The Power Of Necessity In A Cold Shower

The most important influencing factor on our behavior is the environment we’re in. 

Our walking pace literally speeds up or slows down to match the person we’re walking with… 

A desired action becomes way more likely to occur when it’s more accessible, prevalent, and easier to do…

One of the most overlooked fixtures of our environment is ‘necessity’. You are radically more likely to do something if you have to, or else suffer the consequences. 

It’s the driving force that gets someone showing up for work even when they have an abusive boss, or else they’ll lose their job and not be able to take care of their family. It’s what makes a mom capable of lifting a car to save her child. It’s what gets someone serious about quitting smoking, or losing weight, for fear that they’ll die young if they don’t.

The reason this works is because when necessity is present in an environment, it helps to overcome the action threshold required to follow through on a behavior.

Not quite as serious as the previous examples, but earlier this week I had a totally normal, everyday experience that showed the power of necessity when I was taking a cold shower:

As long as it’s before 8pm and it’s not immediately after intentional cold exposure (that’s my standard), I start all my showers with cold water. It’s not freezing but enough to make you hyperventilate a little and get your attention.

For this shower in particular I was running behind and needed to make it quick. I stepped into the shower, got hit with a wave of cold, and rather than sitting there and trying to coach my way through it, I immediately got to soaping and shampooing myself. 

Why the difference? Because of necessity. I didn’t have the extra minute I would usually take to settle into the shower, I was in a rush, and that environment drove me to take a different action and more easily overcome the sensation of the cold water.

And while a lot of the examples I’ve provided show ways necessity is imposed on us from external circumstances, we can design necessity into our lives to intentionally support our follow through. 

For example, we can make a commitment to a friend to create a sense of accountability. We can set a goal to invest in a certain professional development program, but only from new funds not accounted for in our budget. We can put a half-marathon on the calendar and it forces us to train for it.

Anytime there’s something influencing our behavior, we should get curious around how we could leverage it for our benefit. And when it comes to necessity, it’s a powerful force when wielded correctly.

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