My name is Ingrid Johansson and I am 75 years old. When I was about 65 years old I did not know exactly what to do with the rest of my life so I continued working. Nothing wrong with that! I worked as a senior lecturer at Mälardalen University in Sweden and was happy to go on meeting fantastic students.

 

Now as a pensioner I have a good life in many ways and I enjoy being free and able to spend my time as I like. I have had the privilege of travelling a great deal all over the world and speak several languages. I have two sons and two grandchildren of whom I am very proud. I also have many friends and interests.

 

When I was 54 years old I completed my doctoral thesis entitled Age and Work: Conceptions of the Significance of Age for Middle-Aged Employees. After that I lived for a year in England. I had previously worked for many years in Human Resources in a private company in Stockholm.

 

In 2007 I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Only about 15 percent of people with that diagnosis survive for five years or more. I did. Why did I survive when most people don’t? I have never been able to let go of that question. Was there a special meaning? What else is there in my life for me to do that is important and meaningful? How can I use this second chance to live and how can I be of help to other people?

 

In November 2012 I happened to find a webinar (a seminar on the web) about The Passion Test. I found it very interesting and the result was that I decided to attend the course in Arizona in February 2013 and become a certified Passion Test facilitator.

 

It was a fantastic trip to Tucson in Arizona, the training was amazing and made a big change in my life. In order to work with The Passion Test I started a company called Senior Life Joy.

 

In 2014 I carried out a survey to find out what joy of life may signify, how it feels, when the informants experience it and if joy of life is important to them. The result of the survey was presented at the IFA Global Conference, Hyderabad, India from 11 to 13 June, 2014.

 

The results of the survey are also presented in my book The Joy of Life: Your Guide to Finding More Joy in Your Daily Life. You can read more about the book on the Book page.

 

 

A short summary of my qualifications and background

 

Education

Bachelor of Arts in English, German, Italian and French, University of Stockholm, 1970
Bachelor of Psychology and Education, University of Stockholm, 1988
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Stockholm, 1997
Certified facilitator of The Passion Test, Tucson, Arizona, 2013
Certified Master Life Coach (distance study in the USA), 2013

 

Employment

Human Resources, Esselte/Scribona, Solna, 1972-1999
Academic visitor, University of Sheffield, England, 1999-2000
Senior lecturer in Education, Mälardalen University, 2000-2012

 

Publications

The Joy of Life: Your Guide to Finding More Joy of Life in Your Daily Life. E-book and paperback on Amazon, 2015.

The Joy of Being Older. Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life. E-book and paperback on Amazon, 2018.