What the Swedish Concept of Lagom Can Teach Us About Ambition
Exploring the Scandinavian art of balance.
“If you don’t like climbing mountains, I promise the peak has nothing more to offer you” — Taylor Foreman
I’ve never really understood why people who don’t typically enjoy running sign up for marathons. It’s an impressive achievement, I’m not denying that. But to me, it only seems like a worthy achievement if you actually like to run; because the ‘running’ part of the experience is a lot longer than the ‘finishing’ part. The average time it takes to run a marathon is 4.5 to 5 hours. I can’t think of many things I’d like to do for that long without taking a break (other than sleep). Plus, unless you’re a trained athlete, running a marathon is probably going to be more detrimental to your health than it is beneficial. Why is being able to say “I ran a marathon” so important to so many people?
My confusion doesn’t just apply to the context of marathons. Millennials have been characterized as a particularly ambitious generation. And it probably comes as no surprise. We’re living in a society where giving 110% is good, because there’s always more you can do [see Mark Wahlberg’s herculean schedule]. We’re told to exceed expectations, to reach our full…
