Despite living in one of the coldest countries in the world with extremely long and snowy winters, I have never really liked the cold. But I have also never really liked to not like it, so I decided to change my relationship to it. Already as a child, and even more so in my early twenties as a semi-professional athlete, I have always had a huge interest in the power of the mind and pushing its imaginary limitations. So I decided to challenge my aversion to and fear of cold by exposing myself to it in the most extreme way — by winter bathing on the coldest day of the year in an ocean filled with ice, ice, and some more ice. Big waves of ice. And a very strong wind on top of that.

I prepared mentally by doing some meditation and breathing exercises online led by the “Iceman” Wim Hof n order to get into the right mindset for my big challenge. I also checked out some research on cold baths, to get extra incentives to complete my challenge. Research has shown that an ice bath leads to an enhanced immune system, improves our mood, makes us become more alert, and helps us to deal with anxiety (by spiking the noradrenaline hormone in your body). It also increases metabolism, lowers the risk of getting cancer, improves sleep, and lowers cortisol, which will reduce stress. With these health benefits as extra motivators, I decided to JUST DO IT!

— And I DID IT!

It was as if I had set my mind on “auto-pilot” and nothing could stop me. My determination was stronger than the ice-cold wind that was cooling down my body as I was taking my clothes off and taking the first step into the winter ocean wearing nothing but a swimsuit. Step by step with strong determination I got further down the staircase until my whole body was completely covered in ice and water. While I was swung from side to side by the big ice waves in the ocean, I was surprised by the feeling of nothingness as the extreme cold was taking over my whole being and left me with nothing but the mere ability to focus on the here and now, and of how extremely cold the water was. It was indeed a meditative moment at its finest! But after a couple of seconds of numbness, I started to feel pain throughout my body, before a feeling of warmth took over, and for a few seconds, presented a truly enjoyable sensation. It was as if a big wave of immense appreciation for all the good things in life, such as the beautiful sun shining on my face at that very moment, was coming over me, and I could immediately feel my mind shifting. It felt truly liberating, and like a big victory.

By exposing myself to cold, I took charge of my aversion to and fear of it and very fast started to associate cold with euphoria, confidence, and power. Because that’s exactly how I felt afterward: euphoric, confident, and powerful! Something that had previously been extremely negative for me had suddenly become something positive. And the best part of these empowering feelings is that I was the driver of this mental shift. I did it.

You can do it too! You are stronger than you think, and most importantly, you are stronger than your fears. Our fears are small thoughts that become large “monsters” in our heads — because we allow them to. We need to take control of them instead of letting them control us. One first step to gaining this control is to challenge them. To challenge our fears, one step at a time. One small step is better than nothing. I decided to jump into the ice-cold water to challenge my fear of and aversion to cold. For you, it might be something different, but the only way to make a difference is to do something.

This mental and physical victory along with the ripple effect of confidence in the months that followed, reminded me of the fact that we are always just one decision away from living the life of our dreams — without aversion, fear, or limitations. And it all starts with the inner belief that Nothing is impossible. You just have to take one very first brave step in the desired direction, and the positive results and emotions are bound to come.