the butterfly effect

A butterfly effect is when a seemingly small action, has massive consequences.

Today I want to tell you about one such butterfly effect.

One small exercise that led to one of the steepest growth curves of my life.

It came from the most unexpected of places. 

What I’m about to tell you, most people will not like to hear. Nor like to do.

But, if you have even the slightest wish of doing something truly meaningful with your life, it’s something that you cannot shy away from.

Before I tell you what it is, I just want to remind you that this is a long form newsletter for people who are truly committed to being the best versions of themselves. 

If you are looking for a cheap dopamine hit, this isn’t for you. No hard feelings.

Moving on…

Let me tell you a little story…

For those who don’t know, I aspired to be a professional cricketer when I was younger.

I played for 10 years before calling it quits.

I wasn’t the best at it, but there was one big thing from those 10 years that changed my life.

My coach. Mr. Jayprakash Patel. A man of exceptional character, whom I respect above anyone else in my life. 

A hundred newsletters wouldn’t suffice if I wrote about him, but that is not the point of this piece. 

One day, in a candid conversation, he mentioned to me that he bathed with cold water all year round. It was the kind of information that you would marvel at, at first, and then just look down and move ahead with your life. 

Then he said something that completely flipped my perspective. 

He said “A lot of people ask me why I bathe with cold water. It feels insignificant to them. Why go through the pain and agony of cold water on a chilly winter morning? But I’ve been doing it for 50 years now. “

“And every morning, when I get out of the shower, I feel a small sense of accomplishment. I feel a tiny bit of pride. That I did something that was hard, that most people can’t do, and I overcame the discomfort and pain.”

“And the daily practice of negotiating pain and discomfort, helped me do some incredibly tough things in my lifetime…” 

I had a moment of realisation. It made so much sense. Most people, in their day to day, don’t do things that are tough, painful, or uncomfortable. Including myself. 

Because we don’t like them. But now that he pointed it out to me, I realised that’s exactly why they need to be done.

My little experiment:

I decided to follow in my coach’s footsteps, and shower with cold water all year round. 

I started in February, it’s now almost December.

The cold water is a nightmare. Especially during winter, it feels almost like a thousand bee stings on the body all at once. My nervous system is shaken to it’s core.

But after it’s done, I feel that small sense of pride and achievement. 

I get out of the shower feeling like I can face anything.

But that isn’t the real win. No.

The real win came when I continued to do it day after day after day.

I didn’t fully understand it’s implications and effects until very lately

But now that I see it, I’m blown away by how transformational it has been.

The Theory:

Most people will think bathing with cold water has nothing to do with success.

And maybe in their place, they’re right. But they miss the point. It’s not the cold water that leads to success. 

It is the mental frame that the cold water creates, that leads to success.

In a world full of cheap and readily available dopamine hits, the ability to deal with pain and discomfort is a rare skill. And it needs to be practised. 

To start. To conquer the pain. To endure. And then finally, to sustain.

"But why do I need to have any discomfort or pain in my life in the first place?” You ask.

Because without it, there is no growth. For all growth is a long, slow and painful process.

Anything worth doing in life, will be hard. Starting a business, creating content, learning a new skill, getting in shape.

Every time you go into unchartered territory, you will feel discomfort and pain. 

And if you don’t train yourself to overcome it, you will be left meandering in mediocrity. 

By doing hard things everyday, you build the neural pathways required to deal with the pain.

The first time you do it, it feels terrible. The second time it feels terrible again. And the third time. And the fourth. But every day that you do it, it’s a little less terrible than the day before.

You just keep putting the reps in.

And that, is where the magic happens.

That, is where it starts to compound and rub off into other areas of your life. 

The Result:

Yesterday I uploaded my first video on Youtube. (check it out please, shameless plug) And it was a struggle.

I found it extremely challenging to speak into a camera for 8 minutes straight.

It took me a lot of time to script the content, make thumbnails, etc. 

A few hours after posting the video, I had around 25 views on the video.

I was struggling because I was doing all of this for the first time. 

Then I remembered about all the times in the past few months when had I felt this way. 

• When I started my agency

• When I started posting content on Instagram

• When I started learning high leverage skills like advertising and sales

• When I started writing this newsletter

The common threads?

• The start was terrifying

• I sucked at the beginning

• There were a lot of setbacks. 

• It was an immensely painful and uncomfortable process. 

I had been through this cycle several times in the last few months.

But after uploading the video, I noticed something different this time.

I realised that even though i struggled through the process, I felt a weird sense of calm and reassurance. 

Despite knowing that it was going to be a tough and steep learning curve, I wasn’t dreading it. 

I knew I would overcome it and figure things out. Just like I had with the other stuff

Then I thought about the other stuff. The agency, the Instagram, the newsletter.

I noticed that with each activity that I undertook, I was a little more assured of myself. 

A little more confident about finding a way.

Slightly better at dealing with the discomfort with each rep.

And thinking about this, I truly realised what the cold showers did to my life.

They built my will. My will to fight, to endure, to persevere, and to overcome. 

The challenges weren’t getting smaller or easier. But I was becoming more adept, more equipped to deal with them.

My coach often said, "A strong will, is one of the most powerful assets you can possess”. 

And now I understood why. 

Because it allows you to take on bigger and bigger challenges. 

It helps you effectively deal with the pain and discomfort that are necessary byproducts of growth.

Nietzsche said “I know of no greater life purpose, than to perish in attempting the impossible”.

But when you try to achieve the impossible, there will first be a long, painful road that you will have to walk through.

And doing the small, hard things everyday, is what prepares you for it. 

Hope this helped.

Thanks for reading :)