Leverage the Power of Decision, and Watch What Happens

On New Year’s Day, I dive into the frigid waters off of the coast of Connecticut.

It’s a tradition of mine, and I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the New Year.

I don’t do it as part of a group; I do it by myself and for myself. However, I’m fortunate to have a lovely girlfriend who records my antics and has a bathrobe waiting for me.

The tradition started several years ago.

I take cold showers every morning; it’s the first thing I do after making my bed.

I don’t start warm and switch to cold. I go directly into the cold. I don’t do any breathing exercises; I don’t do any Wim Hoff, I just do it.

Four years later, and it still sucks.

Three years ago, I had a desire to push myself even further, and a cold plunge seemed to be the best way to do that, and New Years Day seemed like a perfect day.

So I leveraged one of the most powerful elements of our shared human experience:

Decision.

I decided that I would push the boundaries of what I thought I was capable of; I decided that I would do something that scared me.

Thus the tradition began.