2 Nordic concepts this 34-year-old in North Dakota lives by to thrive in winters

Jaymes O’Pheron isn’t just used to the cold — he thrives in it.

O’Pheron, 34, lived in Washington, Tennessee, Texas and Ireland before moving to Fargo, North Dakota with his wife, Carla, in 2021.

North Dakota ranked high on their list for its affordable cost of living, fast-growing cities and friendly policies for small businesses. O’Pheron is a serial entrepreneur and burnout coach for other business owners, and Carla works for a precious metals dealer.

Despite the city’s dark and frigid winters — recent temperatures have hovered between minus 25 degrees and into the single digits — “we weren’t scared of the cold,” O’Pheron tells CNBC Make It. Carla previously taught middle school in Alaska not far from the Arctic Circle, he adds.

Since moving to North Dakota, he says he’s taken to two Nordic-inspired mentalities: “friluftsliv” (a Scandinavian concept of living outdoors) and “sisu” (the Finnish art of finding inner strength).

Here are three things O’Pheron says anyone can adopt to get through, and maybe even embrace, bitter winter weather.

O’Pheron says shifting your mindset to take ownership of your response to weather can “transform” your experience of winter and encourage you to get outside more.

“If you’re just letting yourself be controlled by the weather, you’re going to have a miserable time,” he says.

He advises leaning into winter weather to “appreciate it, find beauty in each moment” and “find joy as well as community and connection” to process harsh temperatures with intention. For O’Pheron, that means braving the cold to get out of the house and enjoy Fargo’s “thriving arts community” including going to the symphony, ballet and opera.

Another way to think about it: “There’s no such thing as inappropriate weather, only inappropriate clothing.”

O’Pheron has been a fan of ice plunges, or the practice of submerging yourself in freezing water for a period of time, for years and sees it as “practicing how to enjoy a blizzard.”

“You’re regaining that sense of autonomy and ownership of” exposure to the cold, which he feels build his resilience and changes his physical and mental response to it.

Research on the benefits of cold plunges are mixed, but early studies have indicated some upsides. In 2020, research from the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. found that open-water swimming in cold temperatures improved participants’ mood. And a 2018 case study from a collection of British universities also found ice baths could be used to treat depression and anxiety.

As O’Pheron sees it, cold plunges help train his body to warm up better and “exercises your body’s internal heater, so you actually don’t feel as cold in the winter.”

Another facet of “sisu” is balancing physical and mental endurance with self-compassion. To that end, O’Pheron balances cold plunges with time in heated saunas. Doing so trains his body “to relate to the cold positively” and build his mood and “spiritual resilience,” he says.

Finally, O’Pheron says the biggest way to change your winter mindset is to prioritize social interactions.

Doing so keeps his winter blues at bay. “You don’t have to go out into a massive crowd in order to around people — be with people you care about and who fill your bucket, whether that’s going and joining a chess club or an eating club or going to silent reading parties or the movies.”

Even when “you can’t get the sun, go hug someone,” he adds. “It kind of puts the sun in your heart.”

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