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Give Yourself the Cold Shock You Deserve

Immersing yourself in icy water is an ancient tradition that is only starting to gain attention in the Western world. It’s easy to read, read, and read some more about a topic, but that will never tell you whether or not it works for you.

So I tried cold showers. Now I haven’t taken a warm shower in two months. Here is why.

Increased Testosterone

Yes, I have actually noticed an increase in symptoms of testosterone. I feel more driven, competitive, and energetic when I take cold showers.

I almost get angry now if I don’t get to take out my aggression on some wild beast during the day to relieve my testosterone levels. If I don’t lift weights I begin to take out primal anger onto all my loved ones…

Want to see what an increase in testosterone feels like? Eat real foods with lots of healthy fats (like a Paleo diet), lift weights, and take cold showers.

When I’m doing all of the above I have to lift weights. I want to grab life and make it my slave.

There is something invigorating about turning on a shower, spinning the knob to point in the blue, looking that shower head in the eye and taking the bastard on.

Motivation

Taking a cold shower seems to “harden” me and my beliefs. It is a challenge that I overcome.

I ran a marathon completely on my own a few years back. It was all a head game. I noticed during my training for my marathon I seemed to have more confidence in my life. I felt more “grounded.” When your brain is begging you to quit you have to rely on those deep inner resources that you forgot you possessed. This sessions of drawing from your inner resources pools over into other areas of life.

I would tell myself that if I couldn’t complete the last 4 miles, how could I ever do anything else?

My goal in life is to be a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are faced with extreme social pressure. It’s weird to not want a job. It’s weird to go after financial freedom. It’s crazy to not be able to spend $65 on a night out because you’re living below your means with the intent to expand your means.

I recently read an inspiring book that lead me to start taking real action in my life. For some odd reason, I wanted to check out the reviews on Amazon. I clicked the one-star reviews and read. I started to doubt again. I started to settle. I started to wonder if it is all just lies, that working a job for 40 years is really the way to go.

I had to take my night time shower and was feeling weak. I turned the shower on and it was colder than normal. As I started to get in, my breath shortened, I desperately wanted to turn it to hot water, then just stopped and said NO. Overcome your mental barriers and do it! Go through the discomfort for 5 minutes!

“If you can’t take 5 minutes of cold showers, how do you expect to run a business? Will you keep going when you lose $10,000 if you can’t even trust yourself to go through 5 minutes of discomfort in the shower?”

I got out of the shower motivated as hell, albeit a little pissed off, but not doubting myself anymore. Sounds a little crazy? Yes. Did it work? Yes.

Better Skin

I used to lather lotion all over my skin after every shower. I constantly had dry skin and would even get the occasional case of dandruff.

One time after a scolding hot shower I forgot to put lotion on. I went to work and my skin was so dry that the bottom of my feet cracked and started bleeding.

It makes sense when hot water washes away the natural oils your skin uses to keep its self hydrated and healthy. Hot water opens up your pores, essentially stripping your skin of its awesomeness.

Now the only thing I do after I shower is put a little bit of moisturizer on my face. My skin looks healthier than it has in a long time. It has the glow of a facial cream saleswoman at the mall mixed with the masculine determination of James Bond.

Wakes You Up in the Morning, Puts You Asleep at Night

When I wake up and take a cold shower, it kicks my manhood into overdrive. The day goes from being a sunny, pleasant afternoon to a beast that is to be dominated and subdued. I begin to think about all the tasks I need to do and go after them with the focus of a predator on its soon to be sorry prey.

At night when I take a cold shower, it wakes me up for about 5 minutes, then a sledgehammer from the heavens comes down on my pineal gland releasing a surge of melatonin to run loose on my vulnerable nervous system. Wrapping myself up in a cocoon of blankets is so much more enticing coming from an ice cold shower, waiting to hatch into the violent butterfly I am when I awaken…

Less Time in the Shower

Do you ever get into the shower only to get out an hour later?

I used to have a problem when I took showers. I’d always end up being in there for a good 20 minutes. I would literally tell myself, “I’m going to get out of the shower in 30 seconds.. 29… 28..” then when I got to 10 I would count really slow or forget that I was counting.

Cold showers are the exact opposite. As soon as you get used to the cold water on your chest you flip around and it hits your back and sends loving discipline throughout your soul. Instead of sitting in a shower that is steaming me like the healthy broccoli that’s awaiting me in the kitchen, I get my rush then get out and destroy the day, or let the night destroy me.

Help With Depression

Sometimes taking a cold shower is enough to rattle me and wake me up.  I never take a cold shower if I am feeling weak or have a low immune system as that would just destroy me, but taking a dose of cold water for a few minutes is enough to turn on a bunch of hormonal cycles within the body that fight off depression.

Give cold showers a try. Some claim that they can even help ease antidepressant withdrawals. You might hate them and never go back. But give it a week. They might just give you that sexy little shock that you need.