Photo courtesy of Conger Design

Living Madly: As Good as a Feast

By Emilie-Noelle Provost

There’s a feeling I sometimes get when the refrigerator is full, dinner is in the oven, the house is clean, and I have nothing immediate left to do or responsibilities to worry about. It’s almost like contentment, but that word doesn’t quite define it. This feeling also incorporates a sense of wealth: At that moment, I have everything I need close at hand and the freedom to do whatever I want.

I discovered recently that there’s a word for this feeling in Swedish: lagom. Translated into English, lagom means “just enough” or “just right,” but for the Swedes it goes a bit further.

According to the website Swedishness.ch, lagom is rooted in the Swedish culture of minimalism and finding joy in the things you already possess. It’s almost the complete opposite of our culture in the United States, the underlying concept of which emphasizes that happiness can only be found in coveting and obtaining more stuff, more money, more prestige.

The problem with the American outlook is that happiness can never quite be realized. In continually coveting more, we often fail to appreciate what we already have. We find ourselves caught in a never-ending cycle of consumerism that by default leads to disappointment. This isn’t just because we’re always looking to obtain the next best thing. It’s because, in doing so, we often don’t recognize opportunities or engage in activities that can bring us real satisfaction.

By contrast, the Swedes have a saying: Just enough is as good as a feast.

In Sweden, the word lagom is also applied to the concept of moderation: One cookie will bring you joy but ten will give you a stomach ache. Lagom is knowing the difference and using judgement and restraint to achieve the best outcome.

Lagom is also used to describe balance in Sweden, particularly a healthy work/life balance. Sweden is one of the world’s wealthiest countries, but the Swedes don’t live for their jobs. Unlike in the United States, in Sweden there is no glory in working nights and weekends. Overwork is looked down upon. Having enough time to spend with family and friends, working on hobbies, or enjoying the outdoors is as valuable to the Swedes as having a fat bank account. The way they see it, without the former, there’s little point in having the latter.

Sweden is also one of the world’s happiest countries. The World Happiness Report, an annual publication that rates the happiness of people in 140 countries based on Gallup polls, has consistently ranked Sweden among its top ten happiest countries since its inception in 2012. (In 2025, Sweden was number four, while the U.S. came in at twenty-four). This isn’t the result of happenstance.

When was the last time you looked around your house and really noticed and appreciated the things in it? The books on your shelves, the clothes in your closet, paintings, knick-knacks, souvenirs, all of these things at one point or another held meaning and significance. What if that meaning wasn’t so fleeting? What if buying a new car made us less happy than the places that car could take us?

You don’t have to be Swedish to practice lagom. You just have to be mindful, stop what you’re doing once in a while and appreciate the people, experiences, and things that make life worthwhile.

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Emilie-Noelle Provost (she/her) – Author of The River Is Everywhere, a National Indie Excellence Award, American Fiction Award, and American Legacy Award finalist, and The Blue Bottle, a middle-grade adventure with sea monsters. Visit her at emilienoelleprovost.com.