The problem with our belief is that we believe them.

Most of us in Cleveland, OH don’t like winter. It’s true. For years I did all of my complaining about the weather during the winter time, and promised to never make one negative comment about the heat, no matter how hot it got. Somehow this helped me justify my negativity towards the winter months (I wasn’t a hypocrite, after all).

I wasn’t alone! Most people in Broadview Hts aren’t excited about winter. Why not? Well….

• It’s cold, gray, and wet.
• Less daylight.
• Frozen windshields
• Icy roads and blizzards
• Wet socks (the worst!)
• Etc….

It’s not hard to see why people struggle during this time.  Some take it worse than others….they don’t want to get out of bed.  They don’t want to exercise.  They don’t want to leave their house.  Work gets busier, yet motivation declines.

On the flip side, there’s people that LOVE winter.  While few and far between, they exist.  They can’t wait for the snow to fall, to go ice fishing, snowboarding, or play hockey on the pond. 

The point here is that winter is neither good nor bad.  It’s simply whatever we believe to be true.

We all have certain belief structures. Our beliefs are the lenses in which we view life and therefore ultimately what shape our experiences here on earth. 

This is worth noting because as humans, we change….we grow….we adapt. We aren’t the same person that we were 10 years, 10 months, or 10 days ago.

Yet until our belief system changes, our thoughts don’t change. If our thoughts don’t change, our words don’t change. And if our words don’t change, our actions won’t change. We become stuck. 

It’s a lot like running life on an outdated software system.

Back to WINTER….

If our belief is that we are going to be depressed during winter, then we are going to search for reasons that support that belief. This is called confirmation bias. The stronger a belief is, the more we subconsciously seek out information that confirms it. The more information we find, the stronger the belief becomes. And around we go.

Maybe you had a really hard time one winter and you did become depressed. Maybe it really was the hardest, darkest time of your life and you didn’t know how to cope. It may have been true then, but that doesn’t mean it’s true now. You’re stronger now. You’re wiser. You’re tougher.

Start by questioning your beliefs: is this true?  Humans are the only species that have the ability to change.  Question your beliefs.

To say “I hate winter” is to say you hate everything about winter. Is there a moment in time when you smiled last winter? Is there someone you love that has a birthday during winter? Is one of your favorite holidays during winter?

Once you can conclude that winter isn’t all bad, it creates an opening for change. Once you have the opening, use the power of language to reframe your perception of winter:

-Is it depressing or is it an opportunity? 
-Is it the hardest time of your life or the time you stepped into your greatness? 
-Are you a victim of the temperature or do you create your own life experience?

We used winter as a metaphor because most people can relate to it.  The point is we are in control of our beliefs! If you look for reasons to be excited for winter, you’ll find them.  Let others complain while you keep climbing to the top! See ya there.