by Rosina Pzena, M.S.
I think we have all noticed that the weather has been very unstable lately. Freezing and snowing one day, and then a few days later sunny and 60+ degrees Fahrenheit, then back to cold and rain. While the warm weather has certainly been a treat, especially for early March in New York, it has also been frustrating to me. I have already had some difficulty figuring out which coat to wear and ended up being too hot or too cold when outside. But the worst part has been the way in which the warm weather feels too brief, a tease that makes me yearn for spring. When it’s nice outside, I love it, but then when the weather is chilly and cloudy again, I find myself in an irritable mood. I’m telling myself how this is so unfair, and that if it’s going to be spring, it should just be spring already so I can actually enjoy it.
If I really stop and think about this, obviously we all have zero control over the daily weather. What purpose does it serve me to think about how the weather should be warmer when I have no ability to make it so? It only makes me feel angry and gets in the way of my daily life and work. Instead of demanding warm weather, I can change this belief to a preference: I would prefer warmer, spring weather, but it doesn’t have to be so. It can still be cold in March and I can accept that. This way of thinking will also free me up to truly enjoy the beautiful days that have been popping up this month, as those are the cases when the weather matches my preference. Then, before I know it, spring will actually arrive!
