Take stock, check in with yourself and adopt one of these ancient lifestyle philosophies to guide you to the bright side of life
What is happiness? A simple yet profound question, not to mention subjective as well. A lot can contribute to one’s happiness – getting a good night’s sleep, healing your soul with some crystals or simply managing your work stress.
It’s easy to get sucked into the hustle and bustle of city life and get trapped in busyness with mundane daily activities and keeping your nose to the grindstone at work. Now more than ever, it makes sense that the WHO branded burnout is a legit medical condition.
If any of this resonates with your current state of mind, it’s time to take a step back and breathe in (and out) and put your happiness on the forefront. Consider tapping into different approaches to happiness that have originated from different parts of the world. It might just bring you peace or dare we say contentment.
Ikigai from Japan
Hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun – Okinawa to be exact, one of the blue zone regions where people live loooong lives (over 100 years old). Ikigai (pronounced “eye-ka-guy”) tries to help you find a purpose to get out of bed There are four primary elements that form Ikigai: passion, vocation, profession and mission.
This reason-for-being concept challenges you to find your inner calling. The aforementioned elements are seen as things that make your life worthwhile. Passion refers to what you love, vocation is what you’re good at, profession touches on your career goals and mission alludes to what the world needs. All in all, Ikigai is about finding a balance of what you love and what you’re good at which essentially contributes to a fulfilling life.
Nunchi from Korea
This mantra is used by Koreans for more than 5,000 years and some say it’s almost like an empathetic superpower. Nunchi teaches one to tap into their intuition and understanding people’s body language in order to build trust and harmony. By putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, you improve on your tact and inadvertently, it also boosts your confidence and self-worth, making you a better person in your personal and professional life.
Hygge from Denmark
Pronounced as hyoo.gah, it’s pretty hard to translate the meaning in English. Think of huddling near a fireplace on a wintery night with a cup of hot chocolate and chances are the word cosy comes to mind.
This Danish way of life is about finding joy in your day-to-day life by engaging in cosy moments, be it grabbing a midday coffee with your favourite colleague or spending Friday night in the comfort of your bed watching a Netflix movie or spending time in nature. There isn’t a methodical way to achieve hygge, it’s a lifestyle that the Danes managed to incorporate in their lives. Maybe that’s why Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world.
Lagom from Sweden
Apparently, there are two types of people in the world: maximalist and minimalist. Well, that is not really true. Swedes manage to find a balance between the two and that’s what Lagom is all about. Instead of seeking the next best thing in life, this concept focuses on moderation and contentment.
