By Krista Boehnert
2020 has pushed everyone far outside their comfort zone. Most people are longing for a bit of routine or normalcy. No one is clamouring for more ways to push themselves outside their comfort zone, with one notable exception: Dr. Brent Mainprize’s entrepreneurship students. These plucky fourth years – having already conquered online classrooms, rigorous handwashing and socially distanced group work – eagerly signed up for their next personal growth challenge.
Brent’s cold water challenges invites students to take cold showers for 30 days to see how it improves their ability to deal with challenging circumstances, and to discover the silver linings adversity brings. So how did they do? We caught up with several of them to find out.
THE SHOCK
“On day one, I learned that it would be much harder than I originally thought. It was way worse than just jumping in a lake. But after getting out of the shower, I felt refreshed and very awake. Afterwards, I found myself being more productive than in usual mornings. I was determined to continue with the challenge.” – Mikiya Hobbs
“On my first day of the challenge, I think that was probably one of the worst showers I have taken in my entire life.” – Selena Dhillon
“When it is a dark and stormy morning, hopping into a cold shower is not a tempting idea. Much less in Pemberton where we are at a higher elevation and the water is truly chilling. In fact, it gets colder the longer the shower is on because it is coming from a very deep well.” – Maya Bellay
Personally, my motto for taking a shower in the past is, “if it doesn’t burn my skin, it is not hot enough.” I usually take 20-30 minute showers. However, when I heard that it has supposed benefits such as improving immunity and circulation, better mood, stress relief, and the one that got me – leaving your hair shinier and skin smoother – I was all in! – Nagma Dhillon
“If you think the shower is cold when you accidentally bump the handle a little off centre, think again. Honestly, on the first day of the challenge, I thought “no biggie, how bad can it get?” I jumped in all high and mighty and as I started turning the nozzle to the right I realized quickly: shower water can get really cold. But I did it!” – Harrison Fox
THE SURPRISE
“In the second week, I got a lot more comfortable with taking a cold shower and by the end of the week, I had these showers under control. On day eight I went and worked out before my shower and it felt amazing to have a cold shower after a hard workout, definitely have to do this more.” – Teegan Johnson
“The most surprising aspect for me was that after getting out of the cold shower, it wasn’t so bad after all. This uncomfortable feeling lasts a mere 5-10 minutes and then it is over, just like that. Although some days were more difficult than others to get in, I always felt relieved and happy once I got out because it was never as bad as it seems.” – Maya Bellay
TIPS
“My cold showers lasted either 5:43 or 4:00, as those are the lengths of “Black” by Eddie Vedder and “I Don’t Wanna Stop” by Ozzy Osbourne, respectively. These were my go-to cold-shower tunes over the past 30 days which put me in the mental zone to get under the faucet and just deal with the cold.” – Joren Kuiper
“Day 16: these past couple of days I am just going headfirst and staying there until I am comfortable even before applying soap. This makes it a little bit more uncomfortable at the start but then easier as time goes on.” – Teegan Johnson
“My strategy was to save my shower for a bit later in the day, preferably after some form of exercise. I would put on some energetic music, set a time for five and a half minutes, and hop in before I had a chance to second-guess it.” – Zennen Leggett
“In the third week I tried to take a warm water shower and then do my five minutes of cold shower. At first when you turn it to cold from warm, it is extreme. But, I felt I adjusted to it quicker than a 100% cold shower. At this point, I also came to think the way I was playing with the experience is natural. It shows that creative solutions could help step your way out of the comfort zone.” – Kengo Dupuis
“During the first week I delayed my daily showers until after I exercised so the shower was less of a torture, and it worked! As a result, through this challenge I reintegrated runs or home workouts into my daily routine. This habit has continued on and I feel much more alive than I did while living the stagnant lifestyle I developed in June. I had the online class blues, but the cold shower challenge was exactly what I needed to get me going.” – Josh Coelho
FINAL VERDICT
“Over the month, I think I was able to benefit mentally and have a stronger mindset. That is, I can accomplish things that I didn’t know I could. I attempted to use this mentality in other various streams of my life.” – Salena Dhillon
“Moving forward, I plan on turning the knob to cold on days when it’s really hot or when I have to pump myself up for an interview or meeting.” – Joren Kuiper
“I am glad to have done it. It is a great way to wake up in the morning, and going forward, I think it will be a regular (but probably not daily) part of my life.” – Mikiya Hobbs
“I love this challenge. Even though it is over, I plan to continue. It keeps me accountable. It forces me to show up.” – Zennen Leggett
“This cold shower challenge was a rollercoaster of emotions – I went through the joy of feeling refreshed, to dreading jumping in the shower, to second guessing if I really needed to shower on a daily basis. I find it fascinating how in the span of a week the “toughest” part of my day became thinking about when to take a shower and how to deal with being cold for 5 to 7 seven minutes.” – Andres Agresot
Photo: Mick Haupt on Unsplash
