Sometimes You Gotta Get Outdoors

Next week is Thanksgiving and when getting outside becomes more difficult. With all of the technology in our lives, we can keep ourselves entertained while hibernating during the winter months. Unfortunately this may be bad for some. This is the time of the year when seasonal depression kicks in and being outside can help cure it in some instances.

My kids are among those that benefit from being outdoors. It is probably a good thing we spend a lot of the winter skiing as I don't know how else to embrace winter and enjoy being outside. My youngest daughter is noticeably happier after spending a cold winter day teaching little groms how ski. Last year with all of the road closures on the way to Alta because of avalanche danger, she had to find other ways to get outside and keep from getting down.

Today I spent some time with my youngest son. This morning he felt rather down and so we headed outside for a walk to the donut shop. If that doesn't cheer you up, I don't know what will. Unfortunately he still wasn't his jovial self and so we put on jackets this afternoon and headed outside. We walked to a nearby park and played a round of disc golf. I'm not sure if my comedic skills brightened his day or just being outside did the trick. Afterwards he felt much better and we all enjoyed being around him more.

I know you would expect different advice from someone that used to work for a major video game company. After all, shouldn't I be telling you to play the latest and greatest game as it will make you feel better? Nope, the reality is that we all need sunshine. It is tougher to get in the winter but no less important. When you feel yourself getting down on a cold winter day, put down the donut and hot chocolate, put on a nice-warm jacket, and spend sometime outside. Remember there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. 

OptOutside

This morning I find myself at the Salt Lake airport waiting to catch a flight to Tokyo, Japan. I take this trip every year and have to fly out on a Saturday so I can be there on Monday for a conference I host. The thing that makes the trip difficult is that I have to cut my Thanksgiving break short by 2 days. I wish I could schedule this for a different weekend but it coincides with another company-wide event and so I don't get to dictate the dates of the conference.

Every year before Thanksgiving we are bombarded with ads for "Black Friday Sales." Several years ago, a number of outdoor suppliers and retailers like Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI) created a movement to give up a day of fighting shopping lines and spend the day outside. They call the event #OptOutside. REI even went so far as to keep their stores closed on Black Friday. As someone with a daughter that used to work in retail, I can support that. This year it helped that Alta's opening day happened yesterday and so I had something fun to do outside. I got to spend it with my daughter, wife, and son. We had a great time.

While it may be too late to buck the usual shopping trend and spend the day after Thanksgiving outside, it is not too late to think about how you can spend part of this Christmas season enjoying the outdoors. While computers and technology are great, sometimes it takes a walk outside on a crisp December morning to realized how wonderful the outdoors can be. I highly encourage it.