60 days strong and I’m not stopping. I just don’t see why I would ever start taking regular toasty warm showers again. Crazy, right?
After reading Joel’s Cold Shower Therapy Guide one morning early January I just knew I had to give it a try. I thought “I’m doing cold showers for at least 10 days.” I just started right away, not the next day or from Monday, right then.
For the first week or so all the negative thoughts ran though my head.
- What’s the point?
- Is it dangerous?
- I don’t like this; I shouldn’t do things that are not fun.
- Nobody will know if I skip
Each day I managed to push these thoughts aside and take that cold shower. I used a timer to make sure I wasn’t cutting them short. At least five minutes Joel said. After four minutes, I’d always start checking the time hoping it was nearly over. The last minute always felt pretty tough.
This all sounds like a lot of effort Sam
If you’ve not already read Joel’s post I mentioned (and you should have) I’ll bottom line for you why you should give this a go.
If you can take a cold shower everyday you can do anything.
That’s a big statement.
Whenever you attempt to level up in your life, you’re going to be doing something new. New things are uncomfortable. Being okay with that uncomfortable feeling can be trained into you. Think about this for a second.
“If you can’t do something uncomfortable for 5 minutes in your own home with nobody around how do you expect to do it out there in the real world” - Joel Runyon
If you’re not willing to put yourself in uncomfortable situations how will you ever grow? How will you get from where you are to where you want to be?
- Job interviews are uncomfortable.
- Learning a new skill is uncomfortable.
- Speaking in front of people is uncomfortable.
- Asking questions can be uncomfortable.
- Putting your content out there can be uncomfortable.
Okay, so you get the idea. When you’re trying to make a difference in your life, you’re going to end up in situations that are uncomfortable. Progress sits right at those places. It’s called the ’comfort zone’ for a reason.
The greatest learning happens in your life, not while your comfortable but when your lost in the woods and have to find your way out.
What are you waiting for
My favourite part of Joel’s post goes something like this.
So how cold does it really have to be?
As cold as your shower goes.
What if my shower is extra cold? Like really, really cold?
Sucks to be you.
I’ll admit the first time I tried it I mixed in a tiny bit of hot water, the second time I realised the shock is all the same anyways and jumped in ice cold.
The sense of accomplishment you get after you’ve conquered a cold shower is crazy. You just have to give it a try to understand.
I use cold showers as a tool for the phycological effects, but there are great health benefits too. Rather than list them all out here - go read another one of Joel’s super in-depth posts - All The Benefits of Cold Showers. As a quick list your looking at:
- A better immune system
- Increased fat loss
- Improved circulation
That’s pretty impressive for zero extra added time out of your day. Honestly, it takes ZERO extra time! Take the cold shower challenge, you won’t regret it.
Feel the resistance and do it anyways!
Joel if you ever read this, thanks man.
If you think the idea of taking cold showers is lame, that’s okay. Give it a try for 30 days and then come talk to me.
