Niki Brantmark - Lagom - The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life

COPYRIGHT Copyright Dedication An Introduction to Lagom 01 Lagom in your Personal Life The lagom home The lagom guide to soothing the soul The lagom guide to physical happiness The lagom key to success 02 Lagom in Family and Relationships The lagom guide to friendship The lagom guide to relationships The lagom guide to parenting The lagom guide to celebrations 03 Lagom in the Wider World The lagom guide to community spirit The lagom guide to respecting nature The lagom guide to saving energy at home The lagom guide to reducing our foodprint The lagom guide to eco daily life Conclusion Endnotes Index of searchable terms Thank you About the Author About the Publisher John Price/Unsplash

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This edition published by Thorsons 2017

FIRST EDITION

Text © Niki Brantmark 2017

Illustrations © Petra Borner 2017

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Cover illustration © Petra Borner 2017

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Source ISBN 978-0-00-826010-1

Ebook Edition © September 2017 ISBN: 9780008260118

Version 2017-09-01

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DEDICATION Dedication An Introduction to Lagom 01 Lagom in your Personal Life The lagom home The lagom guide to soothing the soul The lagom guide to physical happiness The lagom key to success 02 Lagom in Family and Relationships The lagom guide to friendship The lagom guide to relationships The lagom guide to parenting The lagom guide to celebrations 03 Lagom in the Wider World The lagom guide to community spirit The lagom guide to respecting nature The lagom guide to saving energy at home The lagom guide to reducing our foodprint The lagom guide to eco daily life Conclusion Endnotes Index of searchable terms Thank you About the Author About the Publisher John Price/Unsplash

For my family, who remind me

of what’s important in life.

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

An Introduction to Lagom

01

Lagom in your Personal Life

The lagom home

The lagom guide to soothing the soul

The lagom guide to physical happiness

The lagom key to success

02

Lagom in Family and Relationships

The lagom guide to friendship

The lagom guide to relationships

The lagom guide to parenting

The lagom guide to celebrations

03

Lagom in the Wider World

The lagom guide to community spirit

The lagom guide to respecting nature

The lagom guide to saving energy at home

The lagom guide to reducing our foodprint

The lagom guide to eco daily life

Conclusion

Endnotes

Index of searchable terms

Thank you

About the Author

About the Publisher

John Price/Unsplash

Fourteen years ago, I was invited to spend my summer holiday with a Swedish friend.

The long hours of daylight were spent eating home-baked waffles with strawberry jam, swimming in the sea and soaking up the sun on Sweden’s West Coast. The days were carefree and uncomplicated. We had no schedule to keep, no fancy meals to prepare and work couldn’t have been further from our minds. It was about slowing down, enjoying the warmer weather and making the most of what nature had to offer, surrounded by family and friends. It was the perfect setting for the beginnings of a love affair – not only with my Swedish husband but also with the Swedish way of life.

I found myself captivated by this slower, fuss-free way of living. And when my husband and I discussed who should make the ‘big move’ one year later, I was on my way to the airport faster than I could say ‘Jag!’ (me!).

As I settled into Swedish life, I realized that the calm approach isn’t confined to the holidays. At work, it’s normal to set tasks aside regularly and take a fika (a break involving a coffee and a treat of some kind). Children enjoy two extra years of play before starting school (compared to their UK counterparts). And celebrations like Christmas and midsummer are generally scaled-back affairs with a strong focus on being together. In other words, our Nordic friends take their time to do things right – in a wonderful, uncomplicated way.

It was at a dinner party in my adopted hometown of Malmö that I learnt the philosophy behind this way of life.

‘Do you know the word lagom?’ my new Swedish friends asked over dinner. ‘You don’t have a translation for it in English,’ they said proudly.

‘Does it mean “perfect”?’ I ventured.

‘No, not perfect – it’s sort of “just right”,’ they explained, nodding in agreement with each other.

Lagom, pronounced ‘lah-gom’ (‘la’ like ‘far’, ‘gom’ like ‘from’), is an overarching concept that is heavily ingrained in the Swedish psyche. Often loosely translated as ‘everything ‘in moderation’ or ‘not too much and not too little’, lagom is about finding a balance that works for you. Water can be lagom warm. You can work a lagom amount. Trousers can be a lagom fit. It’s a word you can use in almost any context, which is also what makes it fascinating.