I don’t like the weather in the summer. It’s similar in New England to where I grew up in NJ. It’s often over 80 degrees and very humid and I don’t like it. I don’t like walking, biking, or running in it. I don’t like sweating while simply existing—my trail name is Sweatshop for fuck’s sake. I don’t enjoy critically needing to drink water constantly, chasing away dehydration. I don’t like knowing that it’s too hot for my dog, Molasses (Sky’s summer name), to run with me. I could go on and on about why I don’t like the summer, but I won’t.
Sweatshop in her natural environment
I used to hate the winter. Many years ago I would get very depressed in the winter months, I had very serious seasonal affective disorder. Things would get very dark and scary for me, but I’ll spare you the details. I had tried many methods of battling it—therapy, drugs, sun lamps, forced winter vacations to warmer climates. One specialist even told me that going to a tanning salon would have benefits that could outweigh the UV costs.
This persona of mine would be very foreign and strange to my friends today, who know me as that girl who runs in blizzards. This transformation occurred a few years ago, it started when I lived in NJ but I really blossomed as a winter lover when I moved to Boston. I moved up here summer 2014 and my first winter in Boston was historic. It was the snowiest winter that Boston had ever seen, with a recorded 108 inches of snow by the first day of spring. That winter should’ve been awful for me, it should’ve totally sucked. I had ended a long term, then long distance relationship (that needed to end, mind you). I was in a new state and city without my support network of friends or family. I had never felt more alone. And to top it all off, I had 108 inches of snow to deal with, shutting down the T, roads, BU, and leaving me stuck with just my thoughts. So how? How could I possibly have learned to love the winter?
I went out in it. I started finding the fun in running and playing in the snow. I decided I liked shoveling and liked seeing a job well done. I bought snowshoes and forced myself to go to trails once a week. I took Sky out and found joy in watching her play in the snow. I took up run commuting, a skill that has changed the way I live and saved me a lot of money. I started talking about how much I like the snow; I tried encouraging others to join me on these winter adventures. I did all this even if I didn’t want to.
Sky girl’s first time playing in snow with me, I think she liked it!
The phrase “fake it ‘til you make it” [FITYMI] has a lot of truth to it—even from a scientific perspective. One of the most popular TED talks comes from FITYMI researcher, Dr. Amy Cuddy, whose research suggests that standing in ‘power’ postures can cause your body to regulate cortisol and testosterone levels to reduce stress and increase confidence. While this finding it up for debate via replication, there is other evidence that suggests body language can shape internal feelings! In fact, simply smiling (even when you aren’t particularly happy) can have emotional side effects of increasing positive affect (ask me for citations if you are interested, there are a lot).
I think behaviors can have the same effect, especially when paired with shutting the fuck up about how much you dislike something. Ruminating or even “venting” about some bothersome person, activity, life event, world event, etc. does not have a cathartic release of emotions that many people think (or wish) it does. In fact, it only keeps those thoughts afresh in your mind, recycling negativity. There are very few benefits to venting, but they aren’t reliable and are dependent on a recipient. For example, another person’s perspective might help you see the event less negatively. Or, sharing negative thoughts with someone who agrees will foster a social belonging with that person, but it certainly won’t change your perspective on the topic that you both dislike so much.
My approach to enjoying winter required 2 co-occurring strategies and they were very successful—I do indeed now LOVE winter and snow and the cold and I am not just faking it! I genuinely have grown attached to the cold and perhaps that attachment has made me hate the summer so much.
This summer I’m going to try to change my perspective, the same way I changed my winter perspective. I’m going to (1) STOP complaining about how hot it is and (2) RUN in this summer heat without giving a damn and just accepting that I am going to sweat and be gross. I have many races this summer that will be in the heat and I need to stop thinking that the weather can pose a serious obstacle to my training. Just like planning with extra layers in the winter, I’ll just plan with extra water (and a portable shower) in the summer. Maybe I can singlehandedly change ‘sweat culture’ and make it less unacceptable? Okay, one goal at a time, Tess…
I also challenge all of you to think about the things you don’t like that might be stopping you from doing cool shit. Try to FITYMI and see if you can change your own perspectives and become open to new things. In doing so, I hope my friends who also hate the summer heat (or the winter chill) try to embrace it a little more!
So lastly, here is one final I HATE SUMMER HEAT. And while I can’t promise I’ll never display my negatively towards heat and humidity again, I will try to stop talking about it and to enjoy doing the things I love in it anyway.
I _________ the heat.
48 peaks 