The Pyt Project
PYT = stepping back and refocusing, cultivating healthy thoughts to deal with stressful situations
So … what the heck is “The Pyt Project?”
“Pyt” is a Danish word, the first time I came across it was when my husband and I traveled to Copenhagen a few years back. To say the least, we were quite fascinated with the Danish capital.
Not only is Copenhagen and its culture absolutely beautiful but what stood out to us the most, were the people and their way of life. We noticed that everyone started to mingle outside by the water in the afternoon sun, it seemed like nobody was working past 4pm and everyone always had a smile on their face.
The Danes made life seem so easy and effortless.
“So what was the secret of Danish happiness?”
I asked myself – I made it my mission to figure this out and found Denmark consistently to be ranked among the world’s happiest countries.
What is the secret to their constant success? Sure, it has a lot to do with the 33-37 hour work week, $20 minimum wages, free university, medical and child care and their upbringing.
But you can’t research this topic without coming across the term “hygge”.
In short hygge basically means creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people. I was determined to take this concept home with me and implement the small quests of happiness into my day-to-day life.
But life back home didn’t give me all the perks that Danish people get to enjoy. I was pulled back into the hamster wheel, working long hours, feeling burned out, stressed, anxious and most importantly annoyed with myself –why did hygge not work over here for me? This was the beginning of my second chapter in my quest of finding happiness. What do you do when hygge fails, what comes next? I started daydreaming of leaving it all behind, reminiscing about our trip – and so it was that I remembered a poster that was framed in our small Danish Airbnb:
pyt!
That’s all it said. What was this and why did this memory come up for me now? I now take it as a nudge from the universe because that small 3-letter word was the answer to my question:
“Pyt doesn’t have an exact English translation. It’s more a cultural concept about cultivating healthy thoughts to deal with stress. Pyt is usually expressed as an interjection in reaction to a daily hassle, frustration or mistake. It most closely translates to the English sayings, “Don’t worry about it,” “stuff happens” or “oh, well.”
At its core, it’s about accepting and resetting. It’s used as a reminder to step back and refocus rather than overreact. Instead of assigning blame, it’s a way to let go and move on.”
This was so eye opening to me: when hygge fails you, that’s where pyt comes in! I made it my project to support people in exactly that phase of their life – this special chapter can look so different for everybody:
It can be a feeling of being stuck, not knowing how to overcome certain road blocks or obstacles, overwhelm, anxiety, perfectionism – you name it.
The Pyt Project was born.
*Marie Helweg-Larsen (native Dane and psychologist)
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