Everything Is Relative—Even Summer

In Brazil, my friend wraps herself in blankets when it’s 15 degrees. Here in the Netherlands, we celebrate that temperature like it’s a heatwave. She calls it winter; we call it barbecue weather.

That same relativity stretches beyond the thermometer. In NL, a 90-minute drive is practically an expedition. It’s the kind of journey that justifies snacks, a playlist, and maybe even a podcast series. But in parts of the US or Australia, four hours barely registers as “long.” You grab a coffee and hit the road.

How do you measure your experience?

It’s funny, isn't it? You can’t measure experience in minutes or degrees without also measuring perspective. And perspective is shaped by habit, environment, culture—even mood.

That’s not a flaw in our thinking. It’s a feature. It means everything you call normal has a baseline. And it means you can shift that baseline.

Are you stressed because you had a “long” meeting? Or are you grateful it only took 90 minutes to align a team of ten? Did you only get 6 hours of sleep—or did you get enough rest to power through the day? Are you failing at something—or still in the early innings?

Control the thermostat

Relativity doesn’t just apply to temperature or travel time. It shapes how you define success, struggle, and joy. You don’t control the temperature, but you do control the thermostat.

Adjust it.