I’ve written previously on the many benefits of cold showers on my health and overall well being but I’ve never really gone into the details of how I got started & how you might be able to do the same.
The truth is, the thought of cold showers sucks but actually implementing it starts to feel great. But how do we get there, and why?
For me, I had heard about cold showers for years and even though I am a relatively curious person, the thought of it was a big turn off. I HATE being cold. I keep my house in the mid 70’s at all times. I get chilly pretty easily when my place gets below 71. Now it’s possible my thermostat isn’t accurate, but pretty sure it is. Regardless, I like warm & I hate cold.
Even with that in mind, I thought experimenting with cold showers would be relatively harmless except for some discomfort. Then again, that’s kind of the point. The thought process is that if you can get yourself to do something you really don’t want to do, the thought of doing other things you normally put off (your music?) would seem much easier in comparison.
For me this has more of less proven true. More often than not, after a cold shower, I have less resistance to “doing the thing”.
So how does someone who hates being cold get started with cold showers? Let’s dive in
When starting out, turning on a cold shower and then trying to get yourself to walk into it is really difficult. It goes against your every instinct, so your whole body resists. This does get easier with time, but when I started, I would start my shower at a comfortable temperature & then once I’ve cleaned myself, I switch to the coldest my shower will go. The heat from the warm water on your body will lessen the shock of the temperature shift. If putting your head in the cold water give you a headache or brain freeze, just shower your body & keep your head out of the water stream.
From there, try to stay in the shower stream for 30 seconds. This might be challenging, but you can do it. Then turn off the water without heating it up again & dry yourself as usual. Typically, your body will feel pretty good and you won’t feel cold. Eventually you will want to try to get to around 2 minutes of cold water exposure.
The next step is getting yourself to walk straight into the cold water. You want to do your best to keep your muscles relaxed & don’t tense up. The tensing tend to make the process harder. Try to get better and better at walking yourself right into the water stream without stopping yourself. if you need to back out again, that’s fine. You just want to get yourself used to the initial shock. The worst of it only lasts for a few seconds & then your body begins to adjust. I tend to walk straight in & do a 360 so body whole body gets exposed, then I put my head under.
Like before, you might only be able to last for 30 seconds but keep testing yourself for a little bit longer. Eventually, once the initial shock wears off, it will actually feel pretty good. Another benefit is that when your shower ends, you will always feel warmer instead of colder.
Keep in mind that even when you get good at this, you will still resist taking a cold shower. Most of the time, you still won’t want to do it. You’ll be thinking “this is gonna suck”. This is where repetition & willpower come in. I just remind myself that I never regret it after it’s done. I now take my full shower cold. Only if it’s too cold for my head, will I warm in up a bit to shampoo.
Cold Showers & Music Production
So what does any of this have to do with music production? Actually a lot, it turns out.
That feeling of resistance you get from not wanting to sit down & work on music is almost exactly the same as not wanting to take a cold shower. It’s the same resistance. You anticipate discomfort. In both cases though, once you’re past the initial start point, it gets easier. Even enjoyable.
By getting yourself to do the cold shower consistently, you are also training your brain to stop resisting working on your art. Try it & let me know how it goes for you.
With that said, if you are benefiting from these posts, you will absolutely love my 2 bestselling books:
The Mental Game of Music Production
The Process for Electronic Music Producers
You can also Check out the: Ableton Courses & Instruments
If you are looking for personal guidance with your music production or Ableton, you can set up a free chat with me to go over exactly what your best next steps are to create the best music of your life. If it seems like a good fit, we can move forward from there. https://musicsoftwaretraining.com/private-coaching
Happy music making!
Jason