Tag: trouble

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I Haven’t Worn A Coat All Winter – And I’m Learning

We aren’t due comfort

I haven’t worn a coat this winter. In fact, I have tried to wear short sleeve shirts when I can. The most I’ve done is a hoodie. No, I am not becoming a shut in staying inside. I am using this idea of removing my comfort to improve my resilience.

The only thing I hate about this is that I haven’t tried it earlier!

The Idea

I stole this idea after listening to Tim Ferriss podcast with Wim Hof.

Here is the discription of the episode:

Wim Hof () is a Dutch world record holder, adventurer and daredevil, commonly nicknamed “The Iceman” for his ability to withstand extreme cold. He is the creator of the Wim Hof Method and holds more than 20 world records. Wim is an outlier of outliers, as he routinely asks scientists to scrutinize and validate his feats. Here are just a few examples:

  • In 2007, he climbed past the “death zone” altitude on Mount Everest (~7,500 meters) wearing nothing but shorts.

  • In 2009, Hof completed a full marathon above the polar circle in Finland, in temperatures close to −20 °C (−4 °F). Dressed in nothing but shorts, Hof finished in 5 hours and 25 minutes.

  • Hof holds the current Guinness World Record for the longest ice bath, now set at 1 hour 53 minutes and 12 seconds.

It got me thinking. Why do we wear jackets?

I’ve never tested cold before. Since I was young, I learned to put on a coat – “before I catch cold”.  After a certain day, I just threw on a coat, because it was “winter” and didn’t think about it.

I know the people around me meant well, but as I got older, I learned that you don’t catch colds from cold weather – you catch them from disease.

I let that sit in the back of my head for years, until this podcast episode came around. I have thought a lot lately about the ability to test yourself as much as possible when the conditions are favorable, just to see what is the worst that can happen (blame stoicism :-] ).

I have done this for a few weeks now.

 

About 6 Weeks In

I notice my resistance to cold is building up. Going outside used to make me shiver, and now, I am able to walk out fine. What was unbearable a year ago at 37 degrees wasn’t so bad in a tee-shirt. Make no mistake – I am cold (it is winter!) , but I have noticed there hasn’t been too much difference in how cold I am with a coat and how cold I am with no coat.

The only time I really thought about it was earlier this week, when the temperature hit 15 with a below 0 wind chill (too much too soon). Its been interesting, and I still haven’t bought a coat.

 

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Trapped By The Old Opinions

 

I was talking to a friend about someone they knew, and how that person let a past transgression from 10 years ago effect their behavior to this day.

Life throws us trouble. It isn’t fair. But, when we take the ideas of the past and hold on to them unjustly, we end up troubled. The anger we have for someone else, or a situation doesn’t end up effecting them, it ends up effecting us. That hate gets turned in.

Our anger for others ends up only effecting us. That’s why I like to journal. The journaling gives me a chance to look at old opinions.Old opinions are great to look at.  They give you the chance to look back at the past, and notice the changes you’ve made.

We are constantly growing as people. The old carries some weight, but only the amount of weight that we allow it to. Acknowledging that you change is the first step to doing it, and a great way to do that is to periodically look back at those old opinions and see how you’ve developed over the course of a year.

I spent some time looking at old posts on this blog and some older journals. I had some shocking and surprising positions. It was interesting to go back down “memory lane” and remember some of my older feelings.

After reading a few, I thought about how change happens, and how we are always evolving. The person in those posts and notes is gone, lost to the history on those pages. The person here recalling them is a different person, with different goals and accomplishments.

We don’t wake up the same person we were when we went to sleep. We change everyday, and if we don’t acknowledge that, we stay trapped by the past. Acknowledge that we are constantly growing helps you leave pain where it belongs.

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You Don’t Have To Succumb To A Crisis

This is a rather interesting predicament.

The train I am currently on, as I write this post, has been thrice delayed. A trip that was supposed to take 2 hours and have me enjoying my holiday has me on this train for now close to 6.

With that said, opportunity comes to those who seek it – even through crisis.

Instead of cruising the internet, I took the time to finish “The Obstacle Is the Way” from Ryan Holiday and it – in quite short order – has become a book I will now recommend without fail.

The book has given me a little more of an idea of why many of us, me included, stay on this hamster wheel of mediocrity – instead of growing and becoming the best versions of ourselves that we can be.

“The Obstacle Is the Way” is concise, smart, direct, and isn’t wrapped around pleasantries that weaker titles build themselves around.

This isn’t a book made for people who want to get a pat on the head – but for people who want to start down a path of control, of getting work done, and of making a true difference in this world.

If you have 3 hours – you can seldom do better than taking the time to read this book.

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