 24/7 mode, work pauses have a positive effect on productivity, and also help fight stress and burnout. So schedule your office time for fika.
Do not hold extra things
Unlike Hugge, which is associated with quite specific interior techniques (comfort, blankets, and soft pillows), the lag is less associated with clear instructions. This is more about balance and harmony - and first of all it’s worth finding out what you already have. Take a closer look at the available things and furniture and think what they mean to you - if there is no sense in things (you don’t like it and, in general, don’t need it at all), safely get rid of it. Here you can also use the principle of "better is less and better" - instead of ten inexpensive things, it is better to buy one reliable one, it will certainly last longer.
Defend your borders
Lagom implies a balance in various fields, and work and personal is no exception. In accordance with his spirit, Lola Eckerstrom advises not to be afraid of the word “no” and to give up cases and obligations that you cannot cope with, if there is such a possibility. There is no need to see in refusals a reason for personal insult (of course, provided that everyone behaves politely and ethically). The ability to soberly assess their own capabilities and strengths (and at the same time not let others down, failing to fulfill the promise) is a very lagful one.
Be proud of what you are doing
The Japanese concept of ikigai is again difficult to translate into Russian in one word. If simplified, it denotes the cause, the meaning of life, the thing that brings satisfaction and pleasure from it. The easiest way to apply it to work (although ikigai teaches us that all spheres of our life are interrelated and influence each other): you need to relate to what you are doing with love and passion, work hard, fully immersed in the task, and pay attention even small details. Sounds like very common words, but there is a very specific reason for reflection in the concept of ikigai. Contrary to the common idea that the most important thing is to find a favorite activity, and success and financial well-being will find you yourself, Ikigai teaches that a vocation must be sought at the intersection of several spheres. This idea fits into a convenient scheme: you need to look for the business of life, after weighing what you are good at, what you love, what the world needs and what you can pay for. A much more practical and balanced approach that will help not to get confused if it suddenly turns out that a profession that you have been advised since childhood does not bring income at all.
Photo: hyggelife (1, 2), smallable
