Embrace the pain

Enjoying discomfort, conquering your mind and pushing your boundaries
Sep 15, 2021
Copy Share Link
image

Embrace the pain:

 

Embrace the pain.

 

Embrace the discomfort.

 

Embrace the failure.

 

Embrace the soreness, the tears, and the muscle pain.

 

I started working out again today and haven’t felt pain like this in a long time.

 

I can’t lift my arms above my head. I can’t walk a step without pain in my quads. I slept 2 hours last night because I couldn’t sleep on my shoulders with all the soreness.

 

Enjoy it.

 

Enjoy these moments because it means you’re winning the battle against your mind.

 

Pain = progress.

 

There is no progress and transformation without discomfort.

 

You can’t get better without failing. Without falling down. Without being hurt.

 

Just get up. Come back stronger.

 

Finished David Goggins book ‘Can’t Hurt Me’ recently and holy crap is that guy the baddest MFer on the planet.

 

That guy actively searched for more pain than was possible.

 

His whole life sounded like a series of the worst pain imaginable.

 

He ran 100 miles on broken legs with no training.

 

He did 3 hell-weeks during Seal Team training, some of the most difficult training in all the US military.

 

He set a record for most pull-ups. 4030. Read that again.

 

This guy searched for it and embraced it.

 

Why?

 

Because it always made him better.

 

It showed him how much he could do.

 

It proved to his brain that he could do more than anyone thought possible.

 

We all have that ability, but our mind holds us back.

 

The only thing that holds you back in life is yourself.

 

Don’t blame anyone else for your problems without looking at yourself in the mirror.

 

Reality is neutral.

 

How you see the world is determined by you and your emotions.

 

To achieve anything in this life, you have to learn to conquer your brain.

 

To embrace the voice in your head telling you no.

 

Telling you you’re not good enough.

 

Fuck that voice.

 

That voice doesn’t know shit.

 

It was put there by other people’s thoughts and opinions of who you are. Your parents, your siblings, your friends, your teachers, your colleagues, etc.

 

But they’re not really you because you can do anything.

 

The human body is an incredible system.

 

We have people all over the world pushing their bodies to the absolute limits every day. How? By conquering their mind.

 

Deciding to chase pain. Embracing discomfort and failure.

 

Doing something over and over again with no difference in enthusiasm.

 

Trying and trying till they get there.

 

No one believed a human could run a 4-minute mile for centuries.

 

Then Roger Bannister did it in 1954 and now thousands of people have done it.

 

You only need one person to show you it’s possible.

 

It’s possible to do something that’s never been done before.

 

Until we see it done, it’s hard for us to envision how.

 

That’s why it can be so lonely when you’re on a path less travelled.

 

Because no one’s done it for you.

 

That’s how I felt going to school in Scotland at 17.

 

I had no help.

 

I had no precedent or person to turn to.

 

But you chase the discomfort.

 

You decide to embrace the uncertain future knowing all you have to do is try your best.

 

Be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

 

Embrace the pain.


'Keep Going You're Doing Great'

Related Posts

Personal Writings

You deserve to be at the table

Being an imposter, conversations with CEOs and reminding myself I deserve to be here

February 27, 2024
Personal Writings

So grateful

So grateful for my life

May 8, 2022
Personal Writings

Survival

Week 19/31: Pondering what's to come in the next few months and reflections from week 18

May 11, 2025
Personal Writings

I am a nobody

The power of an individual, celebrity culture and luck's role in your life

April 3, 2022
Personal Writings

War has begun

Russia invading Ukraine, the upcoming market crash and possible scenarios

February 24, 2022
Personal Writings

2023 - A Transformational Year

Reflecting on my 2023, including accomplishments, highlights and favourite movies, podcasts, books, blog posts and restaurants

December 28, 2023
-->