OUTDOORS
Get some fresh air in your life — literally.
From the book:
#15 Do A Polar Bear Swim
“The phrase “take the plunge” means to commit to something—particularly something risky. It’s a nice way of saying, “Stop wimping out,” which is what we tell ourselves when we agonize over doing something we really want to do but are deathly afraid to try. This saying, which, most literally, means to cast oneself into water, is particularly apt if you’ve ever even entertained the idea of doing a polar bear swim, the New Year’s tradition of running headlong into an icy lake or ocean with a herd of insane people.
Talk about ambivalence: You’re standing in a racerback in the freezing cold, staring out over frigid water, wondering if it’s too late to run back to the car and head to the nearest bar for a hot toddy. Still, just thinking about diving in is exhilarating. You can practically feel the sting of the water on your skin. Once you do go in, it’s so cold that you literally stop breathing and your mind goes numb. It’s one of the most death-defying challenges you can imagine, short of jumping out of a plane. (See page 116 to learn about that particular plunge.) The excitement may not register while you’re in there, but that’s okay. The thrill of this type of stunt comes later, when you can marvel—and brag—about having done it.
Ellen Yacoe, fifty-three, has taken the plunge in Delaware four times with her husband and teenage daughter. Each time, she’s had to talk herself into it: “Yes, it’s scary, but it’s not going to kill you ….”
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