Weather Affects Emotions

A little known fact is that the suicide rate in Southern California goes up when it's rainy and or cloudy for two weeks or more.  Another fact is that the suicide rate in Minnesota and Rochester New York is less than Southern California and does not go up during the horrible winter weather.


I spent one year, one month, five days and four hours in Rochester New York.  Needless to say, I was extremely happy when I was promoted to a job in Philadelphia.  After staying in Rochester, Philadelphia seemed like Florida.  I started thinking about why weather can affect your emotions.  Why are people in Minnesota and Rochester more acclimated to lousy weather than other cities.  Could the old joke be true?


"A friend asks his buddy why he lets his wife hit him over the head every day.  The buddy responds: because it feels so good when she stops."  I know in the times I've spent in Philadelphia, Portland (it rains almost all the time) and Rochester New York that when the rain, snow or clouds stop, it feel so good.  People in Minnesota, Rochester, Philadelphia and Portland buy convertible cars.  What are they thinking?  The weather sucks, but when it gets better (even a little better) they leave their house or even work, get in their car, put down the top and ride baby ride.


After much thought, I don't think it's because of the old joke.  I think it's rooted inside people's emotions.  My son spent a year in Seattle.  At the time he was a surfer boy from Orange County California.  He left for a better job.  About six months into his new job, I got an email from him with the subject: "It just doesn't stop."  It was the clouds and the rain that were getting to him.  He started to get depressed.  After a year he, with my blessing, left his good job and the stock options he had accumulated to come back to Southern California. 


As it turns out, the weather was not his problem (although he blamed it on the weather).  His problem was he expected the job to make him happy and it didn't.  He thought that seeing the sun, the beach and the waves would make him happy - it didn't.  It wasn't easy, but thirteen years later, he began to love, trust and have confidence in himself. He realized he had accomplished a lot in his life and was a good person.  Most of all, he believed he was good enough.  


As he became more mature he realized and appreciated his life and the places he had been.  Seattle is a beautiful and great city. Today, he is married to a fabulous wife, two kids (seven and three) and is a Lawyer.  He has no problem with the weather no matter what city he visits.


If bad weather is making you blue, look inside at what's really going on.  If you are happy when the weather is great, look inside at what is really going on.  You can't count on the outside world to make you happy.  The weather is the outside world.


Nothing wrong with appreciating a beautiful day.  Appreciating anything and everything in life will make you happy.  However, that beautiful day is a bonus (not a need) to your happiness. Get all the bonuses you can get just don't demand them to be happy.


Rochester and Portland got me to appreciate where I live in California.  I would not want to live anywhere else.  However, I had fun in Portland.  I have a true friend in Portland.  I have family I love in Portland.  I had and have great food in Portland.  And, OH - YES, it feels so good when it stops.


I hated the weather in Rochester, but I made great friends.  We were all in the same boat.  Instead of going out all the time, we spent time together in each of our houses having parties.  The weather actually did a good thing - it brought us together.  The bad weather was expected and therefore, was not the focus on the people who were going to live there the rest of their lives.  If they were not happy it was not because of the weather and they knew it.


Happiness is the forgotten ingredient in life.  Happiness is your goal.  A good weather day should be a plus to your happiness.  A bad weather day will bring up emotions that you need to get in tune with.  Once you are in control of those emotions, once you are focused on positive emotions instead of negative emotions the weather will not rule your happiness.


PS.  It's cloudy today and has been for three days, but I'm still having fun.