Cold shower challenge — Day 3 of 30
I bet you can’t take a cold shower. Seriously. Try it and get back to me. It’s such a weird mind game. Three days ago, I decided to bite the bullet and commit. Have a cold shower every day for 30 days. Can I do it? I don’t know.
I’m still not entirely sure why I’m doing this… but each morning when I jump in the shower, I countdown from 5 (thanks Mel Robbins) and turn off the hot tap.
The cold water comes rushing, my mind freezes and my body panics….
Why am I doing this?
I honestly still have no idea.
Entrepreneurs are apparently using this method to build discipline and do difficult things. Really? Building discipline with a cold shower?
After doing some in-depth research (ok, it was really just reading YouTube comments) I was deeply curious.
Was it that hard to take a cold shower?
Surely I’m strong enough to tolerate something as simple as cold water right? Wrong!
And boy, was I wrong. The first time I tried it, I didn’t go anywhere near the cold tap for another 8 months.
I still don’t know why it’s so hard. It’s an oddly difficult mind game.
But for some reason, three days ago I decided to give it another try.
I wanted the challenge. The time felt right.
On a whim, mid-shower, I turned the tap cold. This is what it feels like.
The cold hits. Your mind freezes, your body panics, the air is knocked out of you .
A voice starts yelling in your head
“get out!”
“turn it off right now!”
“are you crazy?”
“why are you doing this?!”The reaction is insanely powerful.
Your breathing increases and you probably actually start to pant, like your body is preparing for danger.
To control your thoughts you count down in your head “5-4-3-2-1" “5-4-3–2–1" over and over and over until your mind stops panicking (or it’s just time to get out).
Then once its over, your mind starts to calm, your body shivers and tingles pleasantly.
You feel awake, alert and alive.
You feel ready to take on the world.
You feel refreshed in your body and mind.
The feelings is like nothing I can really describe.
All from cold water? Yep. Crazy as it sounds, that’s how it feels.
The panic of the cold was much less severe the second day, but the weird high I got afterward was just as strong.
It's such a strangely horrible but incredibly rewarding experience.
And I still don’t understand how those two things can go together in one sentence. But they do.
Don’t ask me why.
Can I do this for 30 days?
I honestly don’t know. But I’m going to try.
And oddly, I invite you to try too.
Have you ever done this before? Was your reaction as profound as mine?
All from a bit of cold water?
Let me know and if you like, I’ll let you know how I’m going around the 10–12 day mark. I hope I can keep this up and see where it leads me.
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