As Autumn blazes out and the last colorful leaves fall from the trees, we tend to look inward. Maybe that’s because the landscape outdoors is so bleak that it doesn’t hold our attention. Maybe it’s because the closing of one year and march toward another invites reflection.

We’ve been discussing how to cultivate an environment of cozy joy to sustain us through these colder months. But what if, when we look inward, we don’t see cozy joy? What if we look around and see piles of paper or laundry? What if our homes or classrooms are so far from Pinterest-perfection that we have to laugh?

And what about those people who started all this talk of hygge? Maybe you find the Danes insufferable with their ranking as one of the happiest nations on Earth, the land of Hygge. You’ll be relieved to know that Denmark isn’t always happy either. As one Dane writes for BBC, “Even Danes have rainy days.” And when they do, they claim a different word: pyt (sounds like ‘pid’). That’s right…just three little letters.

As the BBC article points out, Danes chose pyt (not hygge) as their favorite word of 2018. The author includes a beautiful story of how her mother used pyt as a gateway to hygge during a dinner party. The article also shares that pyt has found its way into elementary and primary schools as a ‘pyt’ button. Charlotte Sorensen, a teacher, told the BBC that pressing the button “seems to help [the children] clear their minds and move on” when something, such as losing the game or not being able to find a favorite pencil, happens. Maybe Danes are working toward cozy joy, instead of living in it, more often than we realize. I suspect many of us feel more pyt than hygge too.

In fact, there is a bundle of psychological research devoted to understanding how we interpret and respond to our daily happenings and others’ behavior. And it looks as though pyt offers and encourages people of all ages to be aware of and let go of some situations in order to reframe and hold to what’s important. It even shares some similarities with other practices, such as mindfulness, which encourages people to pay attention and regulate their thought patterns to help cope with stress.

All these different words we can use to help us understand ways we notice, acknowledge, relish and move through…it has me thinking about anchoring. Based in research, when you create or identify an anchor, you help set-up a response pattern so that you can try to feel a particular way when you need to. Anchoring refers to the process of associating an internal response with some external trigger. Be sure to take a peek at a free resource, Identifying Anchors, here! 

And, the best news of all is, our Paratus community is the perfect place for both pyt and hygge! Yes, we work toward hygge and we acknowledge the struggles of our days. We learn and grow through those struggles, using self-reflection resources, group coaching in Pushing Past the Pages, and upcoming live community support in Ask About My Day Cafe.

I welcome you to explore those different connection opportunities. If you are interested in additional support, feel free to drop me a line and we can meet one-on-one.
 
Like the Danes, we can live in the messy contentment of pyt and work toward joy together. And, I’d love to hear back from you about what you do in your home and/or work life that helps you hygge-pyt (pretty sure that’s not a word)! It’s never too late to get started or re-start! Please do share in the comments section below. 

Thank you for being here!