Do You Practice Resilience?

By Perry Rearick, Chief Editor, Follow Your Buyer

My good friend, Todd, is a cold bath enthusiast, an evangelist really, because I now do cold plunges routinely.

While more research is needed, there appears to be significant health benefits from immersing yourself in a cold-water pool, especially after physical exercise. It is known to relieve muscle soreness, reduce inflammation, increase heart health, reduce stress, and make us happier by releasing endorphins. And cold plunges can also teach us about resilience!

Wait a minute! Resilience? I thought you were either born with it or you weren’t.

According to Michelle Scheufler, a therapist at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa California, resilience is not something we are born with, it can be learned and developed, and anyone can become more resilient.  

Simply stated, resilience is being able to work through life’s challenges in a positive way.

My first cold plunge lasted about 30 seconds; I didn’t get beyond the initial shock of the cold water. Since then, I’ve been able to stretch it beyond 3 minutes, but it took practice. I had to intentionally remain in the icy water, concentrating on overcoming the way I felt. The water didn’t feel or become warmer through practice; I was able to develop emotional resilience to the challenges it presented.

Resilience seems like an aging celebrity who hasn’t had a box office hit in decades, but it still is one of the most valuable behaviors in work and life. Resilience helps us recover from illness faster, live longer, perform our daily activities better, and can lead to happy, healthier relationships with others.

I’m not suggesting you need to immerse yourself in ice-cold water to practice resilience. But when was the last time you intentionally sought a challenge to help you grow? I’ll bet there are plenty of cold plunge-like opportunities around you.

Perhaps volunteering to lead a complex project, reconnecting with a difficult client who fired you, public speaking if you have a fear of that, or having a difficult conversation with a colleague about something they’ve done that concerns you.

If you want to practice resilience and reap its benefits, look for and embrace a challenge…or you can try a cold plunge too.