Why I Love Living La Vida Lagom and Know You Will Too
Even Goldilocks was partial to it… but what does lagom mean?
Lagom can be like this image of a bowl of porridge, topped with berries, cream and poppy seeds
You’ve probably heard of Hygge, the trendy Danish word for a feeling of contentment and cosiness.
But have you ever heard of lagom? It’s a Swedish concept and, simply put, it means “not too little, not too much, but just the right amount”.
Now we can see what Goldilocks was banging on about (although I’m still not sure if it was worth a home invasion on a family of bears… but each to their own).
In the last few years, the term become quite the buzzword – lagom design is very chic – but it can apply to so many walks of life that I want to tell you all about it today.
More than just a cool word
Lagom is about the pleasing balance that comes from only having exactly the amount we need - no more, no less - and then finding a worthwhile meaning in life.
Because with this balance, you have enough of something to feel satiated plus space to feel, think and see with a clear head.
You take what you need and you leave the rest for others.
Lagom for the soul in ‘The Culture of Scarcity’
Professor, author and all-round amazing woman Brené Brown has talked a lot about the Culture of Scarcity, which refers not only to the tangible issue of scarce resources but also the messages about deficiency that we tell ourselves every day.
For example, as soon as we wake up we say we didn’t have enough sleep last night, then we don't have enough hours in the day, or we’re not interesting enough, not important enough, clever enough or thin enough.
Brown explains, in her book about vulnerability and joy called Daring Greatly, that “the opposite of scarcity is not abundance; the opposite of scarcity is simply enough”.
If we strive to recognise our ‘enough’ in life — by carefully balancing the amount of shame we feel to the amount of negative thoughts we let into our consciousness to noticing the grateful moments we experience — we will neither feel lack nor will we feel overloaded in our minds.
Through her research, Brown shows that only when we truly know that we are enough, will we be infinitely more content — if that isn’t lagom for the soul, I don’t know what it is.
Lagom makes everything feel better
Ever since I discovered the word ‘lagom’ when I wrote a blog about it for a client in 2022, I have found loads of things in my life that I can improve - note: all of these are a work in progress!
Thoughts - being prepared, not overthinking
Food - put my face in a delicious plate, stop when no longer hungry
Exercise - avoid one extreme or the other, plenty of gentle walking
Words - say only what I need to, leave space for others
Writing - love my work and hobby, find creativity elsewhere
Travel - go where I can while I can, then stay home to rest
The Swedish know how to do tea and cake just right, like these morsels in pretty china on a white table
Want to read the Lagom article I wrote in 2022?
And of course, copywriting can benefit from a splash of it
There is an age-old argument among copy geeks about how long copy should be.
Opinion A: “Short copy is easier for us ten-year-old-brained internet-age people to absorb!”
Opinion B: “Long copy is better for explaining in depth who you are and what you’re about!”
The truth is, thanks to the exitance of us human copywriters with brains, instincts and skillz (damn that was a shit-hot AI burn), it is possible to write some stuff and then judge whether it strikes the right balance for the reader.
Copywriters can write, edit, rewrite, condense and expand, whatever’s just right – whatever’s lagom.
Will I ever be enough?
If you’re anything like me, you ask this question of yourself daily. When you catch yourself asking that, there’s your sign that it’s time to find true balance with lagom.
Perhaps you can limit how much news you read, stem unhelpful thoughts with a mindfulness practice, or finally give the garage a good clear-out.
Then, when you find yourself neither wanting for anything more nor struggling to carry a heavy load, congratulations – you have enough; you’ve achieved ‘lagom’.