Ultimately I like going into cold water because it's fun. It's hard not to smile and laugh after jumping into a cold pond or lake with a bunch of friends. Cold plunges must be done with caution and supervision, but it can be a very energizing, invigorating and mind strengthening exercise.
Discomfort is Adventure
To become mentally strong you must fight mental battles, and you must win. The easiest way to create a mental battle is doing something physically hard, maybe for you that means doing 50 pushups, maybe it means running 10K, or doing a trail race or triathlon, maybe it's taking a polar plunge with friends or just taking a 15 second cold shower. To become stronger, create uncomfortable challenges and win.
I’m not saying people should be uncomfortable all the time. That's just miserable. Comfort is great, but so is discomfort! We often go through our lives avoiding discomfort, but some discomfort can be incredibly valuable. Discomfort is a great teacher. Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof, also known as The Ice Man holds a number of cold water and ice swimming records. He discusses the idea that our minds are a vast mansion. We go through life exploring different rooms, but if we never open the doors that are marked discomfort, we go through life missing out on many rooms that have valuable lessons, interesting experiences and beautiful views.
You don’t have to swim in ice water, or run 100 miles, but finding discomfort is adventure, and adventure is never comfortable.
