Yesterday, I took a cold-exposure walk.
I walked out in 45 degree weather in a t-shirt.
To pump myself up I read about the benefits of cold exposure.
With cold exposure, your trying to “activate” a process called hormesis.
“Hormesis, a word coined by pharmacologists, is when a small dose of a harmful substance is actually beneficial for the organism, acting as a medicine. A little bit of the otherwise offending substance, not too much, acts to benefit the organism and make it better overall as it triggers some overreaction… gains from harm.”
–Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Just like weight lifting, the key with hormesis is to expose yourself just enough to activate growth but not too much that you cause injury.
How Did It Go?
I went on the walk with my spouse. We kept it short, walking around the block.
The walk brought out our silliness as we improvised loud cheers about mental toughness while dance-walking and poching each other’s tushies. You know, stuff stoics do.
All the silliness turned the cold uncomfortable walk into my favorite part of the day.