Thriving in the Hell We Call Winter

It’s November and if the past few days are any indication of what’s ahead, I’m not looking forward to it.

What’s surely ahead here in the Midwest is more snow, more ice, and much colder temperatures. And what I find to be the worst part of winter, an almost complete lack of sunshine. It can test even the most optimistic among us: Mother Nature can be a total bitch sometimes.

There are some positives, I suppose. The lawn no longer needs mowed, trimmed, or watered. It’s one of those things that needs to be done weekly, 6-7 months out of the year. It’s always exciting those first few times in the spring but then loses its appeal pretty quickly.

One way I deal with these long, dark months is to challenge myself to continue working towards the goals I’ve set and view the next few months as a sort of challenge.

I ask myself, when spring finally rolls around and the sun reappears, what will I have accomplished; accomplished in spite of a harsh environment that can easily get me down and depressed.

It’s a time to not use the weather as an excuse for skipping out on things I’ve always done. I continue to go to the gym and while cardio outside might not always be a viable option, I can easily replace it with the Stairmaster or treadmill. The important thing is to continue.

I might bitch and moan a lot more over the next few months, I always do. But one thing I know for sure is that I’ll continue to knock things off my list.

No matter how nasty the weather is, I’ll still workout and take care of myself, I’ll still pick my daughter up from school a couple times a week, I’ll add a couple more books to my list of what I’ve read, and I’ll undoubtedly look forward to what always comes after winter: Relief.

And when that time comes, I’ll feel a certain amount of pride and satisfaction knowing that I dealt with the challenge of winter and not only survived but thrived.

Bring it on.

Rick