Summary: Effortlessly taking cold showers is a mental game.
Intro: This is my own experience, so don’t take everything written here as 100% truth. Absorb my theory and adapt it to your own world view.
My skin hasn’t felt the joy of hot water in over 6 months (few exceptions). However, I’m not some habit guru who lives his life to maximum efficiency. I’ve been trying and failing to develop this habit for over a year and I can finally say that I have it down.
Body:
This post isn’t to discuss the benefits of cold showers. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever write about the benefits because there’s a lot of hot air around this subject. But, I can confirm that there are some physical and mental changes. They are very subtle, but impactful enough to convince me to keep taking cold showers.
I am going to help you get over the mental blocks that make cold showers so difficult. It really is all a mental game. You can I both know that after the initial splash of cold water on your skin that everything is okay. However, it’s still so hard to get into that damn shower.
Now let’s discuss some of these mental blocks.
Is it even worth it? – I laugh about this sometimes. What if this is all placebo and there are no tangible benefits from cold showers? What if I am sacrificing my nice and luxurious hot showers for nothing? Then I take a look in the mirror at my clearer skin and healthier hair and remember that my cold showers are working as intended.
But its cold today – Ahh nothing like some good ol’ fashioned rationalization. Hey it’s cold right now, let’s treat ourselves to a nice hot shower just for today. This thought process alone caused me to break so many good streaks. And we all know what happens after a relapse with any habit.
Let’s start tomorrow – This happens a lot when first starting a habit or after relapsing. You broke your streak once so you might as well fuck around for a couple of days right? Then once you’re satisfied you can get right back to it. Thinking like this will knock you off course in no time.
I’m tired – It’s been a long day, you deserve this hot shower. Although you’ve been trying to develop this habit for months, you should break your streak because of how you’re feeling right now! Also contrary to what others say, I have no issues sleeping after a cold shower.
These are just a few of the mental blocks I can remember. If I think of more I’ll update this post. It’s important to recognize your own thought patterns and take note of them. These are what cause you to stand outside the shower without every getting in. Or may cause you to avoid taking a shower at all.
To be clear, I’m not hating on those who take hot showers. Cold showers are definitely a good habit but it won’t change your life. But if you combine them with mindful meditation, not fapping, physical training and other good habits then you’ve got yourself a life changing routine.
Lessons Learned:
– Cold showers have subtle benefits.
– Take a cold shower
Contact:
Mindful Alpha 