The “Iceman” experiment became more than a lesson about the cold. It also turned out to become a very interesting social experiment.
Allow me to give you a bit more context on that:
It’s Saturday the 8th of February as the temperature dropped near freeze point. But as long as the floor hasn’t turned into a slab of ice, there’s no excuse not to go for a run.
But that day I felt like mixing things up a little and get uncomfortable.
As I have been a practitioner of Wim Hof’s (aka “the iceman”) method, I decided to take my daily cold showers to a whole other level.
Wim Hof conquered the highest mountains and ran half a marathon above the Arctic Circle. What makes his feat interesting is that he did both wearing only his shorts. Yes, he did it barefoot.
Sometimes you gotta push yourself, so I decided to experiment running in shorts and a tank top.
And this turned into a very interesting social experiment.
This became very obvious to me as I ran past our local supermarket. Because there were 2 types of reactions to my, socially considered, “weird behavior”:
- What the hell is he doing? Is he trying to get sick?
- That’s interesting, why would he run like that in this weather?
The majority of the people looked perplexed, some even disgusted, and a bunch of them worried.
Then there was a second much smaller group of people, who almost cheered me on.
Which of the two groups would you resonate with the most?
The Mindset Behind the Reactions
This experiment revealed a clear difference between a rich versus a poor mindset.
People with a poor mindset avoid anything that challenges their current beliefs. They react in defensive ways or may even shame others. All efforts go into protecting their ego.
They’re stuck in their way of thinking and never ask the question: “why?”.
And the question “why” is a crucial element to a mindset that stimulates growth.
Kids now it. And so do people with a rich mindset.
When the rich mindset hears or sees something that challenges their beliefs, they seek to understand why.
Curiosity is the key ingredient for you to learn.
If you’re skeptical about that, I recommend you to read the biography of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo’s obsessions with curiosity caused many of his breakthroughs:
- Inventing a variety of things (eg. weaponry and much more).
- Designed a tank (400 years before it became popular).
- Created concepts for what later became the parachute and helicopter.
- Discovered many breakthroughs in the study of human anatomy, of which most notable, his discovery on the working of a heart.
And of course, da Vinci is most known for his paintings, such as his most famous piece: the Mona Lisa.
I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
– Albert Einstein
Can we agree that a little more curiosity in your life would enable a much richer mindset?
A richer mindset improves the quality of your life and without a doubt, it greatly increases your success in whatever you decide to do.
And if you believe that you’re not a creative person, guess what curiosity can also do for you?
That’s right, creativity is a skill you can get better in. And you can get better by increasing your curiosity in life and ask yourself the questions “why?”.
Become childlike.
That’s the biggest difference between the rich and the poor mindset.
Aim for more questions, not answers.
Get into the habit of asking the single most important question: WHY?