This is my favorite time of the year. We’re right in the midst of the holiday season, the weather is nice and cool but without any concerns (OK, outside of last year’s freak storm) that I will be shoveling snow or scraping windshields. Plus, you can feel this kind of universal sense of a winding down in preparation for the new year.
On both a personal and a professional side, I love the chance this time of year provides to take a breath and look back. We’re always so busy pushing forward — dealing with one thing after another, putting out fires where necessary, trying to maintain some semblance of balance while struggling to keep up. It’s a lot. This year, in our Top 10 Stories you’ll find plenty of wins we should be proud of that provide a good amount of hope for 2026.
It’s still a chaotic world, however, so I’ve turned recently to reading a lot about hygge. A Scandinavian term pronounced hoo-ga, the word refers to having a feeling of “cozy contentment,” something that people in this winter-heavy area of the world embrace as a way of life. The focus is on creating simple, cozy spaces, enjoying your favorite foods, and spending time with friends and family that you enjoy. It’s how Scandinavians not only get through long, dark, winters, but maintain their status as some of the happiest people on earth.
While “The Little Book of Hygge” by Danish writer Meik Wiking really launched the hygge trend in America in 2016, I got more out of “The Art of Danish Living: How the World’s Happiest People Find Joy at Work.” The book has great tips for reducing stress, improving work relationships and finding purpose, balance and fulfillment.
Wiking is also the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute and Happiness Museum in Copenhagen. On that site —Happinessresearchinstitute.com — there’s a particularly timely article under “publications” titled “Work and Well-Being in the Age of AI.”
May we all enjoy a hygge-filled season and, as always, thank you for reading.
Kimberley Singletary, Editor
Kimberley@BizNewOrleans.com
