How To Survive A Cold Shower

After 311 days of cold showers here’s how to make it through your first and why it might be worth it.

I’m not going to lie to you it’s hard.

It’s going to take your breath away.

You’ll want to quit.

You’ll question if it’s healthy and convince yourself it must be dangerous.

Do it anyway.

I told a friend “If you can take a cold shower every day you can do anything” he laughed. My friend dismissed my comment as stupidity without any further analyses. I still believe this statement to be true, perhaps now more than ever.

The act of taking a cold shower is not about the water, it’s about doing battle with yourself and winning. If you’re able to beat that inner voice. The voice that tells you, “you’re not fast enough, not strong enough, not smart enough and not good enough.” If you can shut that voice down and shout back I’ve got this, I believe you have everything you need to get everything you want out of life.

Cold Shower Number One

Don’t try to ease yourself into the temperature, make it as cold as it goes and step under. For the first 30-60 seconds, It’s all about breathing. Get your breathing under control. Long deep breaths. No you are not going to die.

Controlling your breathing is powerful.

If you’re controlling your breathing it’s not going to feel that bad. Move around so the water hits everywhere, chest, back of the neck and under those arms. If you’re struggling, just keep moving. After two minutes, it starts to get easier and won’t feel that cold(promise). Stick it out until at least the five-minute mark. Joel Runyon utilises the battle cry. I’ve never used that technique for fear of my housemates calling an ambulance or the police. Another tick is to play music, the rocky sound track type of stuff.

In the last 311 days, I’ve had zero warm showers they’ve all been as cold as it goes. Here are some ideas I picked up along the way.

1. We can deal with more than we think we can.

If you had told me a year ago that I’d now only take cold showers, I would have been the first to laugh. I imagine most people think they can’t take cold showers, they can. Step into the fear and watch as it melts away. It’s just never as bad as you thought it would be.

2. Anything can be a habit

It’s been months since I’ve mentioned anything about cold showers. My friends and family thought I had stopped. My new housemates didn’t know at all. It has become such a part of my daily life that I didn’t even think about it. Over time conciseness behaviour transforms into default actions

3. Shortcuts only decrease the value for ourselves.

For awhile I started to cut showers short. I would try to jump in and out as quick as possible. It’s not like anybody is keeping track of how long I stay in the shower. This was pointless. The benefits (for me) come from breaking through mental barriers not from getting cold. People won’t always know the shortcuts you take, but you will. Make sure you’re happy with the person who looks back at you in the mirror.

4. People don’t care if you’re crazy

I get a few of these comments -

“You’re crazy.”

“that’s insane.”

“Do you still do it?”

“that’s stupid.”

“I don’t get it, what’s the point?”

No matter how much somebody kicks up a fuss about what you’re doing, within 24 hours they’ll completely forget about you. They will be back to thinking about themselves. You are the only person who lives 100% of your life.

5. We can think about things too much

Talking yourself out of cold showers is super easy. Don’t think just do.

6. It’s about finding what works for you.

If cold showers are not your thing find something else that works.

One of the first things people tend to ask when they have read my blog is, do you still take cold showers? The answer is YES. Cold showers help me. They’re probably not for everyone but If you don’t try it for at-least ten days, I am going to say you still don’t know if they are or not.

Although most people would love to improve themselves, few are willing to sacrifice what they already have to make it happen.

That voice that pushes you towards comfort ignore it. Comfort kills ambition.

If you enjoyed this post consider sharing it with a friend? It helps more than you think.

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