Weekly Doses of Pop-up Psych

Never Say Never and Why You Shouldn’t Shame Yourself for Changing Your Mind

Years ago, I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw that one of my friends did a Polar Bear Plunge, which is a winter swim in the frigid water as a fundraiser, such as for the Special Olympics. Ugh, I could never do that. She might as well have been driving on the NJ Turnpike blindfolded because I just couldn’t understand how or why someone would volunteer (or pay money) for what seemed like self-inflicted torture. 

Fast forward a few years and I’m at a yoga retreat at Amansala in Tulum, Mexico and a few of my friends signed up for the ice bath class, where they learned how to breathe through the sensation of the extreme cold. I watched and cheered them on with awe as they submerged themselves into the icy water. 

Then, the yoga studio where I regularly practice started holding special Fire and Ice classes where it was a 30 minute yoga class, followed by an ice bath. I ignored a few classes, until one day I felt attracted to the idea of signing up for one. I read about the benefits and thought it might be a good solution for the achy joints in my feet and hips. 

Last spring, I finally signed up for a Fire and Ice class on a planless Saturday, until a last minute race was added to my son’s crew schedule. I had to cancel the class. I thought I would feel relieved, but I felt more disappointed than I realized, which was my inner voice’s way to telling me I was ready to try it.

I finally had my opportunity to take the class in the fall. After the class, I felt amazing; my feet felt too good to be mine. It felt awesome and tolerable enough to start doing modified ice baths at home. When I watched my friends in Mexico, I said I could never do it.

Merriam-Webster classifies Never Say Never as an idiom which states that a person should not say that he or she will never do something because people change their minds. We have to be open to change.