Why Cold Showers Suck So Good
Cold showers suck.
That’s a fact.
They’re painful and evil.
But sometimes I can’t help but think they also feel kinda good.
I weirdly enjoy them (most of the time).
I was taking one the other day, and I hated it, but I also felt so damn good and alive.
“Why is it that I love and hate it at the same time?”
We’ve all heard about cold-plunging by now. The act of soaking in ice-cold water for a certain amount of time.
Tempting, isn’t it?
Well, people love it.
People ACTUALLY enjoy it.
Maybe not the actual freezing-your-body part, but the benefits that go along with it.
So they keep doing it.
That was a bit too extreme for me, but I wanted to keep up with the Joneses.
I had to see what the hype was all about without absolutely hating my life.
Plus, I didn’t feel like buying a big tub.
I wanted something a bit easier to incorporate into my routine.
So I started taking cold showers. A good starting point that would show me a good chunk of those results people were bragging about.
And while there are science-backed benefits to cold therapy, that wasn’t why I loved it.
I actually didn’t know why.
I was confused.
Why is it such a unique experience?
What is it about cold showers that part of me truly loves?
That was an unanswered question on the back of my head for a while.
I mislabeled it as one of those things that “just feels good.”
But I never dug deeper for that “why?”
Well, it came to me the other day.
Let me tell you about it.
I was having a hard morning.
Woke up late, didn’t have enough time for my morning routine, overcooked my eggs… Just a messy, burnt-egg-for-breakfast kind of morning.
And it came with a side of anxious thoughts.
I hopped in the shower and cranked it to cold for a quick morning rinse.
Instant reaction.
Anxious thoughts = Gone.
It was that moment when I realized why they felt good.
I was present.
And even though I was cold and almost in physical pain, I felt so much mental relief, I didn’t even care.
I felt so at ease.
So alive.
It was then that I realized the reason I enjoyed them was because it was a forced break from exhausting, unnecessary thoughts.
All absurd thoughts vanished when I put my body in this state of shock.
My brain became more occupied with the sudden temperature change than whatever was feeding into my anxiety.
I dare you to take a cold shower and be stressed about work at the same time. Let me know how that goes.
It’s just too much for the brain to handle.
And that’s fascinating to me.
It’s too easy for the brain to create overwhelming scenarios when you’re in a comfortable state.
It’s just too easy for your thoughts to wander somewhere else.
That’s why your brain will just keep going and going making you feel uneasy, even if you’re doing something that’s supposed to be relaxing.
Like taking a hot shower.
Hence an uncomfortable, unfamiliar state has to come in for your brain to be like,
“Woah! What’s going on here? I guess I should pay attention to it.”
It’s harder to just be.
That’s why when you turn that water to cold, I guarantee that the clutter you got going on will simply vanish.
It’ll happen so fast you won’t even notice.
You’ll be too busy being.
(And maybe shivering a bit, but that’s okay… you can do hard things).
Uncomfortable scenarios are like bug spray for unnecessary thoughts.
I keep taking the cold showers not because they’re fun, but because they force me to mentally come back to reality and experience the now.
They leave my brain no other choice.
There’s too much going on for me to be stressing over work, relationships, the conversation I wish I could change, life, ANYTHING!
The instant that first ice-cold drop hits my skin, my brain snaps back into now.
There’s suddenly no room for clutter.
Only the fact that I’m cold and it sucks.
“Can you I go longer than I did yesterday?”
“Should I go colder today?”
These questions started to arise once I started seeing this practice as a way to challenge myself.
The pain is temporary.
And for me, that’s enough to keep doing it.
It’s meditative.
It’s empowering.
And don’t even get me started on the feeling after getting out of one of those showers.
I’m ready to take over the world!
It was then that I realized a couple more things.
It’s not just cold showers that make me feel so alive.
A lot of other uncomfortable things have the same effect.
You don’t need to stand in freezing conditions to come back to reality.
All you need is to be uncomfortable.
Then, all the dots REALLY connected.
I have always been a BIG YesTheory fan.
Their slogan?
Seek Discomfort
I often think about the amazing impact their channel has had on me.
It’s truly changed the way I think, act, and live.
But now it was more relatable than it ever was.
I was applying it to my life without even realizing it.
If you’re familiar with their channel, you’d probably agree that every person who seeks discomfort truly seems to be living as their highest selves.
They don’t have a choice but to enjoy their circumstances. Especially if it’s something they never even considered doing in the first place.
This is because by putting themselves in uncomfortable situations, they’re forced to LIVE them.
Their minds are like,
“Woah there Jimmy, we never agreed on skydiving or running a marathon or convincing strangers to come over for dinner. Now we have to actually work and figure out how we’re gonna do all this. I guess no more time for overthinking…”
Your brain can’t work its automated responses if you put it in an unknown situation.
Now, I’m not saying you have to do extreme activities like bungee jumping or swimming with sharks to ease your mind from your daily concerns.
Unless you want to, if so, send me pics, please.
I’m simply saying you should consider being more open-minded to putting yourself in situations you normally wouldn’t.
Exercise your brain by not giving it a choice but to observe, let go, and be.
If you become aware of this, you’ll slowly see a lot of progress in your life.
You’ll feel a lot more mental clarity.
You’ll be more yourself.
Because you are SO much more than a cluttered mind.
Here’s some ideas of things you can do to bring yourself back to reality.
- Obviously cold showers and cold plunging. Had to say it again, duh. Seriously though, give it a shot and stick to it for at least a week.
- Stretching and doing yoga. Yoga has been a big one for me. Sometimes it’s still hard to get myself on the mat, but I have never had a bad experience when I do. Yes, some sessions are better than others, but even if my brain is a little foggy during the practice, there’s always at least a few seconds of mental relief that make it all worth it. Even if you have a rushed morning, at least take a minute or two to stretch. It’s a huge investment plus it’ll still pause messy brain activity for a little bit.
- Meditation. It takes a while to fully dominate this practice. I still get unwanted thoughts during my meditations every once in a while. But the reason meditation can help you understand and see these thoughts from a different perspective is because you have to learn to become the observer. Yes, thoughts come up. But do you let them overwhelm you and feed into them? Or do you simply observe and let go? It’s a hard skill to conquer, but an amazing journey to experience. Every second is rewarding. You appreciate the now a lot more every time.
- Explore new places in your area. I live in a small-ish town. For a long time, I thought my town was too small to explore. Turns out I was wrong. There is SO much more to it than I was even aware of. Why? Because I didn’t care to look for more than what my body and mind already knew. I was so caught up in the known that my mind convinced me the unknown simply didn’t exist. Explore a new area. Get lost.
- Start a new activity. Any activity you don’t usually do. It could be something you’ve been wanting to do or pick back up. This will put your body in a new scenario and you’ll be forced to BE. Plus, you’ll learn new skills.
- Play with your friends and family. This was also a big one for me. If you bring awareness of this phenomenon to a group of people, chances are they will be more willing to do something about it. This is why our most memorable experiences are usually about things we do that we don’t usually do. So, find a board game you all really like, play soccer, plan a scavenger hunt… There are so many things you can do to bring everybody’s awareness together and focus on ONE thing while being present.
Let me tell you the story that inspired my last bullet point.
A couple months ago, my family and I realized we all fell into a routine. We hadn’t experienced being present, together.
The solution?
A water balloon fight.
A handful of grown-ups reliving childhood through a water-bomb fight.
So I dare you to play a little more with your loved ones.
It’ll be fun.
You’ll connect more.
Excuses = Gone.
The possibilities are endless.
There are infinite ways to be a little more, every day.
The only thing that matters is that you commit.
You need to prove to yourself that you want to BE so bad, you’re willing to change your lifestyle.
Let me know what you come up with.
Thanks for reading.
Follow me for more interesting reads.
:)
‘till next time, be kind to yourself, smile at a stranger, and eat tasty food.
-MirosBarr
