Nice Weather and the Power of Subjective Language

ByMatthew

It’s raining today. When I went outside, even with an umbrella, I got wet (or at least my shoes and lower pant legs got wet).

I love nice weather, whether or not it includes rain.*

Many people equate sunny skies and dry feet with nice weather. If it’s raining (or snowing . . . ) it’s “bad” weather. It’s “crappy out” (or whatever your local language uses for the word “crap”).

This all wouldn’t be notable, and certainly not fodder for a post on this blog, if it weren’t for the power of language and the (seeming) complete widespread ignorance of subjectivity (and its power).

The weather isn’t nice or crap. It just is. Without getting too crazy about it, we’re much better off just describing the weather in (at least somewhat) objective terms.

Let’s say it is 75 degrees (Fahrenheit), relative humidity is 40% and the sky is sunny and mostly cloudless. Most people would say that’s nice weather. If forced to characterize it, I would say it’s nice** too, but I’m a golfer. A skier likely wouldn’t call that nice weather (or at least not ideal). They’d likely say it’s “okay,” but they’d much rather the temperature was 30 degrees – that way they could be skiing.

Weather, and the subjective terms people use to describe it is really just a proxy for my real point: we make decisions about what things mean and we use language to do it.

When we use subjective language – that is non-resourceful – to describe, understand and label something objective like weather, we strengthen a muscle that is only used to wield a club whose sole purpose is to beat us down. The better we can get at seeing and describing and understanding things clearly and objectively, the better our experience of, and facility with, life.

Where do you use subjective language, with a resultant decrease in quality-of-life? In other words, where do you label things – that you really don’t know the truth of – and end up feeling worse as a result?

How can you be more accurate, and objective, about those sorts of situations and phenomena? Your emotions, and life, will be much better if you can see and understand things better.

*  *  *

* Rainy weather is nice, even beautiful weather, in that rain is a natural and necessary part of our Earth’s cycle. Rain brings life to plants, crops and livestock and fills our reservoirs and aquifers. Without rain (and snow) we would perish. That wouldn’t be nice at all, would it?

** I will grant you that, as a human, that sort of weather is objectively “nice” in that it well-supports my physical existence. Besides needing to shield my skin from excessive sun exposure, that’s pretty good weather for a being with a human body.

Similar Posts

  • What To Do

    ByMatthew

    In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing. – Theodore Roosevelt *  *  * But how do we know what the “right” thing is? Sometimes we know, sometimes we don’t ….

  • The Actual Issue

    ByMatthew

    I am reading a great book by Ronald and Mary Hulnick, “Loyalty to Your Soul” and have to share something I read: “How we relate to an issue is the issue.” This is such a powerful idea. “Issues” are happening all the time. How we decide to interact with them makes all the difference. When we…

  • Our Power

    ByMatthew

    The most devastating thing we can learn about our power is how much of it we have. How much change we could make if we would only speak up first, not last. How much influence we can have if we’re willing to to look someone in the eye and say, “yes.” Or, “this is our…

  • Fear and Passion

    ByMatthew

    I am interrupting my watching of Seth Godin on Jonathan Fields’ Good Life Project to explore an idea Seth presented. Brother Seth was talking about how people begin things and how whether they are 1) afraid and 2) if they care impacts what happens (if anything). I had an idea to map the idea, using a…