Don’t Do it Alone…

Do Things That Make You Happy

I hosted a cold plunge party two weeks ago. It was splendid. It was magical. It was fucking electric.

If you know me you know I love hosting parties and I love cold plunges. That’s not new information.

I wanted to take action. I felt like I struggling to take a step forward to “doing” something. I sorta felt like a grifter. It was getting to me.

I showed up to San Francisco telling everyone I was going to start my own company. Just like everyone else. Except I still had a full time job.

I was talking and not doing. I got called out on it a couple times. It needed to happen.

But I didn’t know what to do. I was feeling stuck. I was getting burnt out.

My friend Jon and I were sitting talking about how burnout can lead to depression, we both knew that dilemma too well. I have been tip toeing that tight rope for some time now.

We talked about the way to break out of that vicious cycle.

Do things that make you happy

I realized I was over thinking it (and still tend to). Everything I needed was six inches in front of my face and I had everything I needed to get started.

I wasn’t cold plunging because of the benefits that Andrew Huberman shared on his podcast. Not because I get an excuse to post a picture shirtless on instagram letting people know I just did one.

I do it because I like the way it makes me feel. I do it because it’s fun to do with friends.

It makes me happy.

I mentioned that I noticed a behavior that people were coming back to the marina plunge club week after week for the friends they made. Not the just the act of the plunge itself. The water was 56 degrees. Not that cold.

I decided to just keep doing what I was doing, things that made me happy, and double down on those.

My answer: cold plunging with friends

Why This Works

I saw plunge party events popping up in LA, Miami, San Diego, and (just this past week) Bondi through an organization called coffee & chill. They were getting a lot of traction.

Thats when it clicked why people liked this.

This was a dopamine cocktail.

There were three things coming together that made me confident that this could work.

1. Plunging into the same body of water with someone else keep you in longer. You don’t want to let them down. You’re suffering together.

2. Cold water exposure results in a dopamine release.

3. Everyone is wearing a bathing suit.

It’s like run clubs except you don’t have to run and everyone is in a bathing suit. (Run club 2.0? 👀)

This is why, in my opinion, events with multiple solo plunges don’t work as well. You’re sitting alone in a tub with a handful of other people watching you suffer. The moment you hit your first mental wall you think “well, other people are waiting to get in. I’m out”

In a party plunge it hits different. You’re sitting in a frigid-cold pop-up pool asking yourself “why the fuck did I pay for this.” You then come back to and look at that those good looking mf’er across from you, to your right, and left and see them suffering with you. You talk it out. You can’t let them down.

That little difference makes the whole experience.

That’s the magic.

You’re not suffering alone.

That’s the lesson I learned from plunging with others in the San Francisco Bay.

That’s also what I’m learning coming up on here being in San Francisco for 8 months. If you’re going to do something hard, do it with people that want to push through it with you. Talk to them. Let them know where your head’s at and what you’re struggling with.

I’m learning that now.

It’s really easy to fall into the same loop over and over again. Going out with friends, grabbing dinner, maybe some drinks. Talk about work, sports, or where you’re traveling next.

The problem is, that’s not what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about quirky hobbies, weird experiments people are trying, the problems they have, and most importantly what they’re working on (not just a business).

I have to find freaks just like me that enjoy doing this weird stuff like cold plunging on a Saturday morning. Or believing that they too, can start their own business (ok now I said it).

I want to jump into a ice cold body of water with them. Not sit on the sidelines and cheer them on letting them know I’m going to jump in soon. But never jump in.

See the parallels here 😉👀

Next time you want to try something hard remember this:

When you do it alone it’s easy to bitch out and quit. The way to break that is to find someone that wants to challenge themselves to do the crazy stupid thing that you’re thinking of doing. You’ll push and pull each other drastically further.

Together.

This is your reminder to do things that make you happy.

Go do something hard.

And don’t do it alone.

🖤🫶🏻 You’re Awesome 🫶🏻🖤

Jared

P.S. - Next cold plunge party is going to be 9/21 weekend 👀✍🏻

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