I have done some reading lately by and about a Dutchman named Wim Hof. For years Hof, using himself as a guinea pig, has done experiments on the limits of human endurance (okay, some of them were stunts), specifically resistance to cold.

Hof discovered that exposure to cold increases the number of brown fat cells, which help keep you warm by burning fatty acids and glucose, which can also help you lose weight. Exposure to cold can have other benefits, including:

  • Improved circulation
  • Glossy hair and taught skin
  • Increased energy levels
  • Elevated mood
  • Resistance to infections

There is also evidence that exposure to cold can limit or slow the damage done by auto immune diseases like asthma and arthritis. Its seems that our bodies, now in a year-round artificial summer and lacking something to fight against, tend to turn on themselves.

This goes to prove that anything worth doing, whether it is creating art, launching an entrepreneurial venture, growing spiritually, gaining an education, reaching out to help others or improving one’s physical fitness, there is only one law:

To get better, one must first get uncomfortable.

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