Give a Little Less of a Fuck

Norwegian physician and professor of public health, Per Fugelli has enriched the lives of many people with his life-philosophy. Here are six of his top tips.

1. We put excessive demands on ourselves and those around us, so much so that they can never be met. This makes us unhappy. A good prescription for a good life is to give a little less of a fuck.

2. Fugelli has introduced the term "the Enough Point." The book of the same name is a "gameplan written for the incomplete man and the generosity of the community." Here Fugelli writes, for the sake of our own happiness, we should say we're satisfied with "good enough", an almost revolutionary concept in today's materialistic and achievement driven society.

3. Stop Worrying! As Norway became rich in oil money, discontent grew. The Wailing Wall of everything that is bad has grown high because of the abundance and increasing expectations that we can afford everything, and therefore are entitled to everything, says Fugelli. When it turns out that life does not respond to these expectations, we complain.

4. "Here are the joys and sorrows" can be found framed on the walls of many old people. It should be adopted by several generations, says Fugelli. By accepting that life also consists of defeat and loss, we have every opportunity to thrive today.

5. The good life and quality of life is about much more than the physical. We must rather look at how our souls can flourish. A little too often all of our resolutions are about only one person: the self. We forget that we are part of a community. The dream that next year will be better, therefore, is not only about myself, but about how to make it better by dancing with people around me, making it more pleasant and interesting with others. Happiness and being part of a herd are two basic conditions under which the soul to thrive.

6.  Be yourself - the imperative call of two values​​: freedom and dignity.

You must have the power and ability to move toward their own goals. It is freedom.

You must have self-respect and be seen and accepted as you are. There is dignity.

From an article on the Norwegian newspaper, Bodø Nu.