How many women have the courage to start properly with a cold

In her playful yet profound way, Anna Held, the famed stage performer of the early twentieth century, once said: “How many women have the courage to start properly with a cold, cold bath early in the morning? I jump in, throw the water, cold as ice, and after the first plunge I am happy.” On the surface, these words sparkle with charm — a lighthearted description of a morning ritual. Yet beneath their brightness lies a deeper truth: that courage, even in small acts, awakens the soul to life. Held’s cold bath is more than a habit; it is a metaphor for the discipline and daring required to embrace each new day with strength, clarity, and joy.

Born in 1872 in Warsaw and rising to fame on the glittering stages of Paris and New York, Anna Held was known not only for her beauty and talent but for her unshakable vitality. She lived in an age when women were expected to be ornamental — graceful, gentle, and delicate. But Held, with her daring wit and unyielding energy, defied those limits. Her “cold bath” was a declaration of independence, a symbol of her readiness to meet the challenges of life without flinching. In an age of vanity and comfort, she celebrated the power of discomfort — for she knew that happiness, true happiness, comes not from avoiding hardship, but from confronting it head-on.

To plunge into the cold water is to do what most fear: to move forward even when the body resists, to act before the mind can protest. It is a test of spirit disguised as a simple act. The first plunge — that moment of shock — is the breaking of inertia, the instant where hesitation is overcome by will. And from that moment forward, as Held says, “I am happy.” Happiness, then, is not the warmth that waits at the end of ease, but the glow that follows courage. It is the triumph of the spirit over the senses, the quiet joy that follows when one has done the difficult thing and discovered one’s strength anew.

This truth has been known since the dawn of time. The ancient Stoics, those philosophers of endurance, taught that virtue begins with mastery over one’s impulses — that to seek comfort is to weaken the soul, but to embrace discipline is to find freedom. Marcus Aurelius, emperor and philosopher, would rise before dawn to face the cold and remind himself that he was made for duty, not for rest. The cold, whether of water or of circumstance, tests not the body but the spirit. To meet it with grace is to align oneself with the order of the universe — to live, as the ancients said, according to nature.

History offers countless examples of those who found greatness through such courage. Consider the explorer Ernest Shackleton, who faced the icy seas of the Antarctic with calm determination. When his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and crushed by ice, he led his men across the frozen wilderness to safety. Every day was a plunge into cold — literal and spiritual — and yet it was that very cold that revealed his strength, his leadership, his humanity. Like Anna Held, Shackleton discovered that joy lies not in ease, but in the resilience born from trial.

Yet Held’s lesson extends beyond heroism. It reminds us that courage is not only needed for grand adventures, but also for the smallest beginnings. Each morning demands a kind of rebirth — a decision to rise, to act, to face the day’s unknowns. The “cold bath” may be a real ritual or a symbol for anything that challenges our comfort: speaking a hard truth, starting new work, ending old habits. Those who have the courage to face the cold, whatever form it takes, discover a deeper vitality — a happiness unshaken by circumstance.

Let this then be the teaching passed to all who seek joy and strength: begin boldly. Do not wait for warmth or ease; plunge into the waters of life with open heart and steady breath. Each act of courage, however small, renews the soul. The first shock of effort, the sting of fear, the resistance of habit — these are but the guardians of transformation. Pass through them, and you will emerge alive, alert, and whole.

For as Anna Held knew, happiness is not the reward of comfort, but the companion of courage. The world belongs to those who dare to take the first plunge — into the cold water, into the unknown, into the living heart of the day. So rise each morning, face the chill, and leap — for in that leap lies the secret warmth of joy.