Hey You! ENOUGH Talking About the Weather…

If I have to hear or participate in ONE MORE conversation regarding what the weather might or might not do…I am going to poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick…

I just realized that this is only hurting myself so let me change that…

If I have to hear or participate in ONE MORE conversation regarding what the weather might or might not do…I am going to poke YOU in the eye with a sharp stick…

You see, you speculators…you over-thinkers…you anticipators…YOU…you RUINED my weekend…try as I might to just enjoy the snow when and IF it came I could not escape the speculation of;

– schools being closed

– work being cancelled

– temperatures of -30 degrees with the windchill

– doors on the car being SO frozen shut that no amount of warm water could melt it

– cars refusing to start

– schools being cancelled two days in advance

– butts literally being frozen off

It was inescapable…at home, on-line, on TV, the workers at the grocery store…the fact that there was NO bread or eggs in the entire town…

Can I make a suggestion?

Hows about you not worry until there is something to worry about…spending all that time anticipating something that ended up not happening is wasteful and brain numbing…The forecast changed with the hour going from a sure bet BLIZZARD to a lot of rain and less than an inch of snow.

In technical speak this would fall under two common cognitive distortions.

Jumping to Conclusions

Without individuals saying so, we know what they are feeling and why they act the way they do. In particular, we are able to determine how people are feeling toward us.

Catastrophizing

We expect disaster to strike, no matter what. This is also referred to as “magnifying or minimizing.” We hear about a problem and use what if questions (e.g., “What if tragedy strikes?” “What if it happens to me?”).

Growing up in Southern Indiana I have been burned by the weather more times than I can count…an anticipated church trip, or other such fun CANCELLED because of ‘weather’…

Instead of a nice weekend at home ambivalent about the impending ‘doom’ I was stressed about whether or not I would be able to make it into work on Monday and if that would reflect poorly to my new employers…and in-case you are wondering I had to leave early this morning, we had to pour warm water on the doors to get them unfrozen, and I had to drive slower than normal but

I was able to make it to work…

This is a skill that you can take into your non-weather worrying life as well…

Lastly, here is a little food for thought…