If you’ve spent any time at all in the self-improvement scene over the past few years, you’ve undoubtedly come across some video where an unnaturally organized and well put-together productivity guru tells you how cold showers can strip off the pounds, boost your immune system, and bring back your childhood dog.
Now there are physical benefits to taking cold showers, but the real magic actually happens in your head, not your bloodstream.
Before we jump in, I want to say that I don’t take a cold shower every single day, and I don’t take my entire shower cold. I m take most of my shower hot, then at the end drop it to as cold as it will go for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. (I actually don’t count it out anymore, so that’s my best guess.)
Now.
Here are 3 changes I’ve noticed since I started taking 2-3 cold showers a week:
Contentment
This one is my favorite.
A few seconds after switching the water to cold, sometimes it feels as if somewhere inside me a switch has flipped, and all of a sudden the cold not only doesn’t bother me, but I feel at home in it, like I was meant to be a Finn rather than a Nebraskan. I breathe deeply with visions of Helsinki and Villi Lapsi by Elinoora in my head.
When this happens, all the prattle in my head stops and I’m able to simply be in the moment. I feel at peace, the way those gurus talk about meditation.
I’ve tried numerous methods of meditation over the past few years, and by getting used to taking cold showers, I stumbled upon the one that seems to work best for me. Stepping out of the shower now feels like I’ve won a battle.
Always best to start your day out with victory. Which brings me to change number 2…
Confidence
Though I’ve been at this for a while now, I still feel before I get in the shower that I don’t want to do it. I think “Maybe I’ll just take my shower and forget about turning it to cold.” But then invariably I get myself washed, and then turn it to cool, then to cold, and I win.
I don’t always get pumped up and look for something to smash, but I do always feel accomplished and free from the fear that tried to stop me from doing it.
It doesn’t end there, though. Conquering the fear of cold water helps me move past my other fears, not least of which is my fear of talking to other professionals. It’s easier to remind myself now that they’re just people, and their view of me is nothing at all like mine (more about that in a future post).
Consistency
I used to struggle really bad with my sleep schedule. Once I moved to a life not bound to a time clock and a boss, my sleep went all over the place and I was virtually unable to get anything done.
I’m not saying that cold showers fixed this. First off, it’s not fixed. I still have work to do. And second, I started taking cold showers after I started getting up in the mornings reasonably consistently.
What I am saying is that my practice of turning the water to cold at the end of my shower has solidified my view of myself as someone who is consistent in his commitments, and is willing to follow through. And that’s not nothing.
Conclusion
This post isn’t here to tell you to take an ice bath every morning so you’ll wake up a productivity giant in two weeks (productivity is overrated anyway, but we’ll talk about that another time). I’m writing this to share with you my experience, and if you’re on the fence about trying cold showers, hopefully this’ll give you that last little push over the edge to give it a shot.
Really, though. A cold shower is cheaper than a hot one. What do you have to lose?
Photo by Seth Doyle on StockSnap
Congratulations @njclabaugh! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):
Your next payout target is 50 HP.
The unit is Hive Power equivalent because your rewards can be split into HP and HBD
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
Great that you are actually having the motivation to do so! It's still on my list, but I have great discipline problems I guess..
As they say, motivation follows action. I'm not particularly motivated to do it, I just tell my hand to shut off the hot water and then I deal with the consequence.
I'm sorry you feel that way. I started with cold showers because others have said that they boost discipline. As James Clear says in Atomic Habits, "Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become." By flipping the water to cold, I'm telling myself that I'm strong and disciplined, even though I feel so far from it.
Yeahh I believe you are totally right! If I was a wise person I would walk to the shower now and take a cold shower, but we all know that's not gonna happen.
Anyway, I am gonna live in a camper starting September (and some time in summer). I will have hot water, but very limited, so that will force me to take either a cold shower or go to the gym (also not bad).
The nice thing is that the water will get colder with the season.
That sounds cool. My fiancé and I are thinking of camper life for a season after we get married. Sounds like fun.
Ohh really! Well, honestly I don't know if it is always fun, but I would not travel after summer, but study if plans don't change. I will install a good heater but I expect a lot of struggles. But I also see it as a challenge and a good lifelesson. After winter, I will slowly start looking for a room than, or maybe I love the vanlife and keep it up :)
In your case, it will probably be a lot better if you travel to warm, nice places and see the world! Where are you from? If you need any advices on buying a camper you can always ask me. There is so much to know! A little luxury is nice on a long trip!
I'm from the middle of the US. The idea is that we'd tour the states first, perhaps in the warmer areas, though we're no strangers to the cold.
That's good to know. I'll keep you in mind. Tkanks!