Chilly cold mornings, you aren’t a fan of those, are you? Depending on the part of the world you are reading this from, there are certainly gradients of the winter chill. Sometimes snowclad, sometimes with black ice, sometimes with no ice but bone-chilling cold air. Regardless of the version of cold we experience, staying within the warm covers is constant. And yet when we eventually do step outside, we encounter a rare breed of individuals jogging, chatting or nonchalantly going about their business. It seems as if they are completely unaffected by the cold! Have you wondered why? What makes them special? Let’s find out cogently!
A good start to any analysis is within. How do we reach the feeling of – ‘disgusted by cold’ after getting up? Either we glance outside through the window or check the weather app on our phones, while sometimes listening to the news while brushing our teeth. And when we finally register this information regarding the weather, it’s only then we reach this undesired feeling. If you look carefully at all of the activities here, we are not performing any proactive action. ‘Glancing out of the window’ – because why not? ‘Checking the weather App’ – addiction chronicles. ‘Listening to news brushing teeth’ – just a ritual…
All the time, we are opening the doors to our mental state of mind. There is no intention set, no purpose defined as the next step to be done. Now this state of mind is fantastic and ideal while having conversations or even during meditations. However, it does not help a tiny bit in the wee hours of the morning.
The ‘special’ individuals, on the other hand, have already decided the night before what they intend to do the first few steps the next morning. This implies that even though they might turn on the radio or check the temperature outside, it does not interfere with their orientation of thoughts. So with the same information, their subsequent thoughts flow through this orientation.
What does that mean? Let’s say the temperature outside is 0 degrees. The orientation of thoughts leads to, “Okay, it’s cold. I’d better wear hand gloves and a head cap before going for a run…” instead of “It’s cold, should I even go for a run?” Notice the proactive action here?
In another scenario, you are in a critical phase of a project at work. The oriented mind generates – “It’s this moment that decides the next course of action. I’d rather be an hour early, why delay the inevitable? Can’t wait to get on it.” – (ignores cold). The turn-on-radio-and-lets-see soul, “…here we go again. I don’t know how I’m going to make it to the other side. (Checks the temperature) and to the hell with this cold…”
The skin sensitivity to outside temperatures for the ‘special’ as well as ‘general’ people is probably the same. So it’s not a case of physical immunity. Of course, there are days when the cold makes its presence known right through the blankets and the greatest of resolutions are broken. But even in these exceptions, the probability that an oriented mindset will fight through a cold is higher than an undecided, on-the-go mindset.
One easy way to develop an oriented mindset in the early hours of the morning is to decide on the first couple of steps before going to bed. Writing them down is an even better, tangible step. It makes you immune to the mayhem of indecision. And since we all have a tinge of laziness within us – i.e., to be in a state of mind or action that continues to work in our favour.
Once out to run, you continue to run. After beginning to meditate, continue to meditate. One leads to another and we are very good at riding the momentum. It’s only critical to have the right weather conditions within to beat the external weather from affecting you at the start! Proactively anticipating and leaving less for the mind to decide when it’s time for action helps. Think about it 🙂
