Like I said in the initial post on this experiment, I wanted The Flinch to be different. That is, I wanted it to be different until I read what it wanted me to do. Homework #1 said, and I quote…
“When you’re at home and have five minutes, go to your bathroom, walk up to your shower, and turn on the cold water. Wait a second; then test it to make sure it’s as cold as possible.
Do you see what’s coming?
…
Okay, now do it. Now is the time to step into the shower.”
Let me try to explain my dilemma (read: excuse).
For reasons I’ll explain in a future post, my apartment room didn’t have heat that day. Let that sink in. This was December in Seoul. I couldn’t see my breath, but it felt cold. The simple act of taking off my jacket made me feel cold, not to mention undressing completely.
But still I stood there in front of the shower head and turned it on, cold water only.
I could feel the mist from the shower hitting my stomach and sending shivers up and down my back. The book said to let the water run for a bit, though, just to make sure it’s really cold, none of the sissy, semi-warm stuff waiting in the pipes.
So I did.
Then I chickened out for a second. I stepped out of the bathroom, walked to the sink and turned on the cold water. Again, I let it run to make it as cold as possible. Then I stuck my hand in. After about five second, my hard began to feel the dull ache of extreme cold causing the blood to leave my hand.
Wow, I thought, That water’s cold. I’ll try to stand in it for one minute.
I walked back into the bathroom. I set my watch to timer. I took a deep breath. I started the timer. I stepped in.
At first, I gasped reflexively. Next, I didn’t feel it so much. Then at about 15 seconds, the dull ache started to take over my arms. My body started shaking uncontrollably. I tried to calm myself, but that wasn’t happening. I think at that point, the shakes were a combination of the effects from the cold and the effects of just getting all worked up about stepping into a freezing shower.
That’s when I decided to just let myself go with it.
I waited.
I checked my watch.
Twenty-six seconds, 34 left to go.
Wow, I thought, This is long. I tried to keep moving.
I checked my watch again. Only seven seconds had passed. This is really long.
But I made it.
You know how normally when you get out of a warm shower you feel colder as the water cools on your skin? Well, in this case, the reverse happened. As soon as I turned off the water, I think the water on my skin began to heat up. I immediately started feeling warmer.
Pretty soon, the cold room felt cozy, even standing there naked, still dripping wet.
I thought to myself, I don’t want to do that again. I don’t think I could. But I’m definitely going to try whatever comes next.
The high of finishing trumped the ache of the process, at least that’s what I told myself.
What about you? Could you step into a cold shower in a cold room in the middle of December? What about right now?
