A question of attitude

Make the best of it when there’s nothing you can do about the situation. After four years in Florida, I was back in Denmark in 2012, and lots of people asked why I’d come home to rain and grey skies.

Make the best of what you’ve chosen

We’d gone to Florida with the family for three years, and it became four. But I’d always been prepared to come home again.

Once I’d chosen to live in Denmark, spending my time being bitter about the weather made no sense. I could shout or complain, but that wouldn’t change the rain.

Do something about what you can influence

My philosophy was to do something about the things I could change. If I complained about politics, it should be to get someone to act or to try to change something myself.

The weather was an example of the opposite. I couldn’t control it. So I tried to let it go and enjoy what I had: a roof over my head, a little fresh rain on my face and sunshine when it came.

Attitude makes a difference in my daily life

It isn’t that I always think the weather is fantastic. It’s about trying to see something positive in what I can’t change anyway.

That was the message I wanted to share on returning home: Put your energy into what you can do something about, and try to get something good out of the rest.

Home from Florida to rain in Denmark

I’ve arrived in Denmark and it’s raining. I’m sitting in a little car, meeting old acquaintances, friends and family who welcome me home. Almost everyone also asks: What the hell are you doing here when the sun’s shining in Florida? Why did you come home? Aren’t you bitter about it?

I find that funny. Why would I be bitter? My family and I went to Florida planning to stay for three years. It became four. But I’d always been prepared to come home again. Once you’ve made that decision, you need to adjust to it too.

Make the best of what you can’t change

It’s about attitude. I don’t just buy the old saying that there’s no bad weather, only the wrong clothing. In the video, I call it some crap from a bunch of ridiculous scouts. I also make a sarcastic comparison with Stockholm syndrome, as if the Danes have grown fond of what they’re stuck with. That’s my provocative remark about their relationship with the weather.

My philosophy is actually quite simple, and fortunately it isn’t just mine: Do something about what you can do something about. Don’t get upset about what you can’t do anything about. Also read Skab din egen succes about finding your own path and putting your energy into what you can influence.

If I’ve decided to live in Denmark, it’s no use going around crying about high taxes and whining about the government without trying to change anything. I can criticise the government, but then it’s to change something. I want to influence people to act and take action myself. That’s different from just whining.

I can shout about the weather, but it’s still raining

The weather’s a good example. I can shout, scream, pray, cry and howl. The weather is what it is. I think Denmark’s weather is shit for much of the year. It’s dark and so on. But should I go around crying about it? No.

I want to live in Denmark and can’t do a damn thing about the weather. So I’ve decided that when it rains, it rains. I’m glad my car has a roof, and I can get a little fresh rain on my face too. When the sun shines, I revel in how lovely it is.

Think about what you can do something about, and do something about it. What you can’t change, you need to let go. Try to turn what’s annoying you into something positive in your mind. Perhaps it’s pretty nice not to be roasted like I was in Florida.

Action rather than sitting around whining

I have no use for endless whining. That’s what I’m trying to say in the video: Use your attitude to get something good out of the life you’ve chosen, and take action on the things where you can actually make a difference.

Along the way, I’m interrupted by a car overtaking at great speed. Wow, they drive fast here in Denmark. I also show the phone is in a holder and respond again to people who’d criticised me holding the camera in earlier recordings.

At the time, I say it was legal and boast that I’m a bloody good driver. Those are my own remarks in the video from 2012. Then I finish by saying we’ll probably meet again, if only on your computer.

I was reminded of the same thought when I worried in advance before a visit to the vet.

Best wishes, Martin. PS: Here I said my interview with investor Mikkel Pitzner from Fort Lauderdale had become free. The original interview page cannot be opened.