Welcome to my site to read about the adventures and thoughts of an international future teacher originally from Finland! Read more about me and this site below. Access the blog posts of this site here. You can reach me through email: olli.lukkari@gmail.com.
Above are the four flags of the three different countries I’ve lived in: Finland, Uruguay, Catalonia and Spain (I decided to include both the flags of Catalonia and Spain as I was living in Barcelona).
What is Gravity Goals?
Gravity Goals is a new blog by me, Olli Lukkari, a 30 year old Finnish special education (teacher) student and amateur musician. After completing a 4-5 month exchange in Barcelona in spring 2019 I lived in my home town Helsinki (the capital of Finland) for almost two months (by my parents) before traveling to Uruguay to do an internship in local schools for three months.
I started this blog as a lifestyle experiment and as a public diary and way to hopefully inspire someone by sharing my thoughts.Topics of this blog will surely vary: I will write about philosophy, self-development and -acceptance, creativity, music, art, literature, fitness, traveling, languages (I currently understand/speak five languages at least on level B1, four of them taught at Finnish public schools), education, societal issues, psychology, human relationships, different 30 day lifestyle experiments.
At the time of starting this blog I was feeling stuck in life, maybe because I had not written and shared meaningful things for some time. Starting this blog – and writing posts like these – took out almost all the courage I had at that point in my life. Somewhere along the way – I don’t know how – I found the courage to keep on going and writing. Many of the lifestyle and travel blogs in the internet seem to be pretty shallow to me and hopefully with me voice I can try to bring a deep and honest voice to the table.
This means vulnerability and showing the other side of inspiration: for example living abroad can a superb experience but it can also be really painful at times to deal with all the change and loneliness. I love doing different lifestyle experiments on myself and also acknowledge the change and experiments can be hard at times.
How to Read This Blog?
You can browse through the different posts I’ve written and read the blog anyhow you like. Note that I’ve tried to mark sources with links for most of the things I say and that I actually put quite much effort for every link or YouTube-video I put on my page.
This means that my blog posts are meant to used as a platform to inspire you to do your own research on things; think of the texts as a springboard and the links and videos in the text as water you are jumping to from the springboard – in the water (behind the links and videos) is where the real fun happens.
I hope the links will still be valid in few years to come as if not, I just have to start updating whenever I notice a link being outdated.
Where Does the Name Gravity Goals Come From?
The name of the blog – Gravity Goals – comes from the idea that there are two types of motivation to reach a goal: inward/internal motivation and outward/external motivation. Usually when people follow too much external motivation, they burn-out and may experience emptiness, cynicism and a lack of meaning in life. Following internal motivation on the other hand usually lasts longer and leads to a more fulfilling and happier life.
Of course these motivations can be interconnected: being a teacher or doctor may let you help people by doing something you love to do (inward motivation), but it can also provide you money, status and career opportunities (outward motivation).
Gravity goal is then a phrase for a goal that seems pull you towards it like the Earth pulls the Moon towards it. External goals can be described as having a feeling of push to them: you have to push yourself to do them, which over time can be tiresome and exhausting.
With internal goals on the other hand, you feel pulled and inspired to reach the goal; internal goals often touch you on some soul-level and feel like they are aligned with your values and with who you are.
The name of the blog then is to get people to think about what they feel pulled to do; what they feel drawn to do or be or represent. The name of the blog serves to remind me of the type of goals and motivation I should have for my own goals.
There has been a time in my life – for many years – when I tried to only follow the path of external motivation: trying to please others, seek status and money and security. It was an unhappy time and I’m never getting back that time spent chasing after the wrong things.
I can only learn to forgive myself and to carve out the many lessons I gained from those years and make the most of the time I have left – by following things I feel inspired and pulled to do. One of such thing is to write this blog.
What Photos Do You Use For Your Blog?
I use free do-whatever-you-want-with-them photos mainly from three different photo banks. Sometimes – such as in my many travel posts – I use own photos I’ve taken with my mobile phone as well.
“Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.”
–Bertrand Russell
Gravity Goals 