Better Than Pumpkin Spice: Your Business Needs More "Hygge".
I used to make fun of “Pumpkin Spice Latte Season.”
(Actually, who am I kidding? I still do).
I don't remember when PSL became a “thing," but I think we can agree it's gone a bit far.
Like, it's gotten weird.
I'll be honest, though:
At the height of the pandemic, as time merged into an endless montage of zoom-sessions and netflix-bingeing, I realized that I was aching for something, anything, that would break up the monotony with some sort of marker of time.
Summer was over, but the holidays were too far away. So…
I called my favorite Pumpkin-Spice-mocking buddy Wes, and insisted that we “give in” to the trend and meet up for that special brew of coffee, milk, and potpourri-scented goop.
"It's the Season!!" No more smug-superiority for me. We went for it.
While our drinks confirmed to us that PSLs are, in fact, disgusting (I've since learned to ask for a mere misting of the cloyingly sweet syrup),
It was wonderful to have a reason to mark the change of seasons, and to take a break from our usual routine.
And now, Wes & I have a tradition of drinking frou-frou coffee drinks and slooooowing down every once in a while.
I suspect one reason for the popularity of the whole Pumpkin Spice phenomenon is that it calls to mind the approaching sensation that Norweigans call hygge:
Hygge: /ˈh(y)o͞oɡə/ . A quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment and well-being.
Think crackling fireplaces, fuzzy socks, and hot cocoa, as the leaves fall outside. Soft couches and warm fleece blankets. Good books, and even better conversation. Slowing down. Naps. Staring out the window and pondering. Mmmmm…hygge.
Did you know that hygge is good for your business, too?
Brain research has shown that “aha” moments don't just happen randomly. Often, big insights come after pattern of following thinking-time with chunks of do-nothing time.
(This is why so many eureka-moments happen in the shower, or walking in the woods).
It's in the downtime, the rest and play, that your brain is doing some of its best work. For you and your business to thrive:
You need relaxation. You need time in nature. You need hygge.
This is one reason that Cindy Norton Stokes and I centered our upcoming Cozy Forest Retreat for solopreneurs around nature and hygge.
While each of the attendees will get a lot of 1-1 attention from two expert business coaches, plus masterminding with other motivated, smart solopreneurs…
Most of the life- and business-changing insight will come from having plenty of hygge time.
Time to stare into the fire (whether it's your own private fire-pit, or the communal fireplace by the couches).
Time to get a massage.
Time to sit on the bridge over the babbling creek, watching the water pour over mossy rocks.
Time to sip your tea and watch the mist coming off the trees in the morning, as the leaves gently fall.
Here's how one of last year's attendees put it:
“Whenever I stop and remember how relaxing it felt to sit by that fireplace, wrapped in a cozy blanket, just hanging out and sipping my tea, I feel more able to say “No” to anything that stresses me out or violates my boundaries now. That feeling is affecting how I do my life now."
The Cozy Forest Retreat: Hygge for You and Your Business is like a magical merger of a VIP coaching-intensive with a relaxing meditation-retreat (the elegant, tucked-near-the-woods retreat center was so beautiful that we paid a deposit the first time we ever visited!).
And when else will you get a tax-deduction for hanging out, eating gourmet food, and listening to the sounds of nature?
We want you to have a calm, private, VIP experience, so we've limited retreat-space to only five attendees.
There's still time to get one of those spots.
Whether or not you attend the retreat, though, I hope you'll take advantage of the season and let yourself slow down and enjoy some hygge. (And not the chemically-engineered Pumpkin Spice syrup kind). So:
What's your favorite way to enjoy the onset of autumn? What's your favorite source of coziness? I'd love to hear it. Comment below: