By: CHARLIE HOUPERT (3 minute read)
For those who blushed: chilllll. I’m not trying to catch you sinning.
What I AM trying to do is discover what you’re f*cking awesome at. Or what you’re GOING to be awesome at.
So I need to know: what are you doing in the shower??
Sound random as hell?? Yup! But let’s take a step back and you’ll see where I’m coming from . . .
I was in a language class the other day with this dude who speaks 7 languages FLUENTLY. I know, totally nuts. Anyhow, the second best tip he gave me on language acquisition was this: practice speaking in the shower.
Good tip. But it also spurred another thought in me . . .
“Hm, that’s funny, I spend my shower time playing bar conversations in my head.”
And in that instant, the most obvious life hack in the entire world occurred to me. It was so freaking obvious — starting me in the face EVERY SINGLE DAY!!
In that moment it became clear to me why I do the following insane dance .. . . see if it rings any bells:
I’m trying to write for the blog, but I’m blocked all day. I stare at the screen, pump out pure garbage, and then just f*cking QUIT. I step in the shower to wash the sh*tty artistry off my skin and BAM! All of a sudden I brain-craft an entire badass post.
Then I run out, ass-naked and dripping wet, and get as much of it as I can into a Google doc before short-circuiting my laptop.
The roommate LOVES that (to be fair he pulls the same sh*t)
Don’t judge me heathen! You’ve been there. Something about the shower fills your brain with awesome stuff that JUST ISN’T FOUND anywhere else!
Sooo as this language pro is telling me what HE does in the shower I realized something much more universal . . .
Your shower is your laboratory, your practice room and your art parlor rolled into one. It is where you’re likely doing some of YOUR BEST WORK!
Which makes sense. Nowhere is your brain more OUT OF IT’S OWN WAY than in the shower. You can sing, dance, shake your booty, and talk to yourself. You’re literally naked. There is nothing to hide and no expectation. You can just PLAY.
And f*cking awesome sh*t surges up when you are in that state!
But this isn’t just an “Oh, cool” observation, and then you go on living your life exactly like before.
There is a serious implication to the shower-as-laboratory revelation . . .
And I personally believe it should impact how you live your life in a fundamental way .
So if you’re open to some introspection and change – check it out:
Show me what you work on in the shower and I’ll tell you what you’re passionate about, what you are/will be good at, and MAYBE . . .
What you should quit your job and go do.
For reals. The only way I know to f*cking KILL at any skill is to love it to the point where you PLAY it.
And if you’re doing it in the shower, you’re playing.
If you are playing spreadsheets and Powerpoints in the shower, I’m so freaking sorry. I’m 99% sure you’re overworked and overstressed. You either love Microsoft software (doubtful!) or you need to get the f*ck away from work.
Maybe just quit. If work has taken over play time, then your life is out of whack.
So let’s actually take the time to figure out what you’re doing in there. And also what you SHOULD be doing . . .
Now comes the introspection... genuinely ask yourself and PAY ATTENTION next time you shower:
Ask
1.) What am I usually DOING in the shower (other than the obvious!) Is that what my career is? Can I make it my career?
(I was running through bar conversations and writing blog posts. I gotta tell you, life has been MUCH more fulfilling since I started doing that sh*t full time)
And 2.) If I don’t love what I’m doing in the shower (say you’re focused on a job you don’t like) does that mean I need some space from whatever I’m focusing on? What else do I want to get good at? Can I start doing that in the shower instead?
Got your answers?? Cool. Now—
But wait, Charlie, I can’t do mine in the shower cause I love guitar!! I don’t want to screw up my Strat by dousing it in Old SpiceEee!
I knew this would come up. So just to be clear:
You can do ANYTHING in the shower because you are doing it IN YOUR HEAD. I don’t literally have a girl in there to practice bar conversation with (though HOLY AWESOME, that’d be a neat trick).
You can play guitar, practice languages, debate people, or flirt with imaginary girls (like me!)
You can do whatever you want. And the training in the shower is some of the best because YOU ARE FREE TO PLAY. You take what you practiced into the real world and then workshop it every single day in the lab. Playing, changing, perfecting.
Before long you are a pro. Fluent in 7 languages. Crushing it with girls in bars–whatever it is that you are into!
Love,