Shifting My Winter Mindset: A Clevelander’s Reflection

In the past, January has been a hard month on me mentally. The cold, wet, and dark of Northeast Ohio usually sends me to sleep and zaps my motivation. But this winter, things are different.

Here are three reflections from my winter hike with my husband and how I’ve shifted my mindset around winter.

✨Appreciating exactly where you are.

This winter, I have discovered the magic and peace of this season. We humans tend to turn our ire to which is inconvenient to us, and lake effect snow in Cleveland is no joke. But, hear me out, what if we decided to listen to what the season is trying to tell us about the rhythm of the year?

The dancing snowflakes softly request that we slow down, take stock, and be in awe of the beauty of the season and our homes. Maybe, winter could be about cozying up with a warm blanket and a cup of tea to watch a movie with your loved ones. Maybe, winter could be about the stillness - the awe of seeing a bright red cardinal against a backdrop of white. Maybe, winter can be about crispy fresh air that could draw us out of our heads and back into our bodies.

✨There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.✨

The last few months I've been entranced by the beauty of Svalbard, an island close to the North Pole, through the lens of Cecilia Blomdahl’s YouTube channel. Her content is the reason my relationship and appreciation of winter is healing. She introduced me to the Nordic phrase, “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

All of a sudden I realized my pessimism about winter stemmed from the perceived inability to leave my home. Since that realization, I’ve invested in some new winter gear and vowed to venture outside my home more often this winter.

Thus, my husband and I went out for a magical hike in the snow today. And I can now say for certain that bundled up in my warm layers, I actually love the magic of a light snowfall.

✨When you seize the moment, less is more. ✨

When I stopped and appreciated the gently falling snow on our hike, I felt the urge to capture these peaceful moments. Photography is mindfulness, but what I learned as a photo organizer is that less is more when taking photos with your phone.

In our current culture, we indulge ourselves with more. My husband and I went to Niagara Falls a few weeks back to find that most people were viewing the falls through their phones and taking dozens of photos of the same scene that they were very likely never going to give more than a passing glance in the future.

The mindset I’ve adopted is this: I take a small handful of selfies and landscape photos to remember the trip for my personal photo archive, and then I put my phone away. Once my phone was away, my husband and I discussed how Niagara Falls must have formed and admired the jagged, long icicles hanging off the rock face. Reflecting on what was right in front of us was a wonderful way to remember Niagara Falls in winter.

As for our hike, after capturing this frame-worthy picture of my husband and I that could easily be our 2025 Christmas card, I put my phone away, and kept the rest of the snowy sights between us and the pine trees.

I'm curious… what you love about the winter? And how have you shifted your winter mindset?