The Gifts and Learning From Wisconsin Winters
Last month marked my fifth year living in the U.S. midwestern state of Wisconsin. The Dairyland state sits within the top ten most frigid states in North America where temps average 47 Fahrenheit. Throughout winters and spring, temps can dip to -7 degrees Fahrenheit and in 1996, the state recorded its lowest temperature in history: -55 degrees. (In New Zealand, these temps become -7 centigrade, -18 centigrade, and -43 centigrade. You minus 30 then divide by half to convert.)
Although, I’ve found surprising gifts from long, drawn-out cooler temps which can linger through to May. (Last week, we froze for days. Yesterday: snow!)
In this week’s post, I’m celebrating Wisconsin and what I learned about myself and my situation from a cooler climate. By that, I’m applying mental fitness coaching techniques I bring to coaching to apply the Sage perspective: finding gifts, opportunities, and even knowledge, within tricky situations. (You can find my podcast on this topic here.)
Embrace all the seasons
One first lesson ties to Ada, the wise female protagonist in Charles Frazier’s iconic novel, Cold Mountain. Meandering through a snowy forest, Ada knows not to discriminate against any season — loving winter equally as she does spring, summer, and autumn.
I agree. Discriminating against winter means hiding indoors, impossible for me as a New Zealander. So, I do step out every day, provided it’s safe and not dangerous to breathe the air. I strive for incremental increases in time outside each year. This helps. So does looking for the beauty within nature — and photographing things as you walk.
My lesson for life and communications: Find purpose — and beauty — in all aspects of my work and life, even the mundane, uncomfortable, or less pleasant.
Learn from other people and cultures
Our second winter coincided with the shocking arctic polar vortex, which made world headlines and broke records in Wisconsin and neighboring Illinois. Growing up elsewhere (New Orleans for my husband; New Zealand and tropical Asia for me) revealed a fear-inducing knowledge gap. What if I (or my children) came to harm?(Reading ominous books, like David Laskin’s The Children’s Blizzard, revealed scary historical blizzards in America’s heartland where children and farmers froze in their fields.)
Yet, I realized you do (and can) learn as you go. That winter, I discovered temperatures plummet (20-degrees) with the setting sun inducing frostbite without gloves. Friends also taught me to:
- Take out warm beverages outdoors to create steam and warmth.
- Prepare your vehicle with warm clothing and blankets, water — whatever you’d need to withstand getting stranded. Avoid driving in snow — and car washes, too. One winter, my vehicle doors frozen solid, trapped me outside my vehicle at sundown, without gloves.
- Celebrate when temperatures rebound after a plunge. The Scandinavians, for instance, in tundra country lay down picnic blankets on the snow and enjoy soup, warmed bread, etc.
- Take heed with alcohol. A whiskey toddy warms the throat and system; too much brings death. Bars close to avoid casualties from drunk patrons stumbling home and falling, never to wake again.
My lesson for life and communications: Ask for help. Stay open and comfortable working in a space of not knowing. (ICF Competency #5. Maintains Presence.)
Arm yourself with tools
As our winters grew, so did our knowledge of resources, including hand and foot warmers, thermal tops, plush down-filled jackets (best purchased in the summer for the decent prices). Milwaukee brand even offers a battery-powered heated hoodie.
You also recall lessons from your childhoods, even if growing up with milder temps. In the backblocks of South Canterbury, New Zealand, my mum armed me with a foil wrapped baked potato for each pant or coat pocket when roaming outdoors. (Oven-warmed river stones can work well, too.) Also, wear hats, even indoors, as most of our heat escapes from our head.
My lesson for life and communications: Stay creative (and resourceful) as you problem solve. Prepare. Prepare. Prepare.
Feel pulled outdoors through friendships and purpose
The real boon came from friendships through our (then) youth football team, the Muskego Warriors, and an outdoor culture which pulls us outdoors.
With the great lakes, Wisconsin becomes home to a larger population of anglers in the U.S. and hunters, too. An annual ice fishing shanty party hosted by dear football friends remains my favorite winter day. Their shanty, a rustic structure for seats and a stove, attracts scores of Wisconsinites for fishing, drinking, eating, and tobogganing.
The resulting six or seven hours outdoors become the record time spent outdoors in Wisconsin in months. Your body feels different and reminds you: Fresh air and access to wildlife, sun, and birds feels good. You feel inspired to spend more time outdoors from this day onward — no matter what. I’ve reported on ice fishing for National Public Radio and you access that report here.
My lesson for life and communications: Forge connections with the like-minded to survive. Manage your Judge who will wrongly assume discomfort as a barrier to trying new things. Let your body (where you hear your Sage) guide you.
Celebrate the warm
Extreme cold, I’ve also learned, punctuates the seasons, something I missed from previous U.S. homes in San Francisco, Ca., Chandler, Az., and Cary, N.C. (Four seasons always felt familiar in New Zealand, and in Japan, where I lived and worked for years.)
In extreme temperatures, these punctuations become more pronounced, beautiful, and with that more exciting, anticipated — more dramatic.
When spring truly arrives in Wisconsin (meaning the snow’s done, the temperatures stay stable and crops resilient) the land signals change with melting ice, garden cardinals, and darker fields. Social changes arise. The entire state explodes with happiness. Harley Davidson riders (we’re home to Harley Davidson) pack our streets. Children with puppies roam the streets. Wisconsinites smile more and want to connect.
My lesson for life and communications: Look for beauty within all adversity. Use visual and auditory mindfulness to anchor and restore us.
And that’s where I end this article today. I’ll enjoy our lingering cool temps knowing with the upcoming humidity and heat, I’ll miss these quieter, contemplative moments only winter brings. Yoko Ono’s poignant quote helps keep me on track: “Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”
Debbi Gardiner McCullough coaches and trains immigrant leaders to become more confident, concise, and authentic communicators. From Wisconsin, she owns and runs Hanging Rock Coaching and serves as a communication effectiveness fellow coach to leaders all over the globe with BetterUp.