I have to confess that, normally, words come easily to me. Writing is an artistic expression where I simply channel whatever needs to be said. Wrapping up 2025 does not come as naturally. Maybe because it has been a challenging year for me personally, maybe because of global developments and the intensification of the metacrisis, or maybe because my own sense of direction and fulfilment in work feels less important in the face of it all.
Despite this, the year has been quite remarkable. I am struck by how closely my understanding of the world has aligned with my inner sense of what truly matters to work on. Beyond GDP discussions have finally begun to reach more rooms, yet at the same time, I feel a quiet fear about the current trajectory, and about losing the spirit of being a young woman fulfilling her dreams and ambitions in life. That spirit requires a belief in the future and a trust that one’s personal dreams can coexist with service to the world. I know mine do. I just struggle to see whether the world can still hold them.
Perhaps I should begin at the beginning of this year. We are now in the darkest time of the year, which in Stockholm has actually offered moments of sunlight, an invitation to reflect on a difficult year, but also to honour the darkness itself. Because just when we least expect it, the light returns.
I started the year without major plans, as I was undergoing several health tests and check-ups. Quite quickly, however, everything changed, both in terms of travel and health. At the end of January, I suddenly became very dizzy during an online meeting. I felt detached from my body, disconnected from my skin, as if the room was spinning. I lay down to rest, but a few days later, while on a spa weekend with my husband, the sensations returned. When they intensified again during work the following week, I called 1177 for advice and was told to go to the hospital immediately.
This marked the beginning of a year that had barely started before my life changed entirely. What followed were numerous hospital visits, specialist appointments, and an overwhelming inner stress of not knowing what was wrong. There was grief in not being able to perform or work as I wanted, and sadness in not being as present for family and friends as I wished. After a month of feeling seriously unwell, I made a drastic decision and went to Spain. That space, being alone and focusing solely on my health, helped ease some of the most severe symptoms.
All of this unfolded alongside deeply painful family dynamics, an even more severe personal challenge which very few people know about and an increasingly stressful work situation. Perhaps my lack of words stems from this simple truth: I survived 2025.
That may sound dramatic, but I genuinely wonder how many people could endure so many challenges at once while being a sensitive soul in several positions of responsibility. This, in itself, makes me proud. There were moments when I wanted to quit everything and disappear somewhere far away, never to return. Instead, I learned how much I can carry while still preserving my humanity, while staying true to my values.
I can see now that the work I do will increasingly face resistance, precisely because it challenges the status quo. Learning not to prioritise comfort or balance over truth has been one of the hardest lessons of this year. Strangely enough, what came to me one night was a vision of a dragon, an inner fire being reborn. Hardship does make us stronger, but I now see that survival was not about strength alone. It was about softness. About allowing myself to break.
This inner journey has taken place while this human body has continued to perform many roles. Let me reflect on some of them.
ECOnGOOD
Parts of my work this year have been deeply stressful, particularly in relation to the work environment at ECOnGOOD. Not because I am a manager, but because transforming organisational culture is hard, especially within an international movement, and not for everyone, everywhere. I am incredibly fortunate to work with an exceptional team and colleagues I genuinely call friends. We also have a strong operational foundation that creates real impact.
At the same time, there are many things we must let go of, culturally, legally, practically, and strategically, and that process is painful. I have questioned whether it is worth it from a personal health perspective. Yet when I see the difference we are making, and the significant progress within communications, policy, science, research, and movement-building, I can clearly see both the vision and the trajectory ahead.
Contrary to common belief, international NGOs aiming for real systems change must be professional in their staffing, decision-making, and structures. Perhaps I will write about organisational development one day, because I have realised just how strong my skills are in organisational democracy and impact, built over fifteen years in civil society. Wish is the biggest lesson I bring with me this year.
JAK medlemsBank
It has been a true honour to work alongside an outstanding board, CEO, and staff at JAK. I feel I contribute meaningfully through my background in member-based organisations and sustainability, while also learning a great deal about financial regulation and business development. Finance is one of the most critical systems we must transform, and JAK’s growing membership, savings, and lending demonstrate that alternatives are possible.
To survive in a highly regulated and competitive market, we must now grow faster. I hope you are a member of a bank that does not speculate, pay bonuses, or exist to generate profit for shareholders, where success is returned to its members.
A Sustainable Closet
The online landscape is changing rapidly with AI. Fewer people visit original websites, and more answers are generated without a human behind them. Despite this, A Sustainable Closet continues to attract new visitors and subscribers each month. Brands still reach out to collaborate, and after six years of running an online business, I could write an entire book on sustainable business models, particularly how the current market does not support slow or regenerative enterprises.
Fashion, however, remains one of the most optimistic systems to transform. It is something most people can change in their own lives. I am, personally, deeply committed to circular fashion, exploring brands, second-hand shops, upcycling, and material innovation. With around 8,000 monthly visitors, all organic growth, this platform is not going anywhere.
Beyond Work and Beyond GDP
Alongside my main roles, I was re-elected to the board of Djurens Rätt, Sweden’s largest animal rights organisation. Four years in, I remain deeply committed to its mission. Closing animal factories within my lifetime feels like part of my life’s purpose. And this year, we celebrated the closure of mink farms in Sweden and our defence of allowing cows in the milk industry to graze outdoors during the summer.
This year, I took on a new role as sustainability advisor and auditor for the Organic Beauty Awards, moving beyond my previous position on the test jury to assess the sustainability performance of hundreds of beauty brands.
I paused my courses and coaching this year to honour my limited capacity during illness. I also rebuilt my website to better reflect my work on economic systems change. While animal rights and fashion will always be part of who I am, my professional focus is now firmly centred on the Beyond GDP agenda, through education, movement-building, and urgently needed policy change.
I also became more involved in a political party, attended a national congress, and, despite joining late, registered for parliamentary elections. I wrote over ten policy proposals on economic systems change, several of which were adopted in adapted forms.
One of the greatest gifts of this year has been relationships, deepened and newly formed. Through collaborations with organisations such as DEAL, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, and the Post Growth Institute; joint work in London on the Reclaim Economy paper; contributions to the WISE and Nordic Council Minister reports; conferences across Europe; and meetings in Brussels with EU parliamentarians in relation to the Economy for the Common Good and the UN roadmap on poverty beyond growth, my professional world has expanded in ways that feel both meaningful and grounded.
Below is a selection of the year’s most significant highlights (excluding personal celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, and private travels, which naturally hold their own special place):
Selected highlights 2025
JAK Medlemsbank event on sustainable finance at Norrsken, Stockholm, Sweden
Reclaim Economy paper workshop, London, UK
Prosperity documentary premiere and panel discussion, Stockholm, Sweden
Meetings with the ECOnGOOD Management Board, Hamburg, Germany
JAK Medlemsbank Annual Meeting, Skövde, Sweden
JAK Medlemsbank public event at Bacchi Syre, Stockholm, Sweden
Djurens Rätt Annual Meeting, Stockholm, Sweden
Fashion event at the Swedish Parliament, Stockholm, Sweden
Degrowth Conference, Oslo, Norway
Five days of hiking and camping in Northern Sweden and Norway
Next Economies Conference, Istanbul, Turkey
Partners for a New Economy event, Lyon, France
The Green Party National Congress, Västerås, Sweden
Organic Beauty Awards Ceremony, Stockholm, Sweden
Slow Fashion Gala, Stockholm, Sweden
Three-day Vipassana silent meditation retreat, Ödeshög, Sweden
Book launch and panel discussions for Ekonomi för en hållbar värld by Lena Bjärskog, Stockholm, Sweden
UN event and meetings with Members of the European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
Taken together, these settings have created far more than individual moments. They have helped build trust, shared language, and a growing community across sectors and borders, connecting policy, finance, civil society, culture, and inner transformation. This is where ideas begin to travel, movements gain momentum, and people who might never otherwise meet start shaping a different economic future together.
These experiences have not given me ready-made answers, but they have sharpened the questions. They have grounded my work in reality, relationships, and responsibility, and made clear what is now asking for deeper attention.
Questions for 2026:
How do we truly create momentum for the Beyond GDP agenda?
How do we include those outside our bubble and ensure the agenda builds bridges?
What does a realistic policy roadmap for systems change look like?
How do we do this while defending human rights, democracy, and international law?
How do we act in a metacrisis, on a planet on the brink?
Perhaps it is precisely in the global darkest moments that we begin to see the light.
Personal intentions for 2026
Of course, I hold personal dreams. Professionally, I hope to see continued growth and impact within the bank, the animal rights movement, and sustainable fashion. I hope ECOnGOOD overcomes its challenges and builds on the momentum created this year. For myself, I want more time to write, teach, and inspire, perhaps even my first book.
But above all, I want less stress. More joy. More connection. I want to be truer to myself, and I no longer wish to adjust myself to maintain other people’s sense of balance.
It is inconvenient to realise that our systems will not hold.
It is harder still to realise that the way one has been working may not hold when life happens.
It is hard to be human in a world in decline.
Yet it is empowering to see what one can endure. Empowering to remain true to one’s values and still create impact. Humbling to accept that we do not always have the answers. Comforting to know we are not alone. And magical to connect with others during these extraordinary times of being human.
I have no idea what next year will bring.
For now, I plan to continue, without losing sight of my values, my humanity, or my hope that we can reform, transform, and begin a new chapter as humankind.