海角大神

What does having 鈥渏ust enough鈥� look like? When I read this week鈥檚 cover story by Erika Page about the Swedish ethos of lagom 鈥� not too little, not too much, but a balance in between 鈥� I became curious. For the past several months, I鈥檝e been examining my relationship to money and consumerism.聽

My research has taken me from the classic 鈥淵our Money or Your Life鈥� by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, to the take-no-prisoners critique 鈥淚t鈥檚 Not You, It鈥檚 Capitalism鈥� by Malaika Jabali. The first book urges readers to choose what they value most and what makes them truly happy. The second book is a Dear John letter to capitalism and its excesses.

As Erika explained to me, 鈥淲e have been operating under this assumption that 鈥榤ore and more and more鈥� is not only good, but also necessary [to our economic system]. There鈥檚 no other way to do things. But I鈥檓 seeing wisps of thought or people saying that this might not be the case.鈥�

To be clear, lagom is neither anti-capitalist nor pro-socialist. 聽

鈥淢any people would say that Sweden has achieved what it has not because of socialism but because it鈥檚 been really savvy at capitalism by combining it with social protections and benefits,鈥� Erika says.聽

Through lagom, the country has been able to prioritize two values at once 鈥� collective good and individual freedom. 聽

鈥淚t gets back to, what does it mean to 鈥榞et by鈥�? And that鈥檚 so not a part of the economic model that we鈥檝e built over the past 150 years. And maybe it shouldn鈥檛 be, but it does seem like we鈥檙e very far in the other direction. There鈥檚 probably room for some balance,鈥� she says.聽

Could lagom apply to how I think about 鈥渆noughness鈥� in my own life? At times I feel like I鈥檓 on a treadmill: Make money to spend on more stuff for which I will need more money. And I can see that my consumption habits are often fueled by a sense of dissatisfaction and lack.聽

That鈥檚 where the concept of 鈥渏ust enough鈥� comes riding to the rescue. What if I challenged that sense of lack and scarcity, and instead focused on living from the standpoint of my values?聽

Like 鈥渏ust enough,鈥� the concept of 鈥渂alance鈥� is a moving target: Every day brings new wants and needs, as priorities shift. What shouldn鈥檛 change is my intention to become aware of the shifts and to be willing to recalibrate my thinking. I鈥檒l likely never stop wanting stuff, but I can be intentional about which desires I act upon.聽

So for me, it鈥檚 not really about debating the pros and cons of a particular economic system, although this can be useful and instructive. It鈥檚 more about living moment by moment with as much simplicity, grace, and presence as I can.聽

鈥�Lagom asks people to ask themselves the tough questions and then act accordingly,鈥� Erika says. 鈥淎t the end of the day, these things are up to every individual to decide for themselves: What is lagom for me? What do I want lagom to look like in my household, in my neighborhood, in my community?鈥�