You can do that thing you don’t want to do.

You could just need a different perspective.

While there are endless stories one could tell, mine comes in the form of water…

(Be water my friends...smile *Random good advice from Bruce Lee*)

~

I remember being extremely displeased and disgruntled anytime I would come across a shower with cold water. GAHHHHH

I can remember the pain I would let in just by being so angry about the temperature of the water. It’s actually embarrassing, I am glad you weren’t there. ??????

This used to be me! Angry at the thing in front of me. Refusing to even clean myself or screaming the whole cold shower through. (lol< funny now but it wasn’t then).

Cold showers. No thank you! Never. Awful! Not gonna happen. I would rather..(fill in the blank) anything else!!!

Fast forward, the past couple of years I have intentionally been taking cold showers for the benefits of cold showers.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t hard, I still usually prefer being warm.

But here is how it goes…

I take a warm shower and wash my hair, etc.

Then I flip the dial and bring on the brrrrr…. And even with the habit of taking cold showers, NO… Oh NO, it is not comfortable at first.

Nope Nope Nope, I still sometimes scream a little at first. But now it is more on the inside since I have learned to control it. Ha!

I stand there questioning my sanity for a split second (just kidding) and tell myself over and over:

“You can do hard things!” “

“You can do uncomfortable things!”

“This will get better.”

“You can do this.”

And 20-30 seconds or a minute in on some days, I start to embrace the cold, so much so that it doesn’t even feel cold anymore, it feels comfortable and refreshing.

I usually get to the point where I don’t want to get out of the shower. (but I do, as I wanna be conscious of water consumption of course)

But, the cold shower, I thoroughly enjoy, and DANG I feel energized.

I also find I am proud of myself for having taken something so simple as a shower, a thing, as you know, the old version of LeeLee would have resisted with much emotional and verbal expression.

A takeaway: I think this example is a fine metaphor for most things LIFE.

Sitting in the discomfort >>>If we can get through the discomfort of things we can most often see that was exactly what we needed to do to find the joy, except the challenge, build the strength, understand the thing, learn the lesson, reach the next level of ourselves.

Doing the hard can allow life to become easier.

If you still find me crazy, that’s cool, because I am a bit and I embrace that. ????

But there is much research to back up the benefits of cold showers and other cold therapy.

If you want an entertaining and exceptional intro to it, Google Wim Hof, AKA ~ The Iceman, you won’t regret it.

To name a few benefits that I have experienced and enjoy: https://www.wimhofmethod.com/benefits-of-cold-showers

???Helps to be more alert~Hello body, wake up! And it helps to energize you through the natural tendency to take deeper breaths while in the cold, decreasing CO2 in your body, helping with concentration and focus throughout the day. I notice I am more focused on my writing/work/all things when I take cold showers. Ohhh good stuff!

???Increases Willpower: I am 100% in agreement here, you heard how I never used to embrace cold showers at all. For me to do this, it has indeed increased my power of will to do the darn thing, live through it, and reap the benefits which are so worth it.

???It also helps boost creativity. You might have heard that Woody Allen does his best thinking in the shower. I have to believe he was not the only one. I know this is the case for me as I constantly find myself running from the shower to my phone/computer/anywhere to write some ideas down. (lol)… Anyways, I have gone on a tangent. ??????

???Weight loss: cold showers increase metabolic rate, and more ^^ read in the link above ??????

???Hey, it is good for your hair follicles (is that how that is spelled???), too, err something. Don’t quote me on that. Anyone wanna expand on that, please do! smile

Some thoughts to leave with:

????Do the uncomfortable and it will become comfortable.

????If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

????If you educate yourself on the benefits of habits you do want, or the dangers/negative side-effects for a habit you don’t want, that awareness and knowledge of the pros and cons can make a large impact on your motivation to start or continue to do something.

Wishing you growth and goodness!

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What are your thoughts?

What are your experiences?

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