How We Can Do Hard Things

How We Can Do Hard Things

From Living with Purpose by Simone Denny

June 24, 2025 · 18 min

About this episode

Simone Denny shares insights on embracing discomfort and doing hard things, drawing from her experience of swimming in the ocean year-round.

One year ago, I never imagined I'd be someone who swims in the ocean year-round. I’ve always hated the cold — and yet, here I am, dipping into the sea every Friday morning at 7am, rain, wind or winter chill. It all started with a simple WhatsApp message to a few women on Waiheke Island… and now we’re a pod of more than 30 mermaids showing up every week. Some days there are just two of us, some days twenty. But there is always someone. This episode is about what it really takes to do the hard things — and how something uncomfortable, even unimaginable, can become a nourishing part of your life. I’m sharing 6 powerful insights that have helped me turn a cold plunge into a weekly ritual, and how you can apply the same principles to the hard thing you might be resisting — whether that’s starting a habit, making a change, or showing up for yourself in a new way. We’ll talk about: Why doing hard things in midlife feels different (and what to do about it) The surprising role of dopamine and cold exposure How to “joy stack” and make hard things feel easier Why starting small is a superpower (even 2 minutes counts!) The real magic of doing it with others How to find your deeper “why” to…

People in this episode

Host: Simone

Topics covered

  • cold exposure
  • midlife challenges
  • habit formation
  • motivation
  • community support

Keywords

  • ocean swimming
  • dopamine
  • joy stacking
  • small steps
  • finding your why

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Waiheke Island

More episodes of Living with Purpose

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Living with Purpose podcast page.