Cold is sweeping across America, and I love every second of it.
What I don’t love is all the people who seem to only want to complain about cold weather. Let me crack a little egg of knowledge for all of you out here. There is almost never a legit reason to complain about it being cold outside.
It’s currently -22 degrees outside of my house in Wisconsin. It doesn’t take long to freeze to death in these temps, and it can happen really fast if you somehow get exposed without any winter gear of any kind. Yet, do you see me complaining? No, I’m just out here grinding. Death is only one door to the outside away, and I’m not even slowing down.
This is the mentality that separates the men from the boys, the winners from the losers, and those of us bound for greatness and those who clearly aren’t.
I was once at a study day during my time in college, and I’ll never forget it. Temps were lingering somewhere around the -50 degrees mark. It was brutal, but I couldn’t really find a real reason to complain. However, one of the women I was with told me it couldn’t get any worse. Oh really? Couldn’t get any worse than being really cold outside while we’re inside studying?
I proceeded to educate her on the Battle of the Bulge and the 101st Airborne that held the line at Bastogne in the Ardennes during WWII. It wasn’t just cold. The American soldiers had to endure relentless German attacks from the ground and the air. Yet, the Americans held the line and ultimately pushed the Germans back. They did it all while in freezing cold temps, with almost no winter clothing and little ammunition. The heroic actions of the 101st Airborne in Bastogne was chronicled in the hit series “Band of Brothers.”
There’s a line later in the series that I think defines the situation pretty well. The Americans are walking through a forest well after Bastogne when one is asked if it reminds him of Bastogne. George Luz simply responded, “Yeah, now that you mention it. Except, of course, there’s no snow, we got warm grub in our bellies, and the trees aren’t f*cking exploding from Kraut artillery, but yeah… Frank… other than that, it’s a lot like Bastogne.”
Stop your complaining, put on a coat, go outside and experience something most people never will. I don’t want to hear about it unless they’re running bombing raids over you at the same time. The cold is nothing but an excuse to get outside for a little bit.