I’ve always been interested in people who choose to do things in a more difficult, uncomfortable, or even painful way. The people who work all day in blazing heat or freezing cold, push through immense pain to get where they want to go, compete in extreme endurance competitions, or otherwise avoid the easy, comfortable path. These people got stuck in my mind and inspired me to start doing things to increase my mental toughness.
More than anything else, listening to David Goggins on one of Joe Rogan’s NSFW podcasts (if you don’t have time for the full podcast, this clip is fantastic, as is this one from another podcast) gave me the drive and some ideas on where to start. Goggins didn’t have natural talent, athleticism, mental toughness, or anything else along those lines. He was a regular guy who got tired of feeling sorry for himself and decided to push himself as hard as possible. Since I’ve also had to work hard to develop myself and my abilities, I was able to relate to him in that regard, though he’s had a much harder life than I have. His quotes about being “comfortable with being uncomfortable” and “being uncommon amongst uncommon people”made me rethink a lot of things. When I’m struggling in the gym or with a heavy load at work, I think about Goggins and that usually gives me the boost I need to power through whatever obstacle is in front of me. I always have a good feeling whenever I accomplish something that required going the extra mile and that makes the next exertion a little easier because I know that I’ll get that little reward at the end.
Something I used to do but stopped long ago was turn down the temperature during the last minute of my shower. It wasn’t until I read about Wim Hof (whom I had actually known about for years but hadn’t thought about much) and his feats of extreme cold endurance as described in Tools of Titans that I decided to try it out again. I started by ceasing to use a heater to warm up the room while I shower. When I got used to that, I would open the curtain before I dried myself off; being wet makes you lose body heat a lot faster than being dry, so this was a good next step in increasing my mental toughness. Finally, I went back to turning the temperature down to cold at the end of my showers and intentionally slowing my breathing as I stood under the cold water. This was difficult at first and my immediate reaction was to want to be done with it as soon as possible. After a while, however, I got used to calming myself down under the cold water and actually began to enjoy it.
Since I’ve only been working on increasing my mental toughness for a short time, I still end up frequently seeking comfort rather than discomfort. However, I have had some success in handling discomfort and have already seen benefits from it. I’ve heard that doing cold exposure training gives a boost to the immune system. While I don’t know if there’s any truth to that, I did notice that the nasal issues I’ve had for the past few months have gradually gone away; this coincided with my return to cold endings to my showers, so maybe there’s a connection. Additionally, the ability to focus and calm myself down during potentially stressful times probably helps my interactions with other people. I’ve had a much easier time as of late handling stressful situations at work and socializing even if I don’t feel like it. In those situations, it’s as if I can be intensely aware of things around me without being worried about what’s going on or how it’ll turn out; I’m focused enough to fully engage with anyone but I’m detached enough to not be controlled by negative emotions. Now that I’ve had a glimpse of this state of mind, I want to work on cultivating it and getting into it even when I’m not in a stressful situation. I hope this has been interesting and useful to you. Please let me know if it has and I will see you next time.