Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir

Steinunn Ólína is an actress with years of experience as a host for countless events, meetings, and celebrations. Her background in acting and other projects has shaped her into an excellent event and ceremony host.

Steinunn Ólína is also well known for opening discussions on topics that others may avoid and for her fearless approach to speaking about various aspects of human nature and our society that others tend to shy away from. Human relationships are a key focus for her, as acting often involves exploring the connections between people. In her brief lecture, Steinunn draws from her own experiences and insights, offering advice to others on how to stand more confidently with themselves, taking responsibility for their own well-being both in life and at work.

Lecture - Stand with yourself!

In the workplace, it's important to know your boundaries but also to understand and respect the boundaries of others. We all want to be respected and to have good communication. This is achieved through clear communication and honesty, to avoid feeling misunderstood or left out. It also involves understanding that nothing is strictly right or wrong; we are all different and express ourselves in different ways.

Is it solely the responsibility of others—colleagues, managers—to ensure that you feel good, that you avoid burnout in the workplace? What can your own behaviour reveal about who you are? Is it okay to have differing opinions on how things are done? Can we learn to appreciate the different approaches of people who are working towards the same goal? Can what feels unfamiliar be educational? Is it exciting and sometimes necessary to break free from the shackles of routine?

Standing with yourself means taking responsibility for your career and ensuring that your contribution is recognized, which in turn ensures your well-being. We must not shy away from expressing our needs and making reasonable demands with confidence.

Stand with yourself! If you don’t stand up for yourself, why should anyone else?

Lecture - Forever, Love!

We live in a world where love is commodified and defined like any other product. Love is supposed to provide security, comfort, and ideally wealth, happiness, and unbounded joy—until the end of time. How can another person live up to such expectations?

Could this widespread misunderstanding be the root of unhappiness?

The idea that relationships with other people should somehow be profitable is a distortion. Are you in a romantic relationship with your partner, or is it more of a convenient business arrangement? Isn’t the biggest challenge we all face learning to stop trying to change others? Isn’t the first step learning to recognize and love ourselves? For love to thrive, we must express our needs and desires fearlessly, accepting the possibility that the other person may reject us. And what if that happens? Is it so bad? You are then free, and more importantly, you’ve freed the other person from being in a relationship with someone who cannot appreciate them!