Lagom, Hygge & Happiness

After my previous two posts, I thought I might simplify the differences between Lagom and Hygge. While both are Scandinavian countries, Swedish and Danish cultures differ.  These elements of their cultures are similar in their end result, but the means to getting there is not the same.  

    

They are both straightforward and simplistic approaches to life.  

They are both ways of life and frames of mind.  

	LAGOM – Sweden	HYGGE – Denmark
Emphasis	Finding well-being and contentment by reducing the life that surrounds us.	Self-care and taking comfort from the life that surrounds us.
Philosophy	It’s about balance, moderation, a less-is-more philosophy, and feeling contentment when we have all/and only that we need to be comfortable.  It's about being conscious, intentional, mindful, and prioritizing.	It's about surrounding yourself with nature and the things that make life good. It encourages coziness and comfort, togetherness and community, being present and mindful, and self-care.
Homes	Balance and mindfulness to help make home and life more manageable.	Creating a cozy, comfortable home that offers a life of security and relaxation.
Result	A feeling of contentment and satisfaction.	A feeling of contentment and well-being.

★  ★  ★

Many people believe that our success as countries should be judged by the happiness of our people.  

According to the World Happiness Report, an annual survey that lists countries based on how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be (correlating with various other life factors), Sweden and Denmark consistently rank in the top four nations.  The United States comes in much lower.   

It’s important to recognize that Scandinavians might be freer to pursue the simple pleasures in life because many Nordic countries ensure that the basic needs of their citizens are met, providing things like free university education, social security, universal health care, and paid family leave.

Taking this into account and the resultant lifestyles and attitudes of these nations--if the end result is considerably more contentment and happiness--it seems practicing a little Lagom or Hygge might be worth a try.  

The 2024 WHR features the happiness score averaged over the years 2021–2023.

~ The End ~