Embracing the Chill

Lessons from Palmer Luckey’s Shorts

I once heard Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus and Anduril, talk about his ever-present shorts and Hawaiian shirts—even in bone-chilling weather. Sure, there were plenty of logical reasons behind his choice. He likes them. They’ve become a symbol of his brand and individuality. But what stuck with me was his deeper reasoning: the discomfort was temporary. He knew he wasn’t in any real danger of frostbite, so why waste energy worrying about it?

It’s the same principle that stoics practice when they voluntarily endure discomfort—wearing rough clothes, fasting, or sleeping on the floor—to remind themselves that suffering, when not truly life-threatening, is just another passing state. Most of the things that make us uncomfortable in life fall into that category. A bad haircut. A few days of miserable weather. A traffic jam. Someone giving you a weird look for your choice in footwear. Why waste emotional energy on these things? The world keeps spinning, and whatever momentary discomfort we feel will soon be a memory, replaced by the next thing to obsess over if we let it.

The Freedom of Not Caring

Perhaps there’s an even greater benefit to this practice beyond personal resilience. When you stop concerning yourself with these passing discomforts, you free up your mental bandwidth for things that actually matter. Palmer’s shorts aren’t just about comfort; they’re a subtle act of defiance against societal expectations. And maybe, just maybe, that small act gives someone else permission to do the same—to wear what they love, to pursue what excites them, to ignore the unnecessary rules they’ve been following without question.

I get a small taste of this every time I wear my Vibram five-finger shoes. I love them. They’re comfortable, they let me feel the world in a way no other shoe does, and they make perfect sense to me. But they also invite a certain kind of reaction. Some people laugh, some raise an eyebrow, and some—those who get it—nod in approval. The funny thing is, by choosing something a little outside the norm, I’m practicing the art of not caring about the things that don’t matter. And maybe, just maybe, I’m also giving someone else permission to take their own small leap into self-expression.

So what’s your equivalent of wearing shorts in the cold? What temporary discomforts are you giving too much power to? And on the flip side, what’s that one thing you secretly wish you could do but hold back on because of some imagined rule? Maybe it’s time to embrace the temporary discomfort and step into the world as you truly are.