Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to stop complaining about winter weather and
Speaker 1: to boost your happiness by learning to enjoy this season.
Speaker 1: We're coming into winter, at least for those of you
Speaker 1: listening in the northern Hemisphere, and as the leaves fall
Speaker 1: off the trees and the days get darker and colder,
Speaker 1: it's easy to give in too gloom. Complaining about freezing
Speaker 1: temperatures and sleet and snow could basically be its own
Speaker 1: winter Olympic sport. Of course, people in my part of
Speaker 1: North America don't have nearly as intense winters as people
Speaker 1: far to the north, in northern Alaska, for instance. In Scandinavia,
Speaker 1: the sun sets in November and does not rise until January.
Speaker 1: It sounds impossibly bleak to me, but a few years
Speaker 1: ago I wrote about some research on people who lived
Speaker 1: in these far northern places. They did not suffer from
Speaker 1: outsized rates of the winter blues. Instead, people who chose
Speaker 1: to live in these places also chose to have a
Speaker 1: different mindset about winter. They celebrated coziness with candles and fires,
Speaker 1: warm blankets, thick sweaters and festive beverages. They embraced activities
Speaker 1: such as skiing or snowshoeing that can only be done
Speaker 1: in winter. They held festivals to experience winter as a
Speaker 1: social occasion. If you think about it, whoever decided to
Speaker 1: place Christmas around the winter solstice was onto something smart
Speaker 1: rather than more in the dark. People have fun with
Speaker 1: their families. People in northern climates made sure to get
Speaker 1: outside during the middle of the day, when even polar
Speaker 1: night features a little of what looks like dawn and
Speaker 1: dusk on the horizon. As the saying goes, there's no
Speaker 1: bad weather, only bad clothing. Now, I'll admit that I
Speaker 1: find this idea challenging, but since writing that article, which
Speaker 1: was called the Norwegian Secret to Enjoying a Long Winter,
Speaker 1: I've tried to take some of my discoveries to heart.
Speaker 1: I'm naturally cheap, but I decided to buy really good
Speaker 1: winter running gear. In my polar tech pants, windproof and
Speaker 1: water resistant jacket, mittens and such, I can run outside
Speaker 1: on a few more days than I would and I
Speaker 1: almost always feel better running outside than I do on
Speaker 1: the treadmill. I bought a long coat and high waterproof
Speaker 1: insulated boots, which means I barely notice tramping through slush
Speaker 1: and snow with this equipment to protect me. I set
Speaker 1: a goal last year to get outside for at least
Speaker 1: twenty minutes a day. Some days that happened in zero
Speaker 1: degree temperatures, but I can count the days I missed
Speaker 1: on one hand. I also made a winter fun list
Speaker 1: to give myself things to look forward to. Now I
Speaker 1: will admit that some of this winter fun involved a ski.
Speaker 1: Being winter, I went to California and I went to Florida,
Speaker 1: and I enjoyed both trips a lot. There's nothing quite
Speaker 1: like running on the beach when you know the folks
Speaker 1: back home are dealing with a polar vortex. But in general,
Speaker 1: I do think it's possible to love winter, and part
Speaker 1: of that is just telling yourself that you will love winter.
Speaker 1: When someone complains about the snow, say something positive. Take
Speaker 1: a look at the intricate icicles, or the fragile glow
Speaker 1: of the sunset colors against bare trees. Beauty is all
Speaker 1: around if we care to see it. It might be
Speaker 1: a more demanding beauty than that of a June rose garden,
Speaker 1: but it is beauty all the same. Do you love winter.
Speaker 1: You can let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at
Speaker 1: I heart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Yeah. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at I heeart media dot com.
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
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