Discover and Develop Your Strength

Categories: Blog, Pressing RESET, Ice Water, strength, confidence Feb 17, 2024

Over the weekend, we had a Cold Water Dousing session at our training facility. This was basically our attempt to get our members to experience something way outside of their comfort zone. The purpose was twofold: 

1. To let our clients experience that they could do something challenging or difficult. If you don’t want to douse an ice bucket of water over your head, you typically really don’t want anything to do with it. That’s a huge mental challenge. To over come the mental aspect of “I don’t want to” is HUGE. 
2. To get our clients to KNOW they could do difficult things. See, if you pour an ice-cold bucket of water over your head, not only do you get a rush of dopamine, you get a rush of “I can do anything.” And even if it's only brief, that little bit of knowledge can change your life. 

I know (1) and (2) look pretty similar, and they are, but they are also quite different. (1) is getting yourself to overcome yourself. (2) is learning you can overcome anything. If a person can do (1) and learn (2), they are a resilient force, and their life will be better than it otherwise would be.

Yes, there are many health benefits to cold water exposure, but I think the greatest health benefit is that which is born in the mind. Our mind is our greatest hurdle when it comes to living the lives we want to live. It often tries to stop us from taking chances, it often tries to convince us of all the things we cannot do, and it often allows fear to hijack our thoughts. But if we can reset our mind’s negative programming with a simple act of courage, with a determination to get extremely uncomfortable for a few seconds, then we can teach our mind that there are other possibilities out there waiting for us. 

And that’s why there is power in the ridiculous act of pouring ice-cold water over your head. It’s an act of grit, an act of tenacity. It’s a reach for discovering the strength and ability you have within yourself. It strengthens resolve, it unlocks potential, and it reveals identity. 

Identity?

Yes, it reveals the strength potential inside of you, the strong person you are. 

I’m not telling you to dump ice-cold water over your head. I am telling you that you are capable of immeasurable acts of courage, and you have untapped strength potential inside. If you engage in difficult tasks on purpose, if you can get comfortable being quite uncomfortable, you can discover and learn a great deal about yourself and all the strength you possess. 

I wrote a little about this in my new book, A Simple Book of Strength. Whether you read the book or not, whether you douse yourself or not, you are so much stronger than you know. I hope you get to realize that and enjoy your strength. It just makes life better. You can. And that’s the bottom line. 

To order my new book, click here:

https://originalstrength.net/shop/a-simple-book-of-strength/

If you decide to douse yourself with a bucket of ice water, consult your trusted medical professional first. Or read this blog;

https://originalstrength.net/blog/2024/02/06/a-warning-with-a-grain-of-salt/

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