One Last Monday Morning

It is Monday morning. A new day, a new week, and I am sitting here with my coffee writing what will be my last Nordè blog.

Yes, that feels a little strange to write.

I have been thinking about it for some time, and perhaps deep down I have known that this moment was coming. Life moves through phases, even when we are not quite ready to give those phases a name. Something begins because we need it, it becomes important to us for a while, and then one day we realise that it has done exactly what it was supposed to do.

Nordè has been that for me.

Those of you who have followed me for a while know that writing became part of a much longer personal journey. It gave me somewhere to put thoughts that needed somewhere to go. It helped me make sense of experiences, difficult periods, change, family, work, dreams and all the strange curves life has a habit of putting in front of us.

Writing has genuinely been good for me.

From Survival to Leadership, the book I wrote, to everything I have shared here on Nordè, words have followed me through an important part of my life. When I look back now, I can see that writing was never only about producing a book or publishing another blog. It was part of processing, understanding, rebuilding and eventually moving forward.

And perhaps that is why stopping now does not really feel like giving something up.

It feels like moving on.

When Something Has Done Its Job

There is a wonderful line by

T. S. Eliot that feels especially right this morning:
“In my beginning is my end. In my end is my beginning.

I love that thought because endings are so often presented as something sad, almost as though we have failed if we decide not to continue forever. But some things are meant to have chapters. We do not have to hold on to every version of ourselves simply because that version once meant everything to us.

I have reached a place in my life where I can genuinely say that I am doing better than I have in a very long time. Perhaps better than ever before. And I do not say that lightly. When you have travelled through difficult periods, there is something almost sacred about finally recognising peace when it arrives.

I want to protect that.
I want to be present in it.

And I want to give myself permission to enjoy it without feeling that every part of my life needs to be shared.

Privacy has become increasingly important to me. Nordè has always been personal, because that was part of what made writing meaningful, but I have reached a point where protecting parts of my life feels more valuable than writing about them. There are moments, relationships and experiences that I simply want to keep close.

Not everything beautiful needs an audience.

Some things become even more valuable because they belong only to us.

A New Family Business and a Very New Everyday Life

There is another reason this feels like the right time.

A completely new family business has begun, and with it comes an entirely new everyday life. New responsibilities, new ideas, new challenges and a great deal of excitement. And if I am completely truthful with myself, I simply do not have the time to give this blog what I would want to give it anymore.

I could probably squeeze it in.
Most of us are quite good at squeezing one more thing into an already full day.
But I no longer want my life to be about squeezing everything in.

I want to choose.
There is a difference.

If the past years have taught me anything, it is that our time is too valuable to spend it automatically. Sometimes the most important decision is not what we are going to add next, but what we are willing to put down so that we can be fully present for what is beginning.

And something is definitely beginning.
My new everyday life starts now.

There is excitement in that sentence. There is also uncertainty, because anything new comes with questions we cannot answer yet. But I am ready for that. I think I have become much better at trusting the curves instead of needing to see the entire road ahead.

Perhaps that is also the final lesson Nordè has given me.

You do not have to know exactly where life is taking you to know when it is time to move.

Thank You for Being Here

Before I close this chapter, there is something I really want to say.

Thank you.

There are more of you reading than I ever expected when I started writing, and over time I have received so many thoughtful messages, comments and kind words about things I have shared. Some of you have recognised yourselves in my thoughts. Some have told me that a particular blog arrived on a day when you needed it. Others have simply followed quietly.

I have appreciated every single one of you.

When you write something personal and send it out into the world, you never quite know where it will land. Knowing that some of my words have meant something to somebody else has meant more to me than you probably realise.

So although this is my decision and absolutely the right one for me, I hope you understand why I am making it.

This is not a dramatic goodbye.
There is no sadness here.

Mostly, there is gratitude.

Gratitude for what Nordè became. Gratitude for what writing gave me. Gratitude for those of you who came along for part of the journey.

And who knows?

Life has taught me never to say never.

Fun Fact: Monday Really Can Feel Like a New Beginning

There is actually something rather fitting about ending this blog on a Monday. Researchers at Wharton have described something called the fresh start effect. They found that meaningful points in time, such as Mondays, birthdays and the beginning of a new school term, can act as mental dividing lines that encourage us to think about new goals and new versions of ourselves.

And outside this morning, schoolchildren are getting ready for their first day of school.

New backpacks. New classrooms. Some nervous faces, I imagine. Some very excited ones. Parents trying to get everyone out of the door on time. A whole new school year waiting in front of them.

I wish every one of them the very best of luck.

There is something beautiful about all those beginnings happening on the same Monday morning that I am choosing an ending of my own.

Because perhaps this is not really an ending either.

It is simply my fresh start.

One Last Sip of Coffee

So here I am.

Monday morning.
The coffee cup is almost empty, and I am about to take the last sip while writing the last lines of Nordè.

For once, I am not wondering what I should write about tomorrow.
There will be no next blog waiting to be written.
Instead, there is a new business waiting for my attention. A family I want to be present for. A private life I want to protect. New dreams I want to explore. Ordinary mornings I want to experience without automatically turning them into stories afterwards.

And most importantly, there is a version of my life right now that I am incredibly grateful to be living.

I have written many times about Living in the Curve.
Maybe this is me finally doing exactly that.
Not documenting every turn.
Not analysing where the road is going.
Just driving into the next curve and seeing what is there.

Thank you for reading.
Thank you for following.
Thank you for being part of Nordè.

And who knows where our paths may cross again.

But for now, my coffee is finished.

My blog is finished.

And my new everyday life begins.

Last Motto From Nordè

Some chapters heal you, some chapters teach you, and some chapters prepare you to close the book with a smile and finally live what comes next.

Tonje