Has anyone else tried a cold plunge? It seems like people either love or hate it - no middle ground what-so-over. Me? I love a cold plunge, but only when I’m at the Korean Wi Spa (@WiSpa_USA) because I know there’s a hot tub a few steps away where I can warm my body back up. Is that a weenie move? Perhaps.
Here’s the thing, there are a lot of benefits to cold plunges, like helping the body recover from injuries or physical stress. It increases metabolism and gives my skin a glowy look. The primary reason I love a cold plunge, though, is that it helps me achieve my goals. So even if I’m a weenie in how I get there, I still do it. Let me walk you through it.
It takes me 2-3 tries before I can fully submerge up to my neck.
I have to hold my breath as I get it in and then I slowly release it while I’m submerging.
After about 20 seconds my body adapts so that I’m aware of the cold, but I’m not gripped by it. It’s like I’m watching it from afar.
What’s happening (which is super cool) is that the cold plunge exercises my mental ability to override my flight response, and I can use this muscle to manage stress in all parts of my life.
And that’s the power of the cold plunge: mind over matter.
Here’s another way to break this down. In Jonathan Haidt’s book THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, he shares a metaphor involving an elephant and a rider in which the elephant goes one way and the rider is trying to convince the elephant to go another way. It’s the source of our unhappiness when the two are not aligned. To drill down more specifically, the rider is the part of us that is rational and factual. The elephant is the instinctual part of us that is often on automatic pilot.
When I put my toes in 34-59 degree water, my immediate impulse is to pull them back out. The elephant part of me instinctually says, “Get the hell out of here - you’re going to freeze your ass off!” But the rider part of me says, “Whoa, wait a second. There are benefits to being in this very very cold water. Keep submerging.”
Hard truth: Even though I’ve done cold plunges for years, I still have to coax the elephant to go in the water.
The automatic pilot of the elephant is so strong that despite direct experience otherwise, the elephant is convinced it will freeze to death. Thus it takes me 2-3 tries before I can fully submerge.
My cold plunge practice is tremendously valuable to draw upon when I’m trying to hit a moonshot. Why? Because working towards achieving big goals can be stressful. The cold plunge has taught me that I can and I will adapt. If I sit long enough in the discomfort, I can distance myself from the stress and not be gripped by fear or panic. I acknowledge the elephant, but I don’t let the automatic pilot take control.
I highly recommend reading Haidt’s book to take a deeper dive (no pun intended) on how to close the gap between rider and elephant. Spoiler: One of the tools involves meditation.
Your journey to achieving your moonshot is not an easy ride. It’s the nature of the moonshot. It’s a stretch goal and chances are you may not succeed, and at the very least you will have mistakes, failures and face plants along the way. It’s critical that you:
Don’t quit. You’ll never achieve your goal if you stop working at it.
Assess and discern. Being able to look at your plan, your work, and progress with a critical (but non judgmental) eye will allow you to course correct along the way.
Tolerate the discomfort. You will frequently be in situations where you don’t know what you’re doing, have no clarity about next steps, experience high stress due to diminishing funds, external pressures or low ROI (return on investment), and you may also be in the throes of dis-enfranchised grief.
When you cold plunge:
You teach the automatic pilot who is in control. You will absolutely have the urge to not step another foot into the cold water or to get out as quickly as possible. Don’t quit. Make a commitment to stay in for however many seconds and honor it. I suggest staying in for 30 seconds and your body will start to feel different, proving to the elephant it’s wrong in wanting to run for the hills.
When you slow down to assess and discern, you can support yourself in your goals. I no longer judge myself for taking 2-3 tries to submerge. It’s just a part of my process and I know that I will get there. Learning how to take deep breaths as I plunge was another course correction.
Most importantly, you are teaching yourself that the discomfort is temporary. And the benefits of the cold plunge are so numerous that you will be rewarded for getting to the other side of the discomfort.
One of my moonshots was publishing my blog and blogcast. I was wildly inconsistent with it for years. My version of 2-3 tries before fully submerging. It was so uncomfortable to sit in front of a blank screen and not know what to write. I had to side-coach myself to start writing even if I’m typing words like: “I don’t know what to write, everything I say is stupid, how much longer do I need to sit here?” Eventually I would land on a topic because I adapted and was able to move past the discomfort.
At the same time, it’s truly okay to abandon a moonshot. But only if you are clear on what values you are honoring in letting it go.
For example, a client worked several years on building his company. He had many ups and downs, but he tolerated the discomfort of mistakes and failures because his vision for his business was super clear and connected to his life purpose. About four years in, his daughter was diagnosed with a rare blood disease. He chose to step away from his company so that he could focus on his family. He had no regrets and his daughter is now on the other side of the health crisis.
If you’re looking for a tool to help you build resilience against discomfort, try the cold plunge. Even 30 seconds of cold water at the end of a shower will have amazing benefits.
What’s been your experiences with the cold plunge? What do you recommend?
I love to support ambitious, driven people who are feeling stuck and want to regain momentum so they can hit their next big goal. Want to explore working together? Check out my website.
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What Do Cold Plunges Have To Do With Goals? 🥶