Find Your Inner Hygge – Change Your Life
Do you want to be more content with your life and in your surroundings? Are you longing for moments in your crazy, day to day life that you really enjoy? Do you need to take time to stop and smell the roses? If so, then you need Hygge!
Once we get the concept of Hygge, it’s so easy to put into practice, but getting yours takes a little figuring out. So, let’s learn about Hygge and figure yours out so you can Hygge-fy your life today!
The Danes are the experts here, tracing this practice back to the 1500’s. In fact, Denmark is repeatedly ranked as the most content country in the world. They claim it’s due to having Hygge (pronounced Hooga) in their lives.
I’m an American who is ¾ Danish. I’ve never even been to Denmark (although I long to go) and I’ve had Hygge around my entire life. Over the years, people have asked me questions like, I love how your house makes me feel-how do you do it? OR, I love your house style-what do you call it? How do you know if you are living your purpose? What do you mean when you say, my soul gets that? How do you incorporate personalities into parties you plan? How do you figure out such personalized gifts? OR How do you work with people who are ill?
It’s hard to explain…because the real answer is Hygge…It’s knowing my Hygge and understanding Hygge in people around me.
It isn’t easy to define. In fact, 35% of Danes say you can’t because it means something different to each person (that is why you see pins with Hygge ideas and they are all different).
Hygge is a feeling. It’s knowing what your soul understands and loves and then surrounding yourself with it.
When you surround yourself with what your soul understands and what you love, you are a better and happier you.
You see, when your soul loves something, you get a feeling along with the object or person it is tied to. It’s not just something you like, it’s something you’re connected with for some reason. For right now, we are sticking to the basics but If you want to really dig in deep about what your soul understands, you need to learn more about yourself, your learning styles and your archetypes (and I just happen to have written about those too).
Anyway…Candles are very popular in Denmark…more candles are sold there than anywhere else in the world. They light candles in homes, bathrooms, schools, workplaces, restaurants, everywhere! For them, it’s more than – I like candles – it’s I love the feeling that comes with burning candles. There are reasons for those feelings; along with the coziness and closeness candles bring, they are also tied to meaningful times for the Danes.
The Christmas season brings the advent wreath with 4 candles-each lit every Sunday leading up to Christmas Eve. Then there is the calendar countdown candle and Lucia night where young girls wear candle headdresses as part of a celebration…And, there are candles in windows and on Christmas trees.
Another special date, May 4th is also tied to candles. When everyone placed candles in their windows celebrating the liberation from occupied Germany in WWII. Also, from October-March it is cold and mostly dark and the lights from candles and fires bring a sense of coziness.
So, for the Danes, candles bring with them coziness, special times, hopes and memories.
It’s time to do some brainstorming so that you can add hygge in your life ASAP!
First, remember that this is about not just what you like but what you like that brings you those great feelings…feelings of comfort, coziness, happiness, and contentment.
What things do you really love? Like, things that bring you that extra feeling of ahhhh when you see them kind of love?
- Some examples to get you thinking: a fireplace, candles, a collection, a memento from your travels or childhood, your favorite chair, a blanket, a favorite color nail polish, your favorite comfy pants, etc.
What things do you do that bring you that extra peace, happiness or euphoria while or after doing them?
- Again, some examples: taking a bath, going on walks in a park or on a favorite street, how you feel after a run or workout (said me never ;), painting, working on your house, making jewelry, working with paper, working in your yard, reading a magazine or a book, window shopping, hanging out with family/friends, traveling, etc.
What things really bring your senses alive? They usually hold a memory or bring a sense of calmness.
- Ideas for the senses: Smell of coffee, certain food, scent, rain – Touch of a beach towel, holding a meaningful object like a cross, that physical feeling of getting in bed, a hug – Sight of a particular flower, tree, flame, a color, a favorite view, standing on the beach looking at the ocean – Sound of music from a moment or era, waves, cooking, wind chimes, weather – Taste of favorite foods/drinks, foods/drinks tied to a trip or special time or day or time of day (like that Friday night glass of wine or beer).
Now that you have done some brainstorming what you love, what brings you peace and what keeps your senses alive, what are some ways you can start surrounding yourself with Hygge?
Even if it’s small…Let’s use Smell as an example and how I incorporate it into my life every day. I have Car Scentportables in my car. When I get in it after a long day at work, I breathe in deeply and the smell brings me back to a special time not so long ago and it is immediately relaxing to me. And, since I teach 184, 18 year-olds all day, that says a lot!
Even more meaningful is the Home Fragrance Oil that smells like the lotions from the 70s in the round plastic containers. My grandma smelled like that lotion. On top of that, she saved the containers (they were all different colors and designs). She used them to hold odds and ends in her sewing room and around the house…I loved peeking in them and seeing what treasures they held.
It was she who first sparked creativity and love of writing in me. When I go to my she cave to create, I close my eyes and really smell the oil. Like, close my eyes and take in the smell really, and it takes me back to my grandma and the gifts that she passed on to me. It brings me peace and motivates me. Can you think of scents that do the same for you?
No matter what is happening in your life, you need to make sure that you have the things in your life that stop you in your tracks, even if it’s just for the moment, and make you go ahhhhhh.
It centers you, it makes you realize you are unique and have your own story, it brings joy and that feeling of coziness to your life…when you surround yourself with these things you are a better version of yourself!
So, start today and happy Hygge-ing!
A Side Note About My Blog Name…
You might have noticed my Tagline – The Road to Hygge – Master Your Truth. It’s that important to me. When I was deciding on my blog name, I was trying to find other words for Hygge that people would know, but there isn’t an English word that’s equivalent. So, then I decided not to use it. Then…when explaining to others what my blog is about, they said, use Hygge, it’s you-you’re teaching them about it anyway. So, I decided to stick with it because I want you to have Hygge in your life and I promise it will be so much better!
In short, my blog is about helping you, the woman who is looking for meaning in her life from the small things to the big. I want to introduce you to how much better life can be when you do what your soul understands. I want to give you strategies to make that happen in your life and I want you to live your life with intention. Hygge is my foundation for finding my truth, happiness, contentment, and in fighting for more. I want to share my Hygge and in doing so hope that helps you learn yours.
Would you like a cool Hygge printable or a sheet you can fill out to spark Hygge ideas? Just sign up for my emails and I’ll send them to you!
PIN FOR LATER
For more tips on learning more about yourself, what you are meant to do, how you work, how to surround yourself with what you love and what is most important, check out some of my other posts below:
