The Dutch super athlete Wim Hof will probably be known to everyone. He carries several world records thanks to his superhuman accomplishments.
Currently, he holds the record for having lasted the longest in an ice bath. This triumph earned him the moniker: “The Iceman”.
Time and again, Wim Hof has proven that the human body is capable of breathtaking feats.
Holder of incredible 21 Guinness World records, Hof is an ultra-machine in flesh and blood. Much to everyone’s bafflement, he can control his heart rate, blood circulation, and breathing, all at the same time. Textbooks will tell you this is an impossible task.
His eponymous Wim Hof method catapulted his fame to stratospheric levels. Scientifically backed, Hof claims it to be a practical way to become a happier and healthier person -a way to unlock the incredible abilities your body possesses.
But you might wonder, if it’s all that simple, why aren’t there millions of Wim Hofs? Because not everyone can demonstrate the level of self-control and commitment his methods require.
Below you’ll learn four reasons that make Wim Hof so special:
1. Pure willpower can bring you to enormous peak performances.
Wim Hof instills in you the power to move mountains. He is the walking embodiment of willpower. After all, it was his breathing technique and superlative willpower that enabled him to endure more than one hour and 52 minutes in ice-cold water.
Besides this world record, Wim Hof has earned numerous other stripes, too. He pulled off the incredible feat of climbing Kilimanjaro in two days, dressed only in shorts and shoes.
He also completed a marathon in the far north of Finland wearing the same clothing — in temperatures dipping below minus 20 degrees Celsius.
You might argue that Wim Hof is a rare individual who is immune to cold. Your assumption is flat-out incorrect because he also copes with heat without any problems.
He completed a marathon in the Namibian desert in 2011. And he did it without drinking a single drop of water in between.
Wim Hof knows how to summon his willpower to register epic achievements. It’s not that people like you and me don’t possess it. It’s just that in the hubbub of life, we don’t set our minds to what we want to achieve. He declares,
“The amount of willpower is different for every person, but everybody has some willpower. If you really want to become a better version of yourself, then increasing willpower is one of the most essential things to do.”
Wim Hof
2. For your health, you must occasionally conquer your pride.
With such a high number of world records and remarkable achievements, you will surely wonder if anything can stop him. But you’d be wrong because even Wim Hof has had to put his health first on more than one occasion.
One of the best examples is his attempt to climb Mount Everest. As with Kilimanjaro, he did so wearing only sandals and shorts. However, while climbing the highest mountain on the planet earth, he injured his foot, which caused enormous problems even for him.
I am sure you’d already think that Wim Hof, with his enormous willpower, would have still managed to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He could have, but that would have meant putting his life in danger.
He knew if something happened to him up there, no one would be able to rush to his aid. With a heavy heart, he abandoned the ascent of Mount Everest, for his own health and safety.
We can learn from Wim Hof that sometimes your pride has to take a back seat.
Many people feel particularly satisfied when their achievements come at the expense of their health. All of sudden, they have a story to tell the entire world. However, from Wim Hof’s perspective, that’s false pride.
No matter what you strive for, putting yourself in danger is the stupidest way to make a name for yourself.
3. You must leave the past behind.
“Wim Hof is so successful, he doesn’t know what it’s like to have problems at all.”
Is this one of the phrases that run through your head when you think of the Dutch extreme athlete? Well, then this point will definitely surprise you.
Wim Hof has also had one or two strokes of fate in the past. His wife committed suicide in 1995 – an incident that had pulled him into a deep hole of grief.
But this immense loss spurred him to develop the Wim Hof method. He says that using his method, people can cope with stress and adversities more easily.
4. Depression can be treated.
Depression is one of the most dangerous mental illnesses that a person can get. What makes this illness so insidious is that it completely drags you down and makes you feel completely worthless.
After a while, depressed people isolate themselves completely and thereby dealing the coup de grâce to their mental health. Numerous depressions eventually end in a suicide attempt because they no longer know how to help themselves.
Wim Hof places particular emphasis on combating this life-threatening mental illness. Because he was in the same situation after the death of his wife, even after a long time he still suffered from feelings of guilt for not having helped his former wife.
The Wim Hof method has not only helped him to push his body to peak performance. He has also managed to dispel this dark fog from his thoughts and to look forward again.
Despite this, the Dutch athlete points out that it is precisely the search for help that is most important in depression.
Wim Hof is indeed an admirable man who has accomplished a lot in his life. From him, you can learn several things that can entirely change your life. This Dutch extreme athlete rightly enjoys a lot of attention.
In his classes, he helps other people push their bodies to peak performance. His Wim Hof method is also extremely effective in the treatment of mental illnesses such as depression and has already helped many sufferers overcome their suffering.
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