Practicing Action Over Hesitation
A Daily Ritual: Cold Water
I have been taking cold showers first thing in the morning for the past few months.
One of the ideas I’ve been trying to live by recently is simple: just do it.
In my mind, that means not stopping myself from doing things I know I need to do or want to do.
I’ve always had a tendency to delay. To negotiate with myself. To come up with reasons why something can wait until later.
And in the end, I still have to do the thing.
All the delay does is make the transition harder.
The cold shower has become a way for me to train that moment—to practice moving through resistance without overthinking it.
It might not make perfect logical sense. But it makes sense to me.
Because how can I expect myself to follow through on bigger things if I can’t do this one small thing I’ve chosen for myself?
Stand under cold water for two minutes.
That’s it.
If I can do that—if I can intentionally choose discomfort and follow through—then maybe I can start to trust myself in other areas too.
Because in the end, I’m the one choosing.
The Moment Before
When I first had the idea, I didn’t plan it.
I didn’t research it. I didn’t optimize it.
I just decided I’d start the next morning.
There wasn’t much to think about anyway. I either do it, or I don’t.
So the next morning I got in the shower, set a two-minute timer, turned the knob to cold, and stepped in.
And I’ve done that every day since.
Even on the days I would normally quit.
After overnight shifts.
When I was running late.
When I didn’t feel like doing anything.
Because the truth is, I need to shower anyway.
And I have two minutes.
It Never Gets Easier
Let me tell you—it doesn’t get easier.
Every morning, when the cold water hits my face, I gasp.
My body tenses. My mind immediately looks for a way out.
You don’t have to do this today.
Just make it warm.
Skip it this once.
The same story shows up every time.
And every time, I step in anyway.
That moment—that space between the thought and the action—is the whole point.
Because that’s where the choice is.
What Actually Changed
What’s interesting is how I feel afterward.
More awake.
More focused.
More present.
And almost immediately, I forget how uncomfortable it was.
But the real change isn’t the cold water.
The real change is everything else.
Starting my day this way has made other decisions easier.
I hesitate less.
I negotiate less.
I move forward more.
I still procrastinate. I still feel resistance.
But now I recognize it.
It feels the same as those first few seconds in the shower.
The same tension. The same urge to step away.
And now I know I can move through it.
A Small Way to Not Be Sick
The cold shower isn’t about toughness.
It’s about alignment.
Doing what I say I’m going to do.
Not avoiding discomfort.
Not getting stuck in the story my mind is telling me.
It’s a small daily way of not being “sick.”
Of not being stuck in hesitation, avoidance, and delay.
If I can start my day by doing something my mind and body resist, then the rest of the day feels more manageable.
Not because life is easier.
But because I’ve already proven to myself that I can act anyway.
Right Now
There’s a phrase I keep coming back to:
The fool is always getting ready to live.
There will always be a reason to wait.
To start tomorrow.
To do it later.
To prepare a little more.
But that’s not real.
I’m not living tomorrow.
I’m living right now.
And for me, stepping into cold water each morning is a small reminder of that.