Simply put, Lykke is the Danish word for happiness. Denmark is often at the top of the list in the World Happiness Rankings, and there is a method to their happy madness. While Lykke might be a Scandinavian tradition, we moms can take some of these habits to heart. The idea of Lykke focuses on enriching 6 different areas of your life. Focusing on these areas can also create happiness for moms, so I have used ideas to incorporate Lykke realistically in mom life. 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• Togetherness – time spent with family, friends, and other positive communities
• Money – to pay the bills, experience things with your family, and give to others
• Health – focusing on your physical, mental, and spiritual health
• Freedom – having a great work/life balance
• Trust – trust, and hope in others and the general well-being and positive opportunities for all
• Kindness – being gracious with your words, actions, and giving

I have taken the concept of Lykke and put together a list of ways to find happiness for moms. There are suggestions and explanations in each section and the key is to focus on balancing each category. You can start slowly and add one Lykke task per week, or go all out and do something Lykke every single day. However you choose to add Lykke to your life, you and your family with great benefit. 

Togetherness

Find your Happy People

Take a mental look at the people you are surrounded by daily. Do they make you feel happy? Pick out the people who make you feel happy, the people that make you feel good about being yourself. The people who truly want what is best for you. Now, we can’t ONLY surround ourselves with happy people. Since that isn’t possible, try to schedule time around your happy people to recharge and refuel your own happiness. Schedule a playdate with the moms who inspire you and make you laugh. Go to family gatherings if your family makes you happy. Invite your in-laws over for dinner if you want to spend time with them (I’m spoiled with some amazing in-laws). Make time for your happy people.

Sit Down For Meals

Spending time together as a family on purpose is a great way to find happiness for moms. Not every schedule allows for each meal spent sitting down together, but scheduling time to make it happen can bring great happiness. Being creative with schedules can actually be fun! If you can’t all be at dinner together, try to make time to sit down for breakfast together in the morning. If you all love eating at restaurants, schedule dinner together at your favorite local dinner place. Schedule as much time as possible to sit down for meals together. 

Money

Giving

It has been proven that giving to others can create happiness in you. This great article called Giving: The Science of Lasting Happiness talks more about all of that. To start giving in your life, choose a mission or charity idea you want to support. Be very careful of some well-known charities, do some quick online research about the company you choose to give to. If you attend church, consider giving at their offering time. Most churches do a really good job using general offerings to help the world know Jesus. 

Invest In Yourself: Find a way to invest in yourself and you will add some happiness to your life. The way you do this will depend on your interests and unique personality. One way to invest in yourself is to take an online course. Find an e-course about photography or baking or scrapbooking. If you need help finding an e-course, please email me at amy@momfuelempire.com, I can point you in the right direction no matter what your interests are. Another way to invest in yourself is to get your hair or nails done professionally or get a massage. There are ways to do all of these things without spending an outrageous amount of money! Check online for coupons and local deals. 

Health

Go Outside

Getting some sunshine and fresh air is so healthy, but not always easy. I lived in California for many years and we were able to play outside almost every single day. For some moms, it can be as easy as playing outside with your kids for half an hour. Some moms enjoy taking their kids to the local park to play outside. If you work at home, take your lunch outside to eat when the weather is nice. If you work outside your home, take a few minutes to step outside for some fresh air and sunshine. As crazy busy as our schedules are, you might need to actually schedule your outside time. If the weather is awful outside, bundle up for some quick fresh air or wait until the weather is a little better. 

Move Your Body

We all need to get our heart rates up and going for 30 minutes each day, but as moms sometimes we don’t have the time for a traditional workout. Some moms enjoy taking their kids to the local gym daycare while they workout. Personally, I use Beachbody online workout videos at home so I can still attempt a workout with children hanging on me. If I know a workout just isn’t going to happen I use the YouTube App for kids yoga videos, including Frozen, Trolls, and more. For the more daring moms, try taking walks with your kids if you can fit them all in strollers. This might be chaotic, but it could also work really well! Find a realistic workout routine that works for YOU and make it happen.

Freedom

Let Go & Free Yourself

Elsa had it right in her most popular song from Disney’s Frozen: “Let it go, let it go, can’t hold me back anymore”. We all have things we need to learn to let go. It’s hard, momma, it is so hard. There are things you are holding onto that are holding you back. Maybe it’s drama with a friend, maybe it’s a dream not being followed. Set your goals and keep your eyes forward and let it go. Let go of the worries and the frustrations and the grudges. This is an excellent way to find happiness for moms as it frees you up to live your life and be yourself. Let go of what you can’t control. You aren’t responsible for what you can’t control. 

Get Rid Of The Clutter

Ok, this is a soft spot for me. We are currently packing our house with two kids in Arizona to move to a new house in Illinois. It is so trendy to get rid of clutter right now. It is still hard to decide what to keep and what to get rid of, but it’s been proven to increase happiness to de-clutter your living spaces. De-cluttering and cleaning can increase happiness and health in many ways. If you don’t know where to start, check out my post about 11 things moms might need to clean. It’s a list to help you organize and schedule some deep cleaning. 

Trust

Search For Positive News

There is so much drama and unnecessary fear caused by the media and it can be really draining to take in all the time. I’m not saying to stop watching the news, it’s super important to know what is going on in the world around you. My suggestion is to also search for some positive news. One of my favorite gadgets in my house is my Amazon Echo Show 5 which I use for recipes, timers, music, news, and so much more. One of the features of the Echo Show is a skill called “Good News”. You just say “Alexa, tell me some good news” and she tells you something positive about the world. Join positive Facebook groups with likeminded people and read mental health and self-improvement blogs and books. Put some happiness back in your life!

Become a member

Build trust within a community…..wait, what? This is so hard for moms. Moms are on duty 24/7, whether it’s at home with the kids, out at work, home at work, any situation. We do not have free time to join a club or group. We have to make time for it, momma. It’s a really great way to add happiness to your life. Becoming a member of something gives us a feeling of self-worth and purpose as well as the benefits of being in a community. Make sure that community is a positive organization, whether it’s a church, a Facebook group, or a Pinterest Tribe. Please contact me if you need help finding a positive group to become a member of, I can point you in the right direction.

Kindness

Show Gratitude

As simple as this sounds, it’s also very simple to forget. Showing gratitude can be done in many ways. A great way to start is by thanking the people around you verbally. Tell them, thank you for washing the dishes, thank you for spending time with me, thank you for being you. Another way to show gratitude is by random acts of kindness. Bake someone cookies because they brightened your day with a compliment. Email someone an Amazon Gift Card because you are thankful for their friendship during rough times. Showing gratitude is a great way to find happiness for moms.

Think Before You Post: This is such a sensitive subject and I see it happen every day; the harms of social media posting. Some of us are guilty of posting a comment or caption or email or blog post that might cause negative feelings in others. It’s perfectly normal for tone to be interpreted incorrectly on the other end and that is an honest misunderstanding. But if you have the power to only use positive words and phrases, you should use it! Before you post anything online, just do a quick once-over and think about how your post will generally make others feel. Spend a tiny bit of time adjusting your post to create more positive feelings in others. Promoting happiness around you will increase happiness in yourself as well.

Lykke was a popular trend in the US a few years ago and there are some really great resources on Amazon for further reading. I really like this My Little Lykke Journal and I really enjoyed reading this Little Book Of Lykke.

Do you have any other ways to add Lykke to life to find happiness for moms?