How to winter Harness your mindset to thrive on cold, dark, or difficult days

Kari Leibowitz

Book - 2024

"A blend of mindset science, original research and cultural insights into cultivating a positive "wintertime mindset," to cure winter blues and learn to find joy and comfort in dark times year-round. Do you dread the end of Daylight Savings each year and grouch about the long, chilly season of gray skies and ice? Do you reach for a lightbox to get you through January and February each year? What if there were a way to rethink this time of year? Psychologist and winter expert Kari Leibowitz's galvanizing HOW TO WINTER uses mindset science to help readers embrace winter as a season to be enjoyed, not endured--and in turn, learn powerful lessons that can impact our mental wellbeing throughout the year. Kari Leibowitz travel...led to the places on earth with the coldest, darkest, longest and most intense winters, expecting to research the season's negative effects on mental health--only to find that inhabitants actually looked forward to it with vigor and enthusiasm. In Earth's most intense winters, Leibowitz discovered the power of the "wintertime mindset"--impactful adaptations that can teach us not just about braving the dark, cold months of the year, but also the darker and more difficult seasons of life. In Tokyo, Japan, communities gather around hot pot and extra-sweet snow-radishes, embracing the special magic of cozy rituals. In Edmonton Canada, getting outside into well-below-freezing weather is an exercise on honing attention to nature's moodier offerings, correlated with an increase in positive emotions like awe and inspiration. In Tromsø, Norway people celebrate the beginning of the monthslong Polar Night--embracing the seasonal fluctuations in our energy and behavior (just like any other animal)--and the life-sustaining importance of rest. Inspired by the latest research as well as those who find warmth and joy in winter's extremes, HOW TO WINTER provides readers with concrete tools for making winter wonderful wherever they live, and in the process harnessing the power of small mindset changes with big impact, for every season of life"-- more