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Maybe winter is wonderful
How to find beauty and intention in every season
Alyssa Towns
February 23, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
I have a confession to make.
Even though I’ve lived in Colorado all my life, I turn into a curmudgeon every year when winter approaches.
Long ago, I accepted that I’m not a fan of winter.
As the leaves change, the autumn air morphs into a brisk chill, and the days become shorter; my body is filled with dread and a sliver of hope that “winter won’t be so bad and will be over before we know it.”
And then, a couple of months ago, while scrolling on Goodreads, I came across How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days* by Kari Leibowitz, and now I’ll never look at winter or any less-than-desirable season of life, with the same heavy, dreadful eyes again.
Kari Leibowitz, PhD is a health psychologist, writer, speaker, and wintertime expert with a fascinating story.
How does one become a “wintertime expert,” you ask? Well, Leibowitz once hated winter, too. But she did what most people wouldn’t and immersed herself in winter as a researcher and Fullbright Scholar at the University of Tromsø (yes, in the Arctic!)
She shares a combination of mindset science, original research, and cultural insights for cultivating a “positive wintertime mindset” in her book (which I highly recommend). Some new practices I enjoyed reading about and plan to explore include:
A daylight saving time celebration to mark the transition from light to dark with a special event (I’m not entirely sure what I want this to look like yet, but celebrating summer memories with friends over a cozy dinner is what comes to mind right now)
Creating a list of slow hobbies (or a winter activities menu) I enjoy engaging in during the winter months
Actively using positive words to describe winter moments and experiences
Dividing the whole winter season into smaller parts and marking each mini-season with special activities to look forward to (like the time leading up to the holidays, the transition into the new year, and the later winter weeks in January and February)
I am beginning to view winter differently, but I’m not just coming around to its physical aspects. There’s a much more significant loss when we spend an entire season in misery.
Most of us constantly wish time was something we had more of, especially when the end is near. How foolish it is to let an entire season (multiple months) of the year pass without living through it intentionally, wishing it would fly by only to realize we’d do anything for just one more winter.
Time is all we have. The snow will fall whether we like it or not. So we might as well relish in it and absorb all it offers.
“Adapting to winter is also practice adjusting to whatever is in front of us. There are seasons of the year—and seasons of life—for putting ourselves out there, for pushing ourselves, for striving and learning and growing. And there are seasons for going inward, for slowing down, for healing and taking stock. There will be months and years of great joy and bounty and months and years of hardship and sadness. Learning to accept, even embrace, wherever we are, whenever we are, is the practice of a lifetime. Knowing when to slow down and when to speed up is wisdom. The ability to listen to ourselves, to match the natural world, to work with circumstances rather than fight against them are skills that will aid us in every venture we undertake. And winter gives us the change to rehearse every year.”
Time Well Spent: Weekly Roundup
Last weekend, my husband and I planned to watch a movie, but instead, we organized our digital photo library and added locations to photos for future reference. (It sounds…thrilling, I know.) I anticipated feeling bored by it. Instead, we traveled down memory lane, revisiting some of our favorite memories—simple moments at home and vacations we hope to plan more of. This reminded me that we can choose more intentional moments simply by revisiting the way past ones felt.
I’m working on my “positive wintertime mindset,” so I made no excuses when my husband asked if I wanted to go for a brief walk during our lunch break. Even when my weather app reported a chilly 16 degrees Fahrenheit, I didn’t bow out. There’s a lesson here in getting outside during winter, of course, but also in putting what you read and learn into practice.
Working from home presents far more daily food decisions than I enjoy. I’m thankful I can make more food at home because daily coffee runs on the way into the office, eating out for lunch with coworkers, and going out for dinner aren’t cheap. But I am also tired of mental fatigue from food decisions. What should I make? There are so many choices! One thing we’ve started doing more of (and did this week) is buying groceries in bulk at Costco. Reducing the options available helps me save my decision-making abilities for other things.
The Takeaways
Spend some intentional time looking at photos and revisiting memories. What moments make your heart sing? How can you incorporate more of those in the future?
Is there an opportunity for you to slow down and intentionally put something you’ve learned into practice?
Are there areas in your life where decision fatigue distracts you from deliberate choices? How might you reduce the number of decisions you need to make?
Time Intentional 🕰️ Reader Love 💞
If you’re a new reader, welcome! I have a hunch many of you are here because of Laura Hardin’s thoughtful and generous LinkedIn post. Thank you, Laura, for your kind words. Also, thank you to Lynn and David, who posted additional testimonials in the comments. There is nothing that brightens my day more than moments like these!
One More Thing Before You Go…
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I’m Alyssa Towns, and this is Time Intentional, a newsletter exploring what it means to spend our limited (and precious) time intentionally. Only you can decide how to spend your time in a way that feels intentional!
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In addition to writing Time Intentional, I’m a freelance writer and content creator who enjoys partnering with brands to build better workplaces (because we spend a lot of time at work!). Learn more about my areas of specialization on my website!
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