Welcome to mid-January. The time of year when most people have already given up on their 2016 goals 🙂

If you’re reading this, don’t be one of those people!

This is the time to dig in.

When things get begin to get hard, that’s when the work is just starting.

When most people slouch off, that’s where there’s opportunity.

When the cold gets uncomfortable, that’s when it’s time to lean into it even more.

Here’s why you should take cold showers in January (and if you haven’t done it yet, you should start).

January is Cold. This is Hard Mode.

Most people use the fact that January is cold as an excuse not to take a cold shower.

I can’t tell you how many times someone has told me:

“Maybe I’ll start cold showers in the summer. I live in the northeast and it’s cold up here.”

They say this as if I wasn’t aware that January is winter in the northern hemisphere and they’re enlightening me about a fact that I wasn’t previously aware of (they do that with most excuses). Meanwhile, I typically nod silently pretending like I learned a new skill, but internally I’m judging them (joking…but seriously).

This is not an excuse. This is hard mode.

I started cold showers in Chicago in February. This year, I started the streak for 5 days in the frozen water of New York.

Winter is not the worst time to take a cold shower. It’s the best time.

It’s going to be the hardest time of the entire year – so why not dive in head first? It’s only a shower after all. If you’re not willing to be uncomfortable in the shower for 5 minutes, how are you going to achieve anything else this year?

If you live in a cold climate and are taking cold showers, you get an extra challenge.

If you live in a warmer climate, this is the coldest your water will be all year – take advantage of it.

Winter isn’t an excuse. It’s an opportunity. Use it.

No More Resolutions

This year, I didn’t make any new resolutions.

Instead, I made a commitment to get back to cold showers and build better habits.

That was literally my first thought when I woke up on Jan 1 – “This year is about building habits.”

All those habits start with cold showers.

Every morning, I have a chance to turn the shower knob to the left and warm up (easy) or take the harder route and choose cold.

Choosing cold first thing in the morning helps me continue to choose it throughout the day.

Nice little #coldshowertherapy streak to start the year. Getting to the point where the cold feels good. A post shared by Joel Runyon (@joelrunyon) on Jan 10, 2016 at 8:56pm PST

Get Out of Your Own Stupid Head

I admit, the first showers of the year were really hard. It had been a while since I had taken them and I spent most of the time shivering and trying to make it through the 5 minutes.

That said, I’ve started to embrace it. I’m enjoying the cold and I relish the time in the shower.

I put music on. I dance. I talk to the wall. I scream at the water. It’s a good time.

Yes, I might be entirely crazy…

But I spend so much time working on the computer and living in my head that sometimes the thoughts in my head start to feel too real (you might know what I mean).

The cold shower is a place where you can remind yourself that your thoughts are just thoughts and that your head is stupid.

It’s trying to keep you safe, warm, happy and safe. But it does not want you to grow.

If you have a problem you’re stuck on or have a mental block you’re dealing with, jump in the shower.

The difference in clarity that you’ll have before and after the cold shower is huge game changer.

If you haven’t done it, try it. If you haven’t done it in a while, do it again – it helps.

Intensity ≠ Pain

A lot of people talk about how cold showers are painful.

Cold showers are not painful.

They are cold, but they are not painful.

They are challenging, but they are not painful.

They are intense, but they are not painful.

Trying new things and pushing into new territories is often a strange, challenging and intense experience, but they are very seldom painful.

Cold showers will help remind you that just because something is cold, difficult or intense, does not mean it is painful.

As you push yourself throughout the year, this reminder alone will pay dividends upon dividends.

We Have a New App

Best reason of all. We have a new app. I’ve written about this before, but it’s better than ever and makes this easier to do.

Want to know why you’re living your life in your head so much these days? Look at the calendar and ask yourself when the last time you took a cold shower was. You’ll probably see a correlation.

If you need some competition, we have a stat tracker and a leaderboard. And, if you’re above me on the list, you’re officially on notice: I’m coming for ya (Android people: hang tight, we’ve got you coming up soon).

=> Get The Cold Shower Therapy App Here

#boom

I’d love your comments down below. Warning to the inevitable commenting haters: if you still think CST is about taking a shower, you’re missing the whole point.