What I’m Grateful For: Cold…Water
Let’s be clear, I NEVER take a cold shower. Not even a bit at the end. I dislike cold water immensely. I am never the first person in the river on a hot August day, in fact sometimes I’m the last. I get cold pretty easily and my fingers and toes have this incredibly annoying habit of turning white and numb whenever my body temperature drops (it’s called Raynaud’s Syndrome and I’ve had it since I was a kid.) But after hearing about the benefits of intentional cold water exposure for several years, and then knowing a few folks who have started doing a cold plunge practice themselves, I was curious. And after a bit of research, it turns out that careful and intentional cold exposure MIGHT be able to get Raynaud’s to chill a bit. So, I got a stock tank from North 40, filled it up, and gave it a shot.
The first day was WOW. SO COLD. That day the temp was 43.6 degrees, it was below zero outside so I had a floating stock tank heater in it to keep it from freezing solid. I stayed for three minutes. Then it took me about an hour to warm up. As the days went by, each day I stayed in a little longer. The temps warmed up outside, so I pulled out the heater. Now there would be a thin layer of ice to break and the water was colder – 34.5 degrees, some mornings down to 33. I stayed in for seven minutes. I started warming up quicker. My fingers would turn white then back to rosy pink, each day a little quicker. I found myself hooked.
I can’t tell you that it’s easier to get in after a month of daily practice, not really. I just know that once I’m in that dang cold water, those are the best seven minutes of my day. I feel SO alive. In water that cold, mindfulness is not a practice, it’s an imperative. You don’t return to your breath, you are your breath. Heart rate slows, breath slows, time slows. It’s an indescribably human experience.
What I’m Reading:
I listened to a wonderful podcast on cold exposure with Dr Soberg, The Huberman Lab. She is Danish and received her PhD from the University of Copenhagen, researching metabolism, brown fat and “winter swimming” (another word for cold plunging). This book is a fabulous, approachable and beautiful introduction to cold exposure – for health, happiness and longevity, from folks up there in the Northern latitudes for whom winter swimming is a time-honored tradition going back hundreds and thousands of years. Highly recommend that you listen to the podcast and/or read her book before dipping your toe in the cold water. 🙂
Tip From Gene #3:
If you want to stand out from all the other agents out there, be the expert. I’m not just talking about knowing your market’s home prices. You need to have your finger on the pulse when it comes to trends, mortgage rates, zoning laws…you name it. By staying updated on everything real estate related, you position yourself as the go-to agent in your area. So put in the time to get educated and share that hard-won knowledge. It’s what the top producers do.
Quote I’m Pondering:
This one helps me get in the water every morning. I kid you not. It really does.
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” – Mark Twain
– Marcus Aurelius
