Cold rinse

I encouraged you at the end of my last email to do a cold rinse at the end of your shower - did you do it yet?!

How did it go?

Did you not do it yet? Why not?!

I get that it's uncomfortable. But discomfort is inevitable. You will be uncomfortable, and the more you convince yourself that you won't, the harder it'll be when it happens.

Most (certainly not all) of us are SO comfortable in our lives: food security; instant access to information, entertainment, and resources; perfectly controlled internal environments that beckon us to disconnect from the outside and connect to the devices we have inside.

It's easy to forget that real pain exists. And we've felt it, so we try to stay away from any pain intentionally.

I'm not saying harden yourself (or your heart). That won't protect you from true pain, anyway.

I'm saying that the more comfortable you are with being uncomfortable, the more antifragile you become (Nassim Talib wrote a book of that title and it is very good).

Below are two examples of how I practiced discomfort with the recognition that I am no different than you. I simply made choices. And I want you to know that if you would like to change something, the option exists.

1. I used to be unable to go outside without sunglasses. The glare of the sun absolutely destroyed my eyes and felt like searing pain and an instant headache. I hated that enforced reliance upon glasses and wanted to enjoy the outdoors unfiltered.
I started slowly going for short periods of time without sunglasses, and now I don't even own a pair (and y'all know I'm staring straight at that gorgeous ball of fire every day)!

2. I used to not be able to walk around barefoot in my house because my toes were so cold and would hurt if anything touched them. Again, I hated the forced reliance of slippers or socks, so I decided to make a change.
I started to walk around in my house, gradually increasing the length of time, and now I walk barefoot IN THE SNOW.

My point is: you can make a choice, make small changes, and then look back at the huge difference those choices and changes have made.

Other small changes with big impact: swapping out your gorgeous and high-performing skincare products for gorgeous and high-performing skincare products that aren't building up toxic load in your body. (Though I've heard sauna and ice bath are great for detoxing. ;-) )

Beautycounter is offering 10% off your first order (using code CHANGEBEAUTY10) and free shipping when you spend $50 starting tomorrow through the end of the month.

And any Beautycounter client or member (no matter how long you've shopped and loved the brand) can get free shipping on $50+ orders tomorrow and Wednesday.

I'm not asking you to change anything or try anything new because I do not live in your body; maybe training discomfort is not something you're in a place to do; maybe you're not ready for change right now, and that's okay.

But I am inviting you to explore your relationship with comfort and with the idea of stepping out of what's comfortable into an unknown territory.

I'm ready if you are.