In one of his letters, Seneca describes himself as a "cold-water enthusiast." According to Seneca, he would "celebrate the new year by taking a plunge into the canal." "Just as naturally as I would set out to do some reading or writing or to compose a speech, I used to inaugurate the first of the year with a plunge into the Virgo aqueduct [the present-day Trevi Fountain]."
This habit of his might seem strange to some, but he has a brilliant reason underneath it.
The real reason for his cold plunges was that "the body should be treated more rigorously so that it may not be disobedient to the mind." Controlling your body and letting it know who is in charge and who is taking charge is the key to a disciplined body and mind. This will make your life easier and let you live responsibly and healthy.
Today, we have access to a wide variety of resources on how exercising or working out benefits us. Numerous articles bombard us with information, but we never know if it is actually true unless we do some research on it ourselves.
But despite all the fake news going on, it is undeniably known that there’s a lot of interesting research and facts about the health benefits of taking cold showers, going for a run, and lifting weights. But the real reason to do these things is far more simple: it’s to make a statement about who is in charge.
Who is in charge?
The courageous side or the cowardly side of you? The side that doesn’t flinch at discomfort or the side that desires to always be comfortable? Which side does the hard thing, and which side takes the easy way? We challenge ourselves to improve our immune system, to increase our metabolism, to reduce anxiety. These things might be nice ancillary benefits, but they are not the point. The purpose is to become the kind of person who can do it.
How do you expect to do the big things that scare you—that scare others—if you haven’t practiced them? Why do you think you can endure the cold reception of a bold idea if you can’t even endure cold water? How can you trust that you’ll step forward when the stakes are high when you regularly don’t do that when the stakes are low? What gives you any confidence that you’ll do the hard thing when people are watching if you can’t do that even when no one is watching?
The person who does something scary every day is less fearful than someone who can’t. The person who does something difficult every day is tougher than someone who doesn’t.
You grow outside your comfort zones and you flourish when you do something you have never done before. Open your eyes and explore. Try the things that you think are amazing but you cannot because of fear.
The most beautiful view is on top of the mountain and it is never too late to start climbing your own mountain of hope and growth NOW!
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