Learning Lagom

• by Christen Press  @ChristenPress, Apr 12, 2012

…Previously on The Pitch:
- “I have surmised that lagom means enough, sufficient, adequate, just right, in moderation, in balance, optimal, and suitable.”
- “Okay … moderation can be good for a lot of things, but sports … I’m not so sure.”
- “So how does lagom fit in my life?”

The more I think deeply about this Swedish mentality, the more confused I actually get. However, what I do understand is that lagom means a lot of things, each self-propagating on its own, and yet inextricably tied with the other meanings. This week’s blog seeks to flesh out a few of the relevant branches stemming from lagom and to answer the above question.

1. Finding lagom within myself.

Lagom means do what feels right. Too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing! So much more can be gained from a situation when it is experienced with a smile. Lagom means being competitive and working hard, but not to the point of pulling out your hair, instead of wasting time stressing over every glitch in the road, working towards the solution. It’s simple. When you are enjoying what you do, improvement happens.

2. Understanding lagom within the game.

Lagom stresses recognizing the importance of the whole. Within the game, lagom comes from an understanding that putting the team first is the best way to reach any goal. My team here has mentioned a few times that during their successful 2011 season, the team was not made up of stars; the whole was more than the sum of its parts. With a lagom mentality in the game, there is less pressure on the individual. There is also room for everyone to share in the successes and commiserate together in the failures. With football, lagom means keeping a healthy perspective of one’s role.

3. Accepting lagom within my life.

Lagom means finding balance. It’s easy for me to accept that I need more balance within myself (hello meditation!) and more balance within my game (hello Swedish football!) but not so easy to accept that I need balance in my life as a whole, too. Soccer is just piece of the puzzle. I have been shocked by the fact that almost every girl on my team here has some “other” great talent outside of soccer. Spending time on something else? What? But I, too, am much more than a soccer player. I am forever a student in the class of life. I am a traveler. I am a writer. I am a friend, a sister, and a daughter. I also realize that if I am to be the best fotbollsspelare I can be, I must make time to be all those other things as well.

4. Keeping lagom within lagom.
Horace Porter wrote,” Be moderate in everything, including moderation.” That is, however, not as easy as it sounds. For me, the process is not static but one of constant adjusting and readjusting. I have to resist the urge to go overboard sometimes and remind myself not to beat myself up over setbacks.  While it is early in the game, I think I am realizing some benefits already. I believe that true success comes when applying this lagom philosophy moderately… Lagom squared?

…These words bring me back to a different time, a time when I made myself miserable over-doing it everyday, a time when I only cared about myself, a time when I really think I hated soccer. Although I still have to keep myself in check from time to time so I don’t pitch a tent at Valhalla, I am sure that I am on my way to the middle. And hopefully, finding the middle can take me to the top… The middle… the top… lagom… Ugh!

Off The Post!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”~ Mark Twain

I have been trying to learn a Swedish Word of the Day. Today’s word was typisk: typical. I think those who know me can affirm that for me, this story is pretty typisk.

After my first few weeks in Göteborg, I started to morph into the anti-Vampire. No, not Jacob Black, but more like someone with achluophobia (fear of the dark.) By sunset, I was always safely tucked away in my room, in for the night, making my worrywart aunt Arlie proud. But that small box of a European hotel room with a twin bed and no space to stretch my legs out started to feel like a prison. I shouldn’t have seen the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo right before moving alone to Sweden! Two weeks in, and I still hadn’t seen what Göteborg looks like at night. I realize this is ridiculous. And I realized this had to end.

One night as I was having my usual chocolate cravings, I decided to do something about it. I bundled up to prepare for the cold and trepid walk to the nearby store. As I walked down the low-lit ally, I wished I had Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak or Katnis Everdeen’s Night Vision goggles… or at the very least pepper spray. There were not many people out, but I felt someone lurking behind me. Instinctively I picked up my pace, but I heard his pace quicken, too. WHY did I have to be adventurous tonight?!  It’s fine Christen, you’re overreacting. I turned left, and checked over my shoulder. My stalker turned left, too. I began to run. Better safe than sorry! Of course this would happen to me. I recently broke a huge mirror so I am doomed for 7 years… if I live to suffer that long.  I should be snuggling with Brown Bear in the hotel room! I never even got a chance to say goodbye!

He caught me. I’m dead meat. I looked into the eyes of my attacker, and see a young face with pale blue eyes and a big smile. He says something to me in Swedish and holds out a credit card with my name on it. Hmm… How do you say "I am an idiot" in Swedish?

As silly as I feel about the whole episode, I reflect back and think perhaps I needed this moment to wake me up. My mom likes to remind me, “Consider taking risks first, on the field, and safety first everywhere else!” But I can’t spend my time here hiding in my room, so instead, I am stepping outside of my room, outside of myself to explore, dream, discover!

Stoppage time:

Tuesday was our Allsvenskan premieren at home against Djurgarden. The looong two-week anticipation period had fostered quite the energy inside me. My pregame vigor coupled with a little coffee verve was the only energy I had left that day, as the electricity was shut off in my apartment! Brrrrr…!

The 2-0 victory was a solid start to what looks to be a long, tough season; but once again, I walked off the field with the feeling that we have so much more to offer. How to get there… “It’s good to be winners again…” said our head coach Torbjörn Nilsson post game, and he’s right. The win and the goals were a bit of a relief for me, and although there is much better football to be played, I am riding this wave to shore.

Highlights from the game can be viewed by clicking the link here. Apologies for the poor quality; I had to search hard to find this one for you Soccer Americans! Enjoy!

Rookie for life, Christen Press

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