“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
– Jim Rohn
There are things we do in our life that are hard, but they develop character.
Cold plunging is one of them.
Now, I absolutely love cold plunging.
It requires a mastery of the mind not unlike financial discipline.
Financial discipline in its own right has been proven to ensure an organization’s economic security and financial stability.1
In other words, you have to do the hard thing in order to reap all of the bountiful rewards.
Today, we’re gonna talk about cold plunging’s connections to financial and fiscal discipline.
Let’s jump into it!
1. Mental Toughness
You may be thinking: “Bronson, doing a cold plunge is crazy!”
Honestly, that’s how I used to think as well.
But once I started doing it, I couldn’t stop.
It’s almost addictive.
Getting into a cold plunge is hard.
There’s no doubt about that.
The first thirty seconds are freezing cold.
To breathe through the first plunge.
Then, after about 30 seconds, I’ve normalized my breath and can finish the rest of my submerssion.
But it’s still hard.
There’s no point where it’s totally easy.
The experience is very similar to what happens when you’re in a real estate deal.
Especially the last few years.
If the deal isn’t going well, you’re starting that cold plunge wondering how things will pan out.
It’s easy to freak out.
Sometimes, our tendency might even be to sell.
We’re not doing what Warren Buffet taught us, which is to be greedy when others are fearful.
Sometimes we become that fearful person rather than being the person we want to be.
This is what I’m seeing right now in multifamily investing.
We’re seeing discounts of 30% or more in awesome markets while other living costs like groceries have gone up.
Why is that?
Well, some of it is the debt.
But also, when something declines in value, it starts to become less popular.
That’s actually the opposite of what we should do.
You should have the fiscal fortitude and the mindset that sees opportunities even when things are hard.
Just like a cold plunge.
2. Consistency and Discipline
I did regular cold plunges last year, probably every day or every other day.
Now, I do it after a workout.
The discipline of doing the hard thing made it possible for me to do so many things.
I wrote a book, I started speaking more, I went to more conferences.
When you focus on doing the hard thing, it allows you to create more for yourself.
You could take time to look at an investment deal.
You could read the PPM.
You could invest in your own learning.
These are not easy things.
But when you know that it will benefit you long term, it’s a form of investing.
It’s the same with cold plunging.
There are major long-term health benefits of cold plunging.
It boosts your metabolism, helps you sleep better, and decreases inflammation.
According to recent medical studies, it can also be used as a treatment for depression, anxiety, and stress.2
When you come out, you feel invincible.
You did the hard thing and it feels awesome.
3. Delayed Gratification
Our human tendency is to want to play now and pay later—or not at all.
If we do that, we’ll never get where we want to be.
It’s this idea of delayed gratification.
There’s this famous study called the Stanford marshmallow experiment.
You’ve probably heard of it.
They put a marshmallow in front of kids and told them they were gonna come back in 10 minutes.
If they didn’t eat the marshmallow, they would give them a second one.
In order to delay their gratification, the kids had to do a few things.
Some closed their eyes.
Others put their hands on their face or looked away.
But the ones who were able to wait did much better in life.
There’s a huge link between delaying gratification now and getting what you want in life.
Pay now, play later.
That’s how investing works.
Whenever you start, you need to remember to delay your gratification so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor later.
Discipline and investing are really like muscles.
When I come out of a cold plunge, I feel great.
But it’s not always easy getting in.
Delaying gratification while doing the hard thing can be super powerful.
I hope you’ve found value in this!
I encourage you to start plunging, or if that isn’t your thing, find some challenging habits.
As you do those things, you will find a carryover to apply to your investing.
Now I want to hear from you!
Are you seeing any carryover from your hard work?
Let us know in the comments.
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Disclaimer: I am not your investment advisor. This is for educational purposes only. I am not giving specific advice on what you can do. I am simply giving my opinions.
Works Cited
1. Annenkova, V., Zhulina, E., & Kuznetsova, I. (2020). FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE AS A FACTOR IN ENSURING THE ECONOMIC SECURITY OF THE ORGANIZATION. Russian Journal of Management, 8, 121-125. https://doi.org/10.29039/2409-6024-2020-8-2-121-125.
2. Habib Sadeghi. “Refreshing the Mind and Body: Exploring the Mental Health Benefits of Cold Water Immersion.” Journal of the Osteopathic Family Physicians of California (2023). https://doi.org/10.58858/020104.
