The Cold Shower Conundrum

I’ll admit it, I love my hot showers. I don’t take long ones, but I crank up the temperature knob to its hottest setting. Lately, though, there’s a hum all over the internet and social media about the wonders of cold showers and ice baths. Health benefits, mood lifts, better sleep, brown fat, weight loss… the list goes on. I’ll be honest; I dismissed it for months. “Not for me,” I thought. No way I’d subject myself to that.

But then I stumbled on the work of Gary Brecka, a human biologist and bio-hacker. Gary shared some words on aging that pierced my 43-year-old ears. “Aging is the aggressive pursuit of comfort.” Digest those words for a second. That single quote lodged itself deep in my psyche. For too long, I’ve avoided discomfort by leaning heavily on my own aggressive pursuit of comfort — even in my career as a UX professional.

How does this relate to design and creativity? I think I found the answer, and it’s because I finally went all in, turned the knob to “icy cold” and tried the cold shower. Yes, it was shocking, my heart raced, and I danced around like a fool in there 🤣… but it was also exhilarating! There was this raw rush of energy, emotion, and excitement that lasted the whole day. I felt better, my mind felt clearer, and I was proud of myself for trying it.

Was this because of the cold? Or was it the act of stepping out of my comfort zone? I think a little of both, which is what I’d like to explore with you today — stepping into discomfort to unleash our creativity. I would propose to you that your aggressive pursuit of comfort might just be killing your creativity. If you’d like to fix it, hang out with me for a bit and I think I’ve got some solutions.

Comfort’s Subtle Stranglehold on Creativity