Why the Weather Forecast Has Made You a Negative Person

Let me ask you a question. What if the weatherman says it is going to snow tomorrow morning and, when you wake up, it is sunny and dry? Is your world turned totally upside down?

It’s not, you say?

Then let me ask you another question. Why, if information such as this is not life-altering, do so many people make it the topic of discussion every time they open their mouths?

What is it about the weather that seems to make it the default for the vast majority of all communication with strangers in our society?

Is that really the only thing we believe we have in common with one another? And what is it about elevators that make us talk about the weather?

“Hello.”

“Hello.” Brrr, it’s cold out there!”

“It is. And I hear that it is supposed to snow all day.”

“Geez. Gotta love winter.”

“Yeah! 4 more months of this.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, have a good day.”

“You, too. Stay warm.”

I honestly do not recall ever having a conversation in an elevator that did not revolve around the weather forecast.

It seems to be one of those things in our society that we latch on to like an old, smelly security blanket, ridden with holes. For some reason, we MUST know what the weather is going to be like at all times. Not only can we turn on our local news 7 times a day and see what is happening with our weather, but we can actually watch The Weather Channel and never miss a single forecast for the entire world!

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all weather, all the time! Oh, for joy!

If that’s not bad enough, we love to make sure the weather is a part of the negativity that, for some unknown reason, we so embrace in our culture.

Have you ever stopped to think that a “20% chance of rain” means that there is an 80% chance of sun?! Or that “party cloudy” means it’s going to be partly sunny?! Yet, you will never hear any meteorologist say it that way!

Most of our daily lives are not dependent upon the weather, but some people get obsessed with how much precipitation we’re going to get today…as if it matters to their lives.

OK, there is a reason for this rant of an example.

We let things we cannot control take over our lives. In addition, we let inconsequential things affect whether we are miserable or happy.

The problem with that is that we often discount the positive things that would make us happy and empower the negative things that make us miserable by dwelling on them.

Remember, life is not about what happens TO you; life is all about how YOU CHOOSE TO RESPOND to what happens to you.

Rarely can we control what is happening, but we can always control how we choose to respond to what is happening.

The next time you hear a weather forecast, please do yourself a favor and listen to what they are NOT telling you, as well as what they are telling you. Choose to hear the positive, not just the negative. That IS a choice, you know.

Either way, every day is a gift, whether it brings rain or sun. I am sure you can use that time and energy wasted on inconsequential things to be better in your own life. We all can.

WRITTEN BY

Robin Sacks Professionally, I am a Confidence & Performance Coach, speaker, author and motivator. Personally, I am a mom, wife, and friend.

I live for bad puns and good mysteries.