Shower Your Way To Success

Are you familiar with the Eleanor Roosevelt quote,

 Do One Thing A Day That Scares You?

 People seem to love this quote. I see it posted on Facebook, Twitter and LuLuLemon even uses it in their marketing. But do you think people actually do something everyday that scares them?

I watched a Ted Talk by Joel Runyon. He suggests a specific strategy that gets people to do something that scares them . . . everyday! 

When I first heard the idea, I thought, “What a ridiculous idea! How is that helpful to anyone?”

I judged the benefit of the strategy before I had even tried it.

Do you do that too?

Dismissing an opportunity, that could be beneficial to you, before you even try it says a lot about your mindset, doesn’t it? Ouch! (That statement hurts!)

I then heard the idea two more times by people touting it’s benefits.

I decided to give it a try.

What is Runyon’s idea?

Take a 5 minute COLD SHOWER . . . Everyday!

Are you thinking ‘ridiculous’?

First Shower

The next morning before I got into the shower, I turned the dial to “C.”

I got in, took a big breath and then screamed. Honestly, I lasted 3 minutes max.

Second Shower

The next day as I was dreading the cold shower I was about to take, my inner chatter went something like this:

“I don’t need to take a cold shower, there’s no benefit.
This is ridiculous, why would I torture myself?
A warm shower would definitely feel better.”

Does your inner chatter talk you out of things that take you out of your comfort zone?

I managed to ignore my inner chatter and mustered up the courage to turn the dial to “C.” I felt like I was in labour again with all the forced exhalations I was doing. I managed 5 minutes!

Third Shower

Day 3’s inner chatter started while I was still in bed – in my nice warm cozy bed, thinking about the COLD shower awaiting me.

“A warm shower will feel so good.
No-one will know or care if you take a warm shower.
It’s the easy choice to make.
Why put yourself in discomfort? Just take a warm shower”

Inner chatter is hard to ignore, isn’t it?

But here’s what I know:

If you let your mind beat you in terms of taking a 5 minute cold shower, it’s only a matter of time before your mind stops you from achieving any SUCCESS in your life.

So I turned the dial to “C”, took a deep breath and stepped in.

Yes, the water was cold. Yes it’s uncomfortable. Yes it makes me take some deep breaths, but here’s the thing . . . after I towelled off, I felt invigorated and I was Proud I did it!

Positive Benefits

In addition to having you stand in discomfort, taking a cold shower gives a host of other positive benefits:

• Improved immune system
• Softer skin
• Better sleep
• Increased energy

One of my friends says, “Your day can only get better!” (She’s a comedian!)

I’m 108 Days In (as of this writing)

Taking a cold shower, reminds me everyday to let go of the self-imposed limits I put on my life and allow myself to stand in discomfort for 5 minutes.

Because here’s the thing:

• When I take a cold shower for 5 minutes and there’s no risk
• When I take a cold shower for 5 minutes, and there’s no cost
• When I take a cold shower for 5 minutes, and no-one is watching

 

I am inspired for the rest of the day to take action to get Results and Success.

When I bump up against something that I’m nervous to do, make a cold call, have a conversations with someone who may be a little frosty, things that I can easily procrastinate (as my inner chatter will encourage me to do), I catch myself saying, “If I can take a cold shower, I can do that!”

Litmus Test

I challenge you to the Litmus Test – to take a cold shower.
Not for 1, 2 or 3 days but rather for 30 consecutive days!

Why 30 days?

It’s only when you get past day 7 or so, that you inner chatter will become so strong everyday that you will get to decide whether IT controls you or You control the actions you take.

To Your Success

Barb