A new year, a new word, and new way of being…LAGOM!
Many people create New Year’s resolutions and experts have written that many times they are abandoned within six weeks. However, the Swedish word lagom can be much more than a resolution; it can be a personal exploration into how to find the balance in life that is right for you. Author Lola A. Åkerström wrote in her book, The Swedish Secret of Living Well: LAGOM, that “Lagom represents the ultimate sweet spot or golden mean in your own life and more importantly, encourages you to fully operate within the sweet spot that’s just right for you. In other words, my lagom may not be your lagom, but we’re both operating at individual optimism. And that in itself is the beautiful essence of lagom.” Of course this means that lagom is very personal and that comparing oneself to others is not to be done. I find this to be a great challenge to take on as I believe too many times we judge ourselves, our schools, our “success” against a list of others. If we continue to do so, then can we ever really find our own sweet spot where we are living fully with an optimal balance in our lives? I am sharing with you a few of the items Åkerström offered that struck a chord with me and I hope they provoke contemplation and exploration for you:
- Maybe the ultimate lesson for us here is to learn how to listen more and speak less.
- Maybe we learn to respect each other more when we pause to listen to each other.
- Maybe a key takeaway for us here is to learn to be more measured when it comes to decision-making and take an extra step back to reassess situations from one more angle before rushing into conclusive commitments.
- Do you really need to work overtime? If not, then ask yourself why you do it anyway.
- If every single accomplishment is shared the minute it is achieved, our more important news will not make much impact on our friends and colleagues. (Maybe we need to re-think how often we use Twitter and Facebook?)
- Your credibility hinges on doing what you say you will do. So learn to say no, be honest about your abilities, set expectations, delegate often, and finish fewer tasks but do them exceptionally well.
In closing, I am sharing just a sample of the things the COE is doing exceptionally well such as being selected by then US Department of Education to host a “Teach to Lead” Summit (for highlights from the day, be sure to checkout our Facebook and Twitter feeds), being a part of the signing of a formal partnership with Uppsala University in Sweden and hosting students in February from Vallentuna Gymansium school in Sweden, and a video of exceptional teaching and leading by Brooke Kandel. I wish each of you well on your own lagom journey as we look forward to a wonderful 2018!
Until next month,
Dr. Ena Shelley
Dean, College of Education